Gwendolyn Brooks Rebellion

Rebellion is simply the resistance to or defiance of any authority, control or tradition. (Sandi Amorim, para 1, n.d.). Rebellion can be expressed in many different forms, and in this case, it is poetry. The poems, “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, “Theme for English B” and “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, all have a distinct display of rebellion.

First, the poem “We Real Cool” is about teens who are rebellious, and think they are so “cool”. It is meant to be read at a certain beat or pace, like a rap, to add an effect to the “rebellion” theme. Brooks starts off by saying, “We left school”(Brooks, line 1-2, 1960) which hints that the characters dropped out of school, or might be skipping. Next, the author says ,”We Lurk late. We strike straight. We sing sin” (Brooks, lines 2-5,

The poem is about a black student ,presumably Langston Hughes himself, having to prove that he is just the same as his white professor. Langston starts off the poem by saying, “I wonder if it’s that simple? I am twenty-two, colored… I am the only colored student in my class.”(Langston Hughes, line 1-5, 1951) Hughes is implying that since he is the only black person in his class, the professor will not believe what he writes on. This poem was written in 1951, when most schools were separate and black people were treated differently, and Hughes writes about that. He is very rebellious in his poem, yet he still follows the directions. He says, “ That’s American. Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me, nor do I often want to be a part of you.” (Langston Hughes, line 32-34, 1951) He writes about how black people and white people actually are the same, and during this time period most people did not believe that. He goes against what society’s normal view of colored people is, while still completing his assignment. He showed a bold way of rebellion, while still following the