ipl-logo

America By Ginsberg Analysis

718 Words3 Pages

Identity is an important part of a person’s life, no matter where it comes from. Identity distinguishes one person from another and makes us all individuals through aspects such as skin color or personal beliefs. A person’s identity can be based on many aspects of their life; whether it comes from their family history or something they were taught, or from their own personal exploration of themselves. The poem “America” by Allen Ginsburg shows how political views and opinions on current events can shape one’s identity through the feeling, or lack thereof, of patriotism for their country. In A New Generation Overthrows Gender, author Jon Brooks discusses a form of gender identity that deviates from what is considered “normal” and how traditional …show more content…

Ginsburg’s poem is connected to my American identity as a political person who also questions America’s roles and decisions in current events; and like Ginsburg, I too am losing my sense of patriotism for my country. While I don’t quite feel as strongly as Ginsberg does about certain topics, I do relate to his feelings about them enough for me to identify as a pessimistically political person similar to him. For me it is nearly impossible to watch or read the news and not see a story about America’s affairs that is insane and terrifying to the point I think “America are you being sinister or is this some form of practical joke?” (1). When watching the current situation involving Russia unfold on the TV screen I can’t help but feel pessimistic about the status of our country; with the president’s ignorance to the dangers of this kind of alliance with such a strong world power and the clear signs of meddling with the presidential election in addition to everything else, everything about the country seems quite bleak. I can just tell the plans of “them bad Russians…” (2), it’s really not hard to see “the Russia wants to eat us alive. The Russia’s power mad.” (2). In contrast to my feelings about the White House, much of my political identity also comes from my search for different news. I often read articles about news stories that no longer circulate on news channels; like an account from a neglected Native American reservation or an update from the Flint water crisis in Michigan. Stories like these affirm my suspicions about America’s habit to turn a blind eye to older news stories and “say nothing about my prisons nor the millions of underprivileged who live in my flower pots” (2). I believe my pessimistic political tendencies and

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Tone Of Harrison Bergeron

    572 Words  | 3 Pages

    The relevance of this voice in defining or contributing to our culture is significant because it speaks to a fundamental aspect of American society: the value of individual freedom. America was founded on the idea of individualism, and the voice in “Harrison Bergeron” speaks to a fear that could be threatened by a government that seeks to control every aspect of citizens’ lives. Not only does this story speak about the government controlling individual freedoms, but it also portrays the aspect of trying to make everyone equal, a common narrative in today's society. While everyone should be granted equal rights and opportunities, there is a line that must be drawn under certain circumstances. For example, in women's sports, many transgender females are being granted the ability to participate in women's sports, but biologically speaking this may give them an unfair advantage over the other competitors as they could possibly have more muscle mass or other contributing factors.

    Read More

  • Designated Identities In The Film Ricerche By Sharon Hayes

    1168 Words  | 5 Pages

    While the video never directly focuses on identity the conversation progressively is guided into a deeper discussion about the differences between women at a women’s college. In the end a student speaks up to talk about how she doesn’t want to be grouped by her race, sexuality, or gender and that’s the problem that everyone

    Read More

  • 13th: Context Of African-Americans In The United States

    892 Words  | 4 Pages

    Speakers explore the oppression of racial minorities as a historical fact, but also assert that the same thing is happening now in a different form. Their distress can be seen in lines such as, “The connecting theme is the need to be understood as full, complicated, human beings,” and “There’s really no understanding of American political culture without race at the center of it.” These lines, and many others, put emphasis on the impact of racial discrimination and prejudice. During the second half, wherein the prison industrial-complex is explored at length, the tone shifts from [smth] to indignant. One can sense their anger and disbelief of major corporations (such as ALEC and CCA) and their economic interests influencing the prison industry through their strong language and imagery.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Jail And The New Jim Crow

    694 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Jail and The New Jim Crow both describe how our justice system is generally based on people’s conceptions of things, and how our own justice system is creating a new way of discriminating people by labeling, incarcerating the same disreputables and lower class that have come to be labeled as the rabble class. In chapter two, of The New Jim Crow, supporting the claim that our justice system has created a new way of segregating people; Michelle Alexander describes how the process of mass incarceration actually works and how at the end the people that we usually find being arrested, sent to jail, and later on sent to prison, are the same low class persons’ with no knowledge and resources. These people commit petty crimes that cost them their

    Read More

  • 'The New Jim Crow' By Michelle Alexander

    159 Words  | 1 Pages

    In her article “The New Jim Crow,” Michelle Alexander powerfully argues that the American prison system has become a redesigned form of disenfranchisement of poor people of color and compares it to the racially motivated Jim Crow laws. She supports her assertions through her experiences as a civil rights lawyer, statistical facts about mass incarceration, and by comparing the continued existence of racial discrimination in America today to the segregation and discrimination during the Jim Crow laws. Alexander’s purpose is to reveal the similarities of the discriminatory and segregating Jim Crow laws to the massive influx of incarceration of poor people of color in order to expose that racism evolves to exist in disguised, yet acceptable forms

    Read More

  • Incarceration In The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander

    718 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowing these facts, she also mentions how society disregards these men in prison because they’re focused on successful black celebrities, like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama, as well as media promoting stereotypes on the War on Drugs. Acknowledging that mass incarceration is now the new “normal,” Alexander argues that it has become normalized due to individuals “knowing and not knowing (p. 182). To elaborate, individuals know and choose to ignore (not know) the fact that black men being incarcerated is unjust knowing, or not knowing, that white people are more likely to commit the same crimes and not being criminalized for it. (p. 182).

    Read More

  • Undocumented Immigrants Essay

    1610 Words  | 7 Pages

    Their achieved identity is not compatible with their ascribed identity, and this can have grave consequences in their lives. Children who have moved here when they were young see themselves as no different than anyone else. Their identity is one of an American-born child with a mixture of their parent’s background. V.

    Read More

  • The Prison Industrial Complex

    1539 Words  | 7 Pages

    In the last thirty years, incarceration rates have skyrocketed to four times of that in 1980, with 1 in every 31 adults being under some form of correctional control. (“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet”) The US now houses 25% of the world’s prisoners, despite containing only 5% of the world’s population. (Khalek) Many factors have contributed to this sharp increase in incarcerations, including zero-tolerance policies, and the school-to-prison pipeline and the War on Drugs (“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet”). However, the largest contributors are the prison industrial complex, which targets and criminalizes minority groups, and the dependence of for-profit prisons on inmate count and prison labor.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Miscegenation By Natasha Trethewey

    1051 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although miscegenation is not a new topic, the effects that this phenomenon has on people’s lives has been the source of inspiration for many literary works. “Miscegenation” by Natasha Trethewey is an autobiographical poem that expresses the difficulty that mixed-race people face in accepting their identity in a society that discriminates people who are different. That is, this poem expresses how racial discrimination can affect the identity of those people who do not identify as white or black. Besides, in this poem, Trethewey narrates her origin, as well as how her parents were victims of a society that did not accept their relationship. Therefore, the speaker starts by saying “In 1965 my parents broke two laws of Mississippi” (Trethewey 1); those two laws that broke the Trethewey’s parents were that they were married and had a daughter.

    Read More

  • Identity In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    1071 Words  | 5 Pages

    Everyone expresses themselves. People express themselves through, clothing, hairstyles, art, music, units of study, and even home decor. It is a part of one’s identity. In the book Anthem, by Ayn Rand, you can not have your own identity. The main character; Equality 7-2521 pushes the boundaries of his radically collectivist society through discovery, solidarity, love, and revolt.

    Read More

  • 13th The 13th Amendment Sparknotes

    737 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nixon is infamous for his proposal of the “War on Drugs”— a crisis that made drug abuse seem more like a political issue and less of a health problem. This “war” essentially targeted minorities for drug possession, and combined the already standing issue of economic inequality and hypersegregation to allow people of color to be incarcerated at rates much higher than white people. This documentary targets political figures, ultimately holding them accountable for the unjust prison system. While some may think that this is political bias, all this document is doing is bringing up what people are afraid to address: some of the roots of systemic racism lie not so far in our past. By targeting political figures and comparing them to how mass incarceration developed as they were in office, 13th demonstrates a clear, concise understanding of systemic racism that allows the viewer to grasp the truth behind how the people who ran this country really

    Read More

  • Identity In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

    730 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whether it be in the workplace or walking down the street there is always going to be more pressure and judgment being focused on women than men. Why is this? Gender plays a big role on the reflection of our identities to society. We have been brought to believe that there are certain ways men and women should and should not act, dress and talk. These social norms do not just apply to what is acceptable in regards to public safety but rather, it is used as a way to control and evaluate behavior.

    Read More

  • Identities Wd Valgardson Summary

    579 Words  | 3 Pages

    The identity a person holds is one of the most important aspects of their lives. Identity is what distinguishes people from others, although it leaves a negative stereotype upon people. In the short story Identities by W.D Valgardson, a middle-aged wealthy man finds himself lost in a rough neighborhood while attempting to look for something new. The author employs many elements in the story, some of the more important ones being stereotype and foreshadow. For many people, their personal identity is stereotyped by society.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Incarceration In America

    874 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over 2 million people are currently being held in United States prisons, and while the U.S. may only hold 5% of the world’s population, it houses 25% of its prisoners. In the past few years, America’s prison system has fallen under public scrutiny for it’s rising incarceration rate and poor statistics. Many Americans have recently taken notice of the country’s disproportionate prisoner ratio, realized it’s the worst on the planet, and called for the immediate reformation of the failing system. The war on drugs and racial profiling are some of the largest concerns, and many people, some ordinary citizens and others important government figures, are attempting to bring change to one of the country 's lowest aspects.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Identity In The Handmaid's Tale

    802 Words  | 4 Pages

    The majority of people ask the same question at some point in their life; who am I? The concept of identity is something many wrestle with their whole lives. Other individuals are confident of who they are. The Handmaid’s Tale follows a society that is stripped of individuality and identity. This question can no longer be asked because it cannot be answered.

    Read More

More about America By Ginsberg Analysis

Open Document