This poem expresses what the author expects to have but not achieving it (Applebee 420). In Giovanni's works she rages over family love, loneliness, and frustration (PoetryFoundation 1). As demonstrated in “Choices” she is frustrated as she can not achieve what she wants in result she goes along with what society wants her to do. According to the ¨Author Study Nikki Giovanni¨ it states ¨Unfortunately, Giovanni´s independent spirit got her into trouble with the university authorities almost immediately¨ (Applebee 405). This displays the need for independence as is seen in ¨Choices¨. Needless to say “Choices” authenticates the connection with Giovanni's life and
A choice is defined as an act of selecting or making a decisions when faced with two or more possibilities. Everyone has to make a choice at some point in their life, and every choice has a consequence. Some choices may seem very simple, like a person deciding what to eat. Other choices can be more extreme, like choosing to live or die. In the poem Choices, Nikki Giovanni describes the inner conflict people face when making a choice.
Her parents married her to a man of high class instead of the man she loved. Neither he or she were content with the marriage or each other, the feelings were mutual. Even though they didn 't love each other, they didn 't get a divorce for the fact that those who were
In Nikki Giovanni’s poem, “Legacy”, the speaker shares a message through the eyes of a grandmother and a granddaughter who have thoughts about the role of legacy, family bonds, and respect, but do not openly share them as they talk to each other. The poem is a short arrangement of sentences which depict one interaction between the 2 characters, but is meant to set the stage for establishing the pattern of communication between generations. The setting is probably a fall day before a holiday where the children are outside playing and the grandmother is inside baking some items for an upcoming family gathering. The grandmother has a history of baking and these rolls are an example of something that she prepares for the family that they enjoy and are part of her identity. The grandmother has great pride in the rolls and wants to make sure that the family continues to be able to enjoy them long after she is gone by passing it down to her granddaughter: “I want chu to learn to make these rolls” (line 3). Although this is a straight forward request of the granddaughter, it really is much more. The grandmother is acknowledging
As the story progresses we come to understand the reason behind all of this. Unfortunately her home life is not the best as she lost her brother and her mother a victim of attempting
She was disappointed and angry at the fact that Connie didn’t help her out at church. This shows that the lack of a close family relationship will cause problems between family members. When you respect and value others, they will feel fortunate to have as their
She started helping around the house, but when she figured out that it wasn’t much, she got a job at the fields and even though she had no experience in it she still went ahead and did it. “Mama had been strong for her. Now it was her turn to be strong for Mama. She must show her that she didn’t need to worry anymore.”(p163) Based on this quote, I can tell that she knew she had to be strong and her Mom’s sickness didn’t make her more sad than she already was, it motivated her to be strong for her mom and whatever was coming up.
In life we must understand that by breaking someone else, we won't fix ourselves. Her obstacles allowed her to learn that love can vanquish evil. Difficult situations are necessary in life and everyone goes through
“Nikki-Rosa” Poem Analysis In the poem “Nikki- Rosa,” Nikki Giovanni writes with diction and imagery to prove that’s she had a happy childhood in spite of her family’s hardships. Giovanni creates a poem, that although short in words, provides a lasting effect on the reader. Giovanni’s creative use of language and descriptive words, the distinction of black culture from white culture, and memories of average times that made her childhood unique and happy made this poem distinct and exceptional. Giovanni frequently references to her happy childhood in her poem using words and phrases that create an image in your mind showing you that her childhood was in fact a happy one.
She watched her mother die slowly and she watched her dad struggle to take care of her. As a young kid or even as an adult watching the person who is supposed to raise you and teach about love, and everything you need to know in life will greatly affect what type of person you turn into. One of the most heartbreaking things you can go through as a child is watching your mother slowly die and then watching your father struggle to take care of her and provide for the family. Ida went through a lot, her mom was sick and then her mom’s sister Clara came to help out and caused a lot of drama in the family. All the fighting put a lot of stress on young Ida, “Mama charged Clara with sneaking into the house like an enemy, charger that she had always covered papa, berated her for taking advantage of illness to have her way” (283).
She was unable to take advantage of the opportunities that young people have today. She was taught to work and care for her siblings while dealing with her mother who
It opens a new light for the daughters on the strength and grace their mother has shown raising her children. At the end the eldest daughter tells the younger sister this story and the young daughter goes to hug her mother as a thank you for all she has done and a sorry for what she has put her
She made the selfish, cowardly decision to commit suicide. This was during the time when her third husband and her child had passed away. She was also very poor, having spent all her money on fine living. Rheumatism and had been taking over her life, so she was taking morphine for the pain. One day she overdosed herself purposefully.
The daughters statement was clearly just her opinion on her mother passing not with any back up evidence which would of gave the mother a more solid thought on just her passing. So the speaker doesn’t seem so enthusiastic about the way her family judges her value, her worth, or her performance. The mother seems in distress which is also just like a student being graded in school and they don’t meet the standards that are set for them by others. The irony here is that rather than parents mark their children, it is the children and father who is marking her, which is the commonly thought to be the most important figure in the household and family.
She said, “My life now is not how I predicted it to be. I must rely on my family, especially my daughter, to help take care of my husband and I because I’m getting to where I can’t. If it wasn’t for her coming over every morning and night, I don’t know what we would have done. My son doesn’t live as close as she does, but he will help us by driving us to the doctor sometimes. We have both been to a nursing home in the past, and although they were good to us, it is nice to be home.