Amir Baraka's Poem: An Agony, As Now
Muslim Saadat #10139
ENG 299: Contemporary Poetry
Dr. John Wall
Response Paper II
"An Agony, As Now"
An Agony, as Now was written by Amiri Baraka a unique individual from New Jersey who is well-known for his social activities and defending justice throughout the African American society. Among all his famous poems one of them is ‘’an agony, as now’’ that presents the poet seeing himself from a distance and describing what he sees. This paper therefore will analyze the theme, style, and the voice of the poem through which it will also describe how the poet expresses the nature of the black man in American society; using different voices shows how he is at war within himself, between the self he was made to be by conditions and what he wants to be and what he is trying to be.
To my understanding Baraka’s an agony is more of a “Political Poem” which is also a cautionary statement somehow accusing a big portion of society. The themes of the poem evolve
…show more content…
Where my eyes sit turning, at the cool air the glance of light, or hard flesh rubbed against me, a woman, a man, without shadow, or voice, or meaning.
Again he starts with the first person as ‘’my and me’’. It refers to who he is, what he does? None of it makes any sense or means anything to him because he is imprisoned within himself; sees no way out. He is questioning his own spirituality, beauty, and even God, everything around him but at the end all he wants is freedom.
One thing I noticed about Baraka’s writing after reading several of his poems and writings is that it is personal, natural and passionate in its voice and tone. From the beginning till the end of poem the writer is looking for understanding in a world where Blacks were largely oppressed and suppressed and misunderstood by larger society. Baraka was not looking to be understood, but to be free to express what was real within him.
Baraka, Amiri. "An Agony, As
Frederick Douglass Ethos Pathos Logos
328 Words | 2 PagesFrederick Douglass wrote this autobiography, which contains many personal anecdotes of his life during slavery and how it impacted him. Douglass portrays through this excerpt that it wasn’t easy to live as a slave. He tells his audience how he wanted to leave and be free from all the misery he had suffered and continued suffering. In this passage from his autobiography, Douglass uses rhetorical strategies such as anaphora and pathos to give the audience an insight of what slavery was like.
Movie 42 And The Indian Horse Comparison
709 Words | 3 PagesHe showed how black people were not seen as equals and how people reacted to a black person being in a white person’s territory. Both sources showed the challenge of being different. The challenge of what it’s like to live as a minority. How people can be cruel and condescending just by a person’s race and change is not easy to accept and achieve. Change is not something that can easily be accepted by everyone.
Jimmy Santiago Baca Oppression Poem Analysis
230 Words | 1 PagesIn the poem, “Oppression”, by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Baca demonstrates many examples of the hope and belief throughout the poem. Baca mentions to the audience that there will always be obstacles which one must prevail before they reach the top. Therefore help the readers recognize that in order for emancipation, one must never stop believing in themselves. An example of hope would be when Baca states,” And always, always, remembering you are human.” Here he indicates that though life may put us through tough times, we must always remember that we are humans and we are capable of overcoming obstacles.
A Poem An Obstacles Analysis
937 Words | 4 PagesA Poem an Obstacles written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a poem which try to narrate about the human’s day to day struggle and tell us about how we have to ignore all those obstacle and resume our journey to our destiny. 1.Firstly analyse the whole poem by considering the narrator as a human Being As we know that every people have their own obstacle which make them uneasy and bring hardship in their life. An obstacle is an object, thing, action or situation that causes an obstruction. This obstacles are the things that we human being face in our day to day life So obstacle can be of any form and kind which bring difficulties in people life until and unless it is eradicate.
Examples Of Dialectical Journal For Frederick Douglass
1480 Words | 6 PagesIt was the blood- stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass. It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it.” Analysis: There is no way to convey the true feelings Douglass must have felt the first time he witnesses the terrible abuse inflicted the people he cares for. For this incident to be only the beginning is saddening.
Comparing Plato's Republic And Frederick Douglass
936 Words | 4 PagesDouglass knew that the only way to be treated like a human being -- and eventually become on of the most successful black men of the nineteenth century -- was through learning. Learning can be tough and painful, but it is through the pain that people grow and learn to thrive. Both the man in Plato’s Republic and Frederick Douglass learned to breathe through the pain as they went about their learning experiences. Both works illustrate the idea of enlightenment through learning and how painful the brutal reality of truth is. While one is metaphor and one is autobiographical, they show that if one can learn to get passed the pain, you can free yourself and experience a world you never knew
The Kite Runner Amir's Guilt Quotes
833 Words | 4 PagesAmir’s main enemy is guilt because it leads him to blame himself for the death of his mother and for his father’s lack of acceptance of him. Amir takes it upon himself to say that it is his fault that his mother is dead, and that he is the sole reason why his father does not like him for the way he is. He blames himself instead of blaming the possible natural causes of why his mother is dead - he does not let it go. He also does not accept who he is for who he is to his father, he feels the need that his father’s acceptance is not good enough; thus, he seeks the love he needs by doing what his father likes despite disliking such activities himself (examples, sports). Amir does not take in account that there are more reasons outside of his control for why things happen, why the
Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis
744 Words | 3 PagesWriting with the influence of pathos, Douglass is able to connect to readers emotions and empathy. When describing his slavery to an empty audience he says, “I am left in the hottest hell of unending slavery.”
Argumentative Essay On I Have A Dream Speech
945 Words | 4 PagesThese people have a passion for what they are protesting for, and the fight for rights will never die off until the black people of America have the equal rights and respect as a white man. Just like king said, “And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the negro is granted his citizenship rights.” The way he states his idea of unrest of the nation till rights are granted really puts an urgency into his ideas, and makes them seem as they are, which is the most important issue in the nation. This idea also develops his central idea in a deep way that says he wants everlasting equality, and there will be an everlasting fight until rights are granted. This really persuades his audience to realize that his idea he is putting in the reader 's head is really the best choice for the nation, and says that America will continue to be fair and equal, because there will be nothing unjust or unfair to fight about.
Chiron's Identity In The Film 'Moonlight'
446 Words | 2 PagesHis desire is to grab hold of who he is as an individual. He yearns to discover his place in the world. Many antagonistic forces led him through the three phases in his life that make him question who he is at each phase. The key of this piece is experiencing the life struggles of this African American male attempting to discover his identity with support from strangers, but none from his own internal or external
June Jordan Poem About My Rights Analysis
1028 Words | 5 PagesThe poem was written in a time where black people and women were dehumanized where those in power abused the power to gain more and those without power were continuously affected by it. Reading the poem and had an impact on me with the dictation of lexis, however all of these feelings were heightened when I listened to the oral performance. The poem starts of in the present tense “Even tonight and I need to take a walk” (Jordan 1) which gives a setting to the scene, in the opening few lines Jordan uses the repetition of “I” and “my” which made the poem for me more personal, the use of repetition in the opening part of the poem produced a deeper connection to the poem, repetition of the words placed emphasis and clarity of the words which came after “my body posture my gender identity my age…” (Jordan
Maya Angelou And Langston Hughes Comparison
514 Words | 3 PagesDuring the 1900s, there were many famous authors who wrote about African Americans and Civil Rights. This was what was going on during this time period. Segregation and discrimination towards blacks was increasing. Two famous authors were Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. Langston Hughes wrote the poem “I, Too, Sing America.”
Literary Analysis Of David Dabydeen's 'Turner'
1799 Words | 8 PagesDavid Dabydeen’s Turner, is a postcolonial response to the authors of colonial atrocities. Dabydeen attempts to convey within his poem a society haunted by the injustices of the past which have been denied recognition and redemption from the prosecutors and historians themselves. Drawing on theoretical concepts of postcolonialism, hauntology and mid-mourning, Dabydeen’s Turner, attempts to highlight the agony and powerlessness of those who were, currently, and will soon be subject to, to overcome the curse of past injustices. Focusing on the physical and psychological marks the colonial project placed and continues to place on the body and psyche of the drowned slave, the narrative of agency being gained through death is problematize. As summarized by Steph Craps, David Dabydeen’s Turner, is essentially a poem which brings to the attention to the reader the immortal presence of past injustices.
Summary Of Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize Lecture By Toni Morrison
1440 Words | 6 PagesThroughout the course of African American Experience in Literature, various cultural, historical, and social aspects are explored. Starting in the 16th century, Africa prior to Colonization, to the Black Arts Movement and Contemporary voice, it touches the development and contributions of African American writers from several genres of literature. Thru these developments, certain themes are constantly showing up and repeating as a way to reinforce their significances. Few of the prominent ideas in the readings offer in this this course are the act of be caution and the warnings the authors try to portray. The big message is for the readers to live and learn from experiences.
Martin Luther King's Speech: Critique
1229 Words | 5 PagesHe informs people with the brutalities and injustice being caused to black community and tries to arouse a feeling of empathy and sympathy. Moreover, the delivery and diction being used are quite potent. The diction being used is mainly formal with shades of informal phrases in order
More about Amir Baraka's Poem: An Agony, As Now
Frederick Douglass Ethos Pathos Logos
328 Words | 2 PagesMovie 42 And The Indian Horse Comparison
709 Words | 3 PagesJimmy Santiago Baca Oppression Poem Analysis
230 Words | 1 PagesA Poem An Obstacles Analysis
937 Words | 4 PagesExamples Of Dialectical Journal For Frederick Douglass
1480 Words | 6 PagesComparing Plato's Republic And Frederick Douglass
936 Words | 4 PagesThe Kite Runner Amir's Guilt Quotes
833 Words | 4 PagesNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis
744 Words | 3 PagesArgumentative Essay On I Have A Dream Speech
945 Words | 4 PagesChiron's Identity In The Film 'Moonlight'
446 Words | 2 PagesJune Jordan Poem About My Rights Analysis
1028 Words | 5 PagesMaya Angelou And Langston Hughes Comparison
514 Words | 3 PagesLiterary Analysis Of David Dabydeen's 'Turner'
1799 Words | 8 PagesSummary Of Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize Lecture By Toni Morrison
1440 Words | 6 PagesMartin Luther King's Speech: Critique
1229 Words | 5 Pages