Literary Techniques and Overall Meaning Poetry is a very important and respected type of literature, and one that covers a vast range of topics. Some of the most impressive and response-invoking poems are those that cover more sensitive topics, such as discrimination and racism. Discrimination is a topic not overwhelmingly seen in poetry, but often very interesting to read. Author Sekou Sundiata creates a prime example of this in “Blink Your Eyes.” In the poem, he speaks about racism in the law, as well as how you are treated in society depends on your skin color. The poem is not good to read only because of its subject, however. The use of repetition and symbolism in “Blink Your Eyes” adds more depth to the poem, and highlights the societal issues that the author and others of his race have felt. Use of repetition in poetry directs the reader 's attention to that word or phrase, as Sundiata does in “Blink Your Eyes.” Along with how the stanzas are formed, the repetition used sets a pace to the poem. In the first stanza, Sundiata writes “thru a red light red light red light” (Sundiata 503). The use of repetition here is smart, because the “red light” that is spoken of has two meanings and is crucial to the overall theme of the poem. Literally, the red light refers to the traffic light the narrator could have been driving through. Figuratively however, it refers to the harsh racism and discrimination that is preventing the narrator to progress in life because of his skin
The overall theme of the poem is sacrifice, more specifically, for the people that you love. Throughout the poem color and personification are used to paint a picture in the reader's head. “Fog hanging like old Coats between the trees.” (46) This description is used to create a monochromatic, gloomy, and dismal environment where the poem takes
In the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, he goes into detail about a series of events, interviews, and studies done and how they correlate with the snap decisions our subconscious makes. The author explains a study done by John Gottman, the study involved a married couple and a question of whether or not they would stay together. Gottman watched the married couple have a conversation for just three minutes and within that time he could determine how long they will stay together. He would point out the small details that went on within the conversation, such as an eye roll or how defensive they would become (Gladwell). Consciously, I am sure the wife would not do this intentionally but subconsciously it is how she truly feels about the topic of
ur ability to make decisions in less than two seconds is an interesting ability that belongs to our subconscious mind, demonstrated through journalist, Malcolm Gladwell’s National Bestseller Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Gladwell’s use of logic, rhetorical questions, and anecdotes to inform readers fascinated with psychology, about our subconscious decision making. Gladwell appeals to logic to add to his credibility and factual tone. In chapter three of Blink, Malcolm Gladwell is stating the reasoning behind certain males being chosen as CEOs of companies is related to tallness. Gladwell backs up his theory by using statistics and facts, “ Among CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, that number is 58 percent.
Her uses of words such as discrimination while describing the situation evokes
Racism is a problem that people of every race around the world still faces today. In the film adaptation of The Help and the text version of Lorraine Hansberry's “A Raisin in The Sun”, racial discrimination is a major theme explored. Racial discrimination is a major theme that both sources portray. There are laws that make discrimination illegal in The United States but it people still suffer from it, however, The Help and “A Raisin if The Sun” portray more ways in which this problem can be eliminated through resistance, getting support from the oppressors, and showing the intimidators their behaviors and attitudes.
Poetry Analysis Once the poem “History Lesson” was written numerous poetry foundations celebrated it for many reasons. “History Lesson” not only makes an impact on literature today it has also impacted people also. This poem inspires people and moves them to the point to where they can find a personal connection to the poem itself and to the writer. Not only does it hold emotional value for those who were victimized and those whose family were victimized by the laws of segregation, but the poem is also celebrated for its complexity. The poem uses many techniques to appeal to the reader.
The poem ‘Morning Praise of Nightmares One’ which is written by Lauire, Ann Guerrero depicts a strong notion about abuse and elements of despair when children at tender age are dealt with extreme abusive behavior. The overall theme of the poem is around the narration of a young girl who is living a life of pain in a house where she is inflicted with torture, pains and bruises. Despite of her miserable condition nobody is helping her. She is facing each morning with screams of nightmares which are never ending and no one is there to comfort her.
Each stanza also makes the readers question their opinions and their understanding of the poem and the street. While analyzing Kenneth’s poem we see his use of imagery , personification, metaphorical language and repetition. With the end of each stanza repeating the words “you find this ugly, I find this lovely” the use of repetition gives the audience the sense of how the poet is displaying his message with this literary technique. The repetition also gives insight in how he see’s something that everyone calls ugly as something beautiful. The readers are also always drawn back to processing their opinions with his use
This becomes evident in a lack of information about the type of society, and the reader therefore lacks a complete understanding of how the women are oppressed. As a whole, this poem sets forth the idea that female gender is fluid, and asks its readers to questions what it means to be a woman in a male dominant
5,6) the issues that have been mentioned above are expressed. Since, especially black women, are considered to be living in the shadow this passage exposes the feelings and representation of black women in society. Their existence in the world which is not considered and respected. Considering especially the fact that the lyrical I is a black maiden, she seeks for recognition and acceptance among the other figures of the poem. Referring to contemporary issues, the lyrical I would be classified as a lower ranked person since she is black and being occupied as a maid, which clearly makes her powerless and voiceless in society.
The 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
Amara Crook Harmon—L202 Major Paper 3 Clever Title Countee Cullen’s “Incident” explores the concept of unprovoked and unwarranted racism through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy. In his short yet powerful poem, Cullen uses a single incident in which a young boy “riding through old Baltimore” (1) is singled out and called the N-word by another very small child, despite having done or said nothing to offend the boy. Although this incident is clearly hurtful, why is this incident in particular so important?
However, after reading the first stanza, it is evident to the reader that, there is oppression in the air. The first stanza reads that, “Dawn in New York has four columns of mire and a hurricane of black pigeons splashing in the putrid waters,” and this is clear to the reader that, the New York Dawn is not a normal dawn and that life in New York is despondent. According to the writer, the dawn does not come with something to smile about. After reading the poem, we realize the writer’s reason for entitling it as such.
It can be carried out legally against an entire group of people or simply against someone for their looks. These poems describe different ways in which discrimination is carried out. One of the poems demonstrates discrimination carried out systematically, while the other represents it being carried out at an individual level. Okita states, “Dear Sirs: Of course I'll come” (650). The fourteen year old girl describes the people who came to relocate her as “sirs,” meaning they were some type of authority figure (65).
The speaker makes use of repetition which is a very important aspect in “Poem about my rights” where certain phrases and words are repeated numerous times. The poet uses the repetitive phrase, “I am the wrong sex, the wrong age the wrong skin...” (Jordan 8-9) for the first time, which contributes to the success of the repetition in the poem as the word “wrong” appear in the poem a few times which indicates the importance of the word in the poem. The word “wrong” refers to the victims enumerated throughout the poem as the speaker, and all other oppressed persons and nations who are victims of rape because they are viewed by their torturers to be wrong. Although the name of the poem reflects on human rights and “right and wrong” are subjects of this poem, the word “right” never comes forth in this poem although the word “wrong” is often used and repeated.