Looking for the Gulf Motel by Richard Blanco by Stephanie Curtis

zp176630 — 2025-01-15 22:17:50 UTC

"I hold my breath underwater-but I'm not.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:17:51 UTC

"...and pretend for a moment, nothing lost is lost."

cy159053 — 2025-01-15 22:17:59 UTC

"I want to turn the golf courses back into mangroves,"

ey159527 — 2025-01-15 22:18:02 UTC

"nothing lost is lost."

cg130934 — 2025-01-15 22:18:10 UTC

"I want to find The Gulf Motel exactly as it was and pretend for a moment"

wh131210 — 2025-01-15 22:18:15 UTC

"Watching us dive into the pool, two boys he'll never see grow into men who will be proud of him."

cm159049 — 2025-01-15 22:18:19 UTC

"I want to find the Gulf Motel exactly as it was"

er132557 — 2025-01-15 22:18:19 UTC

"I want to find The Golf Motel exactly as it was and pretend for a moment, nothing lost is lost."

sh163261 — 2025-01-15 22:18:20 UTC

"and my past, I want to chase the snowbirds away"

jt176578 — 2025-01-15 22:18:23 UTC

"...two boys he'll never see grow into men who will be proud of him."

ls159581 — 2025-01-15 22:18:36 UTC

"pretend for a moment, nothing lost is lost"

mm167933 — 2025-01-15 22:18:50 UTC

"No music, only the waves keeping time, a song only their minds hear ten-thousand nights back to their life in Cuba."

ar172692 — 2025-01-15 22:18:52 UTC

I want to blame the condos, their shadows for ruining the beach and my past, I want to chase the snowbirds away with their tacky mansions and yachts, I want to turn the golf courses back into mangroves,

scurtis49 — 2025-01-15 22:19:00 UTC

"...the stars should still be turning around them."

ar172692 — 2025-01-15 22:20:23 UTC

There should be nothing here I don't remember . . .

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:20:28 UTC

"...two boys he'll never see grow into men who will be proud of him."

cm159049 — 2025-01-15 22:20:29 UTC

"... for ruining the beach and my past"

cy159053 — 2025-01-15 22:20:29 UTC

"My father should still be alive, slow dancing with my mother"

scurtis49 — 2025-01-15 22:20:36 UTC

"...he'll never see grow into men who will be proud of them."

jt176578 — 2025-01-15 22:20:57 UTC

"There should be nothing here I don't remember..."

ey159527 — 2025-01-15 22:21:07 UTC

"for everything that should still be, but isn't"

cg130934 — 2025-01-15 22:21:11 UTC

"Two boys he'll never see grow into men who will be proud of him"

sh163261 — 2025-01-15 22:21:13 UTC

"I am thirty-eight, driving up Collier Boulevard, / looking for the Gulf Motel, for everything / that should be, but isn't."

er132557 — 2025-01-15 22:21:15 UTC

"I am thirty-eight, driving up Collier Boulevard"

mm167933 — 2025-01-15 22:21:25 UTC

" . . . two boys he'll never see grow into men who will be proud of him."

ah159005 — 2025-01-15 22:21:38 UTC

"...like the moon resting on the sea, the stars should still be turning around them"

ls159581 — 2025-01-15 22:21:45 UTC

"two boys he'll never see grow into men who will be proud of him"

wh131210 — 2025-01-15 22:22:10 UTC

"I should still be 8 years old"

ah159005 — 2025-01-15 22:22:48 UTC

"My brother and I should still be playing Parcheesi my father should still be alive"

zp176630 — 2025-01-15 22:22:52 UTC

"My father should still be in a terrycloth jacket smoking, clinking a glass of amber whiskey..."

ar172692 — 2025-01-15 22:23:20 UTC

The author finds his childhood memories hidden by snooty rich people.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:23:34 UTC

A man is going over his memories spent with his family at the Gulf Hotel as a child while driving up Collier Boulevard as an adult trying to find the same establishment in the maze of new condos and other buildings, hoping and wishing that it would still be the same.

wh131210 — 2025-01-15 22:23:38 UTC

Its about a guy who is trying to remeber every detail about his trip which reminds him of his father and is angry that this memory of his father is destroyed.

cy159053 — 2025-01-15 22:24:00 UTC

The main character is reminiscing about his vacation to the Gulf Motel with his family and how he tries to find it only to find the Gulf Motel to be replaced by golf courses and rich people.

jt176578 — 2025-01-15 22:24:13 UTC

38 years old men travels back to Collier Boulevard seeking for the memories his family build when they were all alive.

cg130934 — 2025-01-15 22:24:14 UTC

A man who is driving up to the Gulf Motel reminisces deeply about the time he spent with his family when he was a child on vacation.

er132557 — 2025-01-15 22:24:15 UTC

The speaker revisits a motel he went to as a child and is disappointed by change that doesn't live up to his expectations set by his memory.

mm167933 — 2025-01-15 22:24:20 UTC

A thirty-eight year old man, attempts to reclaim his childhood thirty years later by going back to the Gulf Motel, but finds everything to be different.

cm159049 — 2025-01-15 22:24:30 UTC

A cuban boy is reminiscing on his past as they should all still be, he remembers every minute detail such as what they did and what they ate and even how the food was made. Until in the end he realizes that time moves on and is mad at the new people coming and ruining his image

ey159527 — 2025-01-15 22:25:04 UTC

The speaker is reflecting back on his memories of him and his family at this Hotel he used to go to, but those memories have been ruined.

ah159005 — 2025-01-15 22:25:18 UTC

In the poem the narrator is trying to remember his memories about a trip he went with his family to The Gulf Motel but then realized that the place he created those memories got replaced by wealthy people.

zp176630 — 2025-01-15 22:25:29 UTC

The speaker reminisces his past. He acknowledges that what he didn't appreciate all that he had in his childhood and feels like now his home and life is changing for the worse.

sh163261 — 2025-01-15 22:25:34 UTC

The author fondly recalls his childhood at the Gulf Motel with his parents. He imagines his family happy, dancing, cooking, and playing games. The last stanza flashes forward to the present. He mourns his loss of that once perfect moment, resentful towards the snowbirds for ruining his beautiful setting with their own decadent houses and yachts.

ls159581 — 2025-01-15 22:25:51 UTC

The speaker is reminiscing on his childhood and how he misses the way things use to be and wished he could find " The Golf Motel exactly as it was" because maybe it would bring him back to a happier moment, with all his family around him.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:28:10 UTC

The speaker's family goes on vacation to The Gulf Hotel when he is younger and make many great memories together. When he is 38 years old, he drives down the same street while searching for The Gulf Hotel. He reminisces on his family and what they'd probably be doing at that specific time and feels frustrated towards the number of new condos built which have tarnished the area and memories he held so dear.

cm159049 — 2025-01-15 22:28:17 UTC

The man is thinking about his life 30 years after while driving down the road towards the motel. Through the repetiong of "should be" almost as he needs it like that and if it isnt then it is in the wrong.

wh131210 — 2025-01-15 22:29:13 UTC

His anger comes from this important memory in his life being ruined by a bunch of rich people and the speaker is upset because this one thing that he connects with his father is gone making his loss even harder.

ar172692 — 2025-01-15 22:29:15 UTC

He is driving down a road and is reminiscing about his life there 30 years ago. And his discuss at how much it had changed.

cg130934 — 2025-01-15 22:29:19 UTC

As the speaker drives down looking for the Gulf Motel, he comes across places where he remembers time spent with his family. And he repeats a few phrases over and over again, as if he is trying to live back into the moment and make it happen.

er132557 — 2025-01-15 22:29:19 UTC

When the speaker revisits thirty years later, he repeats his want to change the motel back to the way it was before despite the hopelessness of the matter.

zp176630 — 2025-01-15 22:29:35 UTC

The speaker recalls the positive and lively aspects of Marco Island in the past, in contrast to the materialistic place it turned into. He compares both timelines and details to highlight the drastic and negative changes made.

jt176578 — 2025-01-15 22:29:52 UTC

The man is returning to Collier Boulevard recalling the wonderful memories he had with his family 30 years ago, then realizing that everything once there has been destroyed by the rich's properties

cy159053 — 2025-01-15 22:30:01 UTC

The speaker uses repetition to show how things "Should be" rather than what they are, the speaker remembers his life 30 years ago when his parents were still alive and how they took a little vacation to enjoy themselves and he feels despondence to the fact that everything has been taken over by people with money compared to back then when they couldn't even afford to eat out.

mm167933 — 2025-01-15 22:30:04 UTC

The reader has a nostalgia trip of his life when he was 8 years old, reminding himself of sneaking in, eating home-made food, playing games, watching his parents slow-dance on the sliding glass balcony, and tries to go back to the place where it all happened just to conclude that it has all changed, using the line "There should be nothing here I don't remember . . . " it shows his realization of his slipping memories throughout the passage of time, and that the place had progressed while he still seeks the past.

sh163261 — 2025-01-15 22:30:07 UTC

In the present, the speaker sees new luxurious development in the area where the Gulf Motel once stood, which prompts pleasant yet painful memories of his childhood. His reminiscing is enhanced with potent visual imagery, like the balcony, olfactory imagery like the garlic, and auditory imagery through the waves. He notes how he couldn't "afford to eat out," further drawing contrast between him and the newly arrived rich residents.

ey159527 — 2025-01-15 22:30:30 UTC

The speaker utilizes a story telling perspective to make his words sound nostalgic and make it seem like us the reader is looking back at the speakers memories with him.

ls159581 — 2025-01-15 22:31:43 UTC

The speaker starts of with reminiscing his childhood, remembering how his parents would embarrass him and his brother, and they would pretend not to know them and spending time with his brother what they were kids, leading into his present self, a thirty-eight year old man who wishes nothing but to go back to the way things use to be, to a better time.

ah159005 — 2025-01-15 22:32:21 UTC

The speaker is reminiscing about his past while driving down the road to The Gulf Motel. To notice how it has changed so much by seeing things like mangroves being replaced by golf courses that the place got replaced to wealthier aspects.

cg130934 — 2025-01-15 22:33:50 UTC

The poet uses imagery to create a very sincere and vulnerable environment with people who are happy. In the poem it functions as a build up to giving the devastating news, and introducing a new world with no such memories able to exist anymore.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:34:33 UTC

The poet utilizes imagery to permit the reader to understand what is happening within his memories. The reader can feel the environment he made all of his memories in and each activity the family did. One is able to smell the food, hear their laughter, see their smiling faces as they take part in this vacation. It brings the reader a sense of peace and nostalgia; even though one may not know the speaker personally, they can still rationalize his emotions and relate to him on a personal level as it is similar to the experiences of many others.

cy159053 — 2025-01-15 22:34:36 UTC

The poet uses imagery by describing things while exaggerating it a little bit, he uses visual, hearing, and scent imagery to describe his life and how even the littlest things made him and his family happy. It functions as a way for the reader to get more familiar with the poet.

wh131210 — 2025-01-15 22:34:44 UTC

The imagery in the poem makes me feel his pain on how this was probably his most clear memory of his father with the most specific details being explained to us and how memorable it was for him and his entire family then to have us picture what took over this precious memory he had by a group of rich people.

ar172692 — 2025-01-15 22:35:08 UTC

The use of imagery in the poem is used to show a sense of honesty and love to the memories which counter the dishonesty and carelessness of the places present state.

ls159581 — 2025-01-15 22:35:16 UTC

The writer uses imagery to create a personal tone and try and bring the audience into the memories created at The Gulf Motel with him, to be able to experience and explain what he wishes he could relive.

mm167933 — 2025-01-15 22:35:17 UTC

The imagery is used to show the reader how vivid the speaker's memories are even after 30 years, and his recollection of his memories. It functions as if the reader were there within his memories, it makes his feelings of his nostalgia incredibly coherent, and builds a basis for what the speaker is expecting, yet in return everything had changed, and results in a let-down.

cm159049 — 2025-01-15 22:35:18 UTC

He uses it to bring back personal details such as " i hold my breath underwater" where he is wanting us to relate to his activity since many kids growing up have gone through this. Even when describing what they packed it ties his experience in with those who are not as fortunate. It functions as an anchor to be stuck in time with the narrator since he also wants to rememeber every detail.

sh163261 — 2025-01-15 22:35:22 UTC

Imagery represents different times: that of the speaker's childhood and the present. Items such as the pressure cooker, garlic-reeking pot roast, and Parcheesi board game symbolize the speaker and his family's middle class status. In contrast, the tacky mansions and yachts represent affluence. These items together present a stark difference that prompts a visceral reaction of pain from the speaker, who sees what he could not afford replace happier, simpler memories.

zp176630 — 2025-01-15 22:35:34 UTC

I found that throughout the poem, the speaker displays comforting and nostalgic imagery such as one of his childhood dishes, his parent's closeness, and the fun adventures with his brother. The imagery shifts near the end when he speaks on the present of his home town and describes materialistic objects rather than warm memories.

ah159005 — 2025-01-15 22:35:39 UTC

The poet applies imagery by trying to bring out old childhood memories that could make a person happy but then later on it can be missed. This functions in the poem by being able to picture what was happening and why that memory was so important that the poet wanted to go back to the place.

jt176578 — 2025-01-15 22:35:50 UTC

With the details the man provides, this memory of his not only established a scene in his mind furthermore the reader's as well when we interact with the story. The smell of the father "smoking" and visualizing the reality of the "tacky mansion and yachts," showcases a real scene to be illustrated in the readers.

er132557 — 2025-01-15 22:36:07 UTC

The speaker uses imagery to convey the lively atmosphere that he recalls the motel having and in his return back to convey the emptiness he finds in it now.

ey159527 — 2025-01-15 22:36:48 UTC

The author utilizes imagery where it gives the reader specific details like the "reeking garlic through the lobby" that gives the meaning of the smell, which evokes a picture into the reader's perspective. Another example is explaining the color of things which highlights the significance the speaker's memories hold.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:37:25 UTC

There is a repetition of the line "there should be nothing here I don't remember" as it illustrates how vivid the memories are in the speaker's mind. He has not forgotten anything that has happened at this location as a child. However, he may also be trying to convince himself that he remembers how everything used to be. The speaker commonly includes the word "should" to demonstrate how he wishes for something to be the way it was in the past, and he may be desiring everything to be back how it used to be instead of now with all the new buildings that detract from the special nature of his childhood and cloud his memories with his family.

cg130934 — 2025-01-15 22:37:50 UTC

There is the repetition of the line to create the sense that physically, the Gulf Hotel has changed so little. But with the perspective after 30 years, everything and the environment can seem completely different. Since losing a dad one can change the whole perspective of the man.

cm159049 — 2025-01-15 22:38:18 UTC

Since the author doesnt want stuff to be different then whenever he was there, he wishes for the whole motel and experience to be the same. This expereience was so amazing that he reemeber every little detail and there should be no reason to forget.

wh131210 — 2025-01-15 22:38:23 UTC

Because he is trying to explain to us how important this memory was to him and he shows that by sharing specific instances of this that he would remember to show that "There should be nothing here I don't remember"

cy159053 — 2025-01-15 22:38:31 UTC

There is repetition of the line as it tells us how the author views his memory of his vacation so important that there shouldn't be anything there he doesn't remember while everything he does remember should still be there, he also thinks that the Motel hasn't actually changed rather the things surrounding the motel has.

mm167933 — 2025-01-15 22:38:47 UTC

The importance of the line "There should be nothing here I don't remember . . . " shows the speakers struggles with the changes and how far the place had strayed from its original state.

er132557 — 2025-01-15 22:38:48 UTC

It conveys his continual heartbreak in discovering things he doesn't remember and especially in noticing that the good things he does remember are missing.

ey159527 — 2025-01-15 22:38:50 UTC

I believe that it could be that the speaker had held these memories very close to him and that after everything he's experienced, these memories are very special to him.

jt176578 — 2025-01-15 22:38:55 UTC

This is to describe how memorable and unforgettable this pleasant memory is to the man, as he can recall and describe every moment and detail that happened when he was there 30 years ago.

ar172692 — 2025-01-15 22:39:05 UTC

There is a repetition of the line “there should be nothing here I don’t remember”? to show that the place in its current state is so different from his memories, that he is questioning the truth of his memories.

sh163261 — 2025-01-15 22:39:06 UTC

The repetition of "there should be nothing here I don't remember" mimics the speaker's desperation to return to a happier time, united with his whole family. Since it's repeated so many times, it also represents a firm assertion that new developments should not be built in an effort to preserve the past he wishes to go back to.

zp176630 — 2025-01-15 22:39:37 UTC

The speaker accentuates his attachment to what his community used to be. He doesn't the closeness and comfort that he used to, and wants to keep the past with him. He is in a way stuck to his past, which is why he knows he will never forget his childhood, even the small details.

ls159581 — 2025-01-15 22:39:40 UTC

There is a repetition of that line because the memories made at the motel mean so much to the speaker that it lives in his head so clearly. It also acts as a transition from different parts of the memories made in the lobby to his mother in the kitchen, his father drinking at the pool and more.

ah159005 — 2025-01-15 22:41:03 UTC

The poet repeats this because The Gulf Motel held a great significant to hold as a memory with his family, but the location hasn't changed over the years it was the environment and its hard to accept how much it has changed by repeating it.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:56:54 UTC

The most significant shift in the poem is when the speaker goes from recollecting his past memories to speaking of the present as he is driving down the street in an attempt to locate the same hotel.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:57:59 UTC

The tone before the shift was more of a nostalgic tone. He is remembering all the fun he had with his parents and brother and describes them very fondly. After the shift, however, he describes it all more callously and desperately, wishing for everything to go back to how it was previously.

bg172170 — 2025-01-15 22:59:41 UTC

This poem is important because it reminds the reader to cherish what they have while they have it as it may soon be gone. The speaker will never again be able to have these same memories over again, as his father his dead, his mother is older, his brother is probably grown up and away, and the hotel has been replaced. It reveals to the reader the importance of devoting yourself to the moment rather than taking it for granted and thinking it will always be the same.

ar172692 — 2025-01-16 01:14:46 UTC

The refrain " there should be nothing here I don't remember..." is paradoxical because it includes a double negative which makes the statement positive. The text states " nothing here I don't remember" This shows that the speaker is very fond of his memories of The Gulf Hotel and recalls all of them.

ar172692 — 2025-01-16 01:17:58 UTC

The significant shift accrued when the speaker switched from talking about the past and starts talking about the present. As he is driving down the road towards The Gulf Hotel.

ar172692 — 2025-01-16 01:21:54 UTC

The tone before the shift was nostalgic. He was remembering all of his happy memories at The Gulf Hotel with his parents and brother in a very loving way. After the shift he becomes sarcastic and rude belittling the rich people that had taken of the natural area, wishing the the area around The Gulf Hotel had stayed the way it was.

ar172692 — 2025-01-16 01:26:21 UTC

This poem is important because it teaches the reader to cherish the memories of the past, as they may be gone I the future. The speaker will never be able to relive these memories because the rich snobs destroyed everything that he remembered. It reveals to the leader that taking a moment for granted is worse than staying in that moment and allowing the moment to change.

jt176578 — 2025-01-16 19:12:52 UTC

"There should be nothing here I don't remember..." is the refrain paradoxical because it displays two meanings. As stated, the speaker describes each scene verbosely, presenting a lot of details to establish the past existence. On the other hand, the motel has been reconstructed and everything that was once there is gone.

jt176578 — 2025-01-16 19:14:08 UTC

The most significant shift is when the speaker retrieves back to the present from his memories.

jt176578 — 2025-01-16 19:18:15 UTC

As stated the speaker’s shift from “eight years old” to “thirty-eight” years old signifies the major shift from past to present. But a present that is difficult to accept because the motel was demolished replacing the riches. Tone shift is also present depicting a change from nostalgic to grief and hayride.

jt176578 — 2025-01-16 19:23:14 UTC

This poem is important because it delivers the idea to cherish the memories in the past that might be gone forever. Relating to the speaker, the wonderful moments established at the motel was forever gone and different as he returns 30 years later.

bg172170 — 2025-01-16 19:33:00 UTC

"There should be nothing here I don't remember..." is the refrain.

This is paradoxical because it includes two negatives which in turn make a positive. The speaker says he does not remember nothing, which ends up meaning that he remembers it all, signifying how he has very fond memories of The Gulf Hotel.

er132557 — 2025-01-16 20:09:19 UTC

The refrain is paradoxical because that there should be nothing there he doesn't remember means everything there he should remember, paradoxical.

er132557 — 2025-01-16 20:12:51 UTC

The most significant shift in the poem is the shift from thinking about his memories as a child to describing his current wants thirty years after.

er132557 — 2025-01-16 20:15:53 UTC

The tone of the poem was fond of the past and nostalgic as he was recalling his many good memories of the hotel, and it shifted to being desperate and enraged by the change since then.

er132557 — 2025-01-16 20:18:00 UTC

This poem reflects the nuanced and multifaceted response to change. It conveys the sense of grief that a lost pleasurable past can ultimately bring.

mm167933 — 2025-01-16 20:49:20 UTC

The refrain is paradoxical in the way that, nothing there he should not remember, which in turn is a double negative, therefore everything he should remember, and he doesn't remember everything.

mm167933 — 2025-01-16 20:50:04 UTC

The most significant shift within the poem is when it shifts to the present, no longer in his memories where everything had changed showing the passage of time.

mm167933 — 2025-01-16 20:51:11 UTC

The tone of the poem was incredibly nostalgic and hopeful but it shifted into a more angry and miserable tone as he realized everything he once knew was gone.

mm167933 — 2025-01-16 20:52:34 UTC

The poem presents the passage of time, and that nothing is permanent, the poem shows the ever changing state of the world we live in, we may want to stay in the past, but the present moves onwards.

1315099556 — 2025-01-22 22:22:45 UTC

1315099556 — 2025-01-22 22:24:31 UTC

hghf

1315099556 — 2025-01-22 22:29:28 UTC