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Wanda Why Aren T You Dead Analysis

516 Words3 Pages

Did you take out the trash and wash the dishes? Why don’t you become a doctor? Why do you have to go to school for so long? You study too much. Get a social life. It has been statistically proven that humans lose their patience with others when their partner, family, or friends’ choose to excessively nag or ask rhetorical questions in order to share their insight or wisdom on an individual’s life. Eyes rolling, excessive sighs, and lip smacking may result as a direct consequence in response to these pests. Wanda Coleman, a renowned Black woman poet who was born in the 1940s and grew up during the civil rights movement, expresses these ideas in “Wanda Why Aren’t You Dead” by listing out the various questions that she was asked throughout her …show more content…

It is uncommon for poets to use their own experiences as a persona, but the lack of question marks in her poem suggests that the speaker in the poem may be herself as she is replaying the questions and comments that were once said to her. This shows that there is no dialogue taking place, and it gives the reader a quick rhythm when reading the poem, just like a person’s thoughts when racing. “wanda when are you gonna wear your hair down”. “wanda why ain’t you rich.” Words such as “gonna” and “ain’t” suggest that whoever asked her these questions are uneducated, and were not supportive of her attendance of college. This memory came from person who probably did not seek out an education like she did. Wanda was a student at University of California Los Angeles, but she did not graduate or attain a degree. This might be a result of the verbal abuse she experienced such as “wanda that’s a whore’s name.” Coleman uses the word “whore” to highlight the absence of acceptance and support from those who surround her and to reiterate the theme of berating black women. As the discouraging diction of her poem plays as a motif throughout her poem, repetition is

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