Red Anger was written by R.T. Smith and published in the book The Literature of the American South in 1998, Smith was born in Washington and grew up in Georgia and North Carolina in which he received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, and completed his Master’s degree in English at the Appalachian State University. Incident was written by African-American poet Countee Cullen published in the book My Soul’s High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen in 1991, at the age of fourteen he started to write poetry in his high school located in New York, after high school Cullen went on to the University of New York then towards Harvard and completing it with a Master’s degree. Both pieces display racism …show more content…
In Red Anger Smith does not use a rhyming scheme; he uses a free verse style of poem where no line rhymes at all, in Incident Cullen uses a rhyming scheme he uses the simple four-line writing scheme where only the second and fourth line rhyme while the first and third do not rhyme with each other. Both poems use the use of the first person narrative point of view, in Red Anger Smith wants the reader to experience what it is like to be an aboriginal from each of the three tribes Tuscarora, Choctaw, and Cherokee he wants the reader to be in the shoes of each character from the three tribes the use of the point of view is powerful in Red Anger it is powerful because, of the way each member is going through sadness, and anger you can feel how the character feels with the uses of strong imagery. Although Incident is short it starts out like a nursery rhyme with a happy tone then once it gets to the second stanza the man “poked out His tongue and called me, ‘Nigger” (Cullen) just that line makes the poem so powerful, the man calls the young Cullen a racial slur, and that is stuck in his head for a long time, this poem is straight forward, and there is nothing to be hidden throughout the poem that’s what makes it straight forward it is simple to read and leaves the reader stunned with the use of racism that turned a happy nursery rhyme into a more shocking climax of the
The black rage is activated through the continual disavowed manner of which black people’s humanity is called into question. GC laments, “To be regarded always as subhuman is a stultifying experience.” Black rage is the result of a constant disengagement of seeing the worth of a person. GC realizes that in order for black people to overcome such trauma there must be an outlet. Black rage is the outlet from which they notice that black people deal with the hopelessness. The genius in thier estimation is that black folks find theses outlets in so many different ways –church, barbershop, home and a myriad of other places. Oftentimes these places are fortitudes of solace that solidify status to a people who have been deemed
Even though they are innocent, blacks still get arrested in the most part of cases. The difference between these two authors are how they portray the messages of racism where Rankine shows it through images and artwork while Smith shows it through deep and powerful poems. For example, Rankine shows an image of “stop-and-frisk” policy where it shows that cops still stopped and questioned blacks even though they are not doing anything wrong. The reason why the cops stopped them is because of their skin color and the cops think that blacks always do suspicious things. All these African Americans are always the victims of suspicious crimes as it shows in the images. In addition, Smith expresses his emotions through poems, such as A History of Violence in the Hood, Dear White America and Dinosaurs in the Hood. In “A History of Violence in the Hood,” Smith writes: “& the preview just keeps repeating over & over.” It shows that history of violence for these African Americans never stop and the cycle keeps continuing where they always get arrested and questioned. In the end, they are always seen as a dangerous person and these people do not commit justice and fair treatment because of how the society treats them. In “Dear White America, “ Smith states: “I
“There is in fact no such thing as an instantaneous photograph. All photographs are time exposures, of shorter or longer duration, and each describes a discrete parcel of time.” -John Szarkowski
Countee LeRoy Cullen was one of the leading poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Although there is no real account of his early life, his accomplishments throughout his time was magnificent. During the Harlem Renaissance, he and other writers and poets used their work to empower blacks and talk about the ongoing struggle of blacks. His poem, “Incident”, depicts how overt racism was and how it attacked anyone regardless age or gender.
In Kiese Laymon “How to Slowly Kill yourselves and others in America” and Brent Staples “Black Men and Public Spaces” both essays deal with being an African American man but the authors respond in a different ways. At one point in history being an African American wasn’t always the easiest but two Authors shared their stories about the experiences they had which were very different. Although the color of their skin is the same and how they treated was as well both authors take different precaution’s to handle the situations they were in to persuade the audience on how to deal with the effects of racism. Both authors show their hidden message through the actions presented throughout the essays. Laymon`s casual tone and will to fight make him more relatable
Stories and poems are very different in many ways. Poems are often shorter than stories and have rhyme and meter. Stories do not have rhyme and meter and are usually much longer in length. Nevertheless a poem and a story can have many similarities. “Cherrylog Road” by James Dickey is a poem about a taboo relationship between two teenagers, while “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez is about an “angel” that has washed up on the shore of this small town. Both “Cherrylog Road” and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” have somewhat twisted theological parallels to the Bible.
One novel entitled Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of a wife who was sentenced to prison after shooting her husband in self-defense after he had contracted rabies and turned violent. Another novel entitled Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor details racism in America during the Great Depression (Goodreads). Despite the slavery era and modern day being two different periods of time, there are still some unresolved issues and situations in which revolve around the idea of racism and oppression.
As I read "Rage of a Privileged Class," I could not help but feel saddened, angered, and shocked by what blacks have on their minds, let alone what they feel. It provides an insight of what they have gone through, and what they continue to go through. The Author, Ellis Cose, offers stories, experiences, and his own encounters to help picture the frustration blacks have endured for years. The chapters of the book enlighten on the way they have been mistreated, and continue to be mistreated. The book as a whole is amazing, however, three chapters stand out in my mind. The chapters I would like to discuss are three, five, and nine.
As of late, racism has been a topic on everyone’s lips. Whether it’s because of police brutality in certain regions of the USA, or due to the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump. “I, Too” by Langston Hughes and “Dear White America” by Danez Smith both talk about this very serious topic. Although these two poems are from completely different time periods, both discuss the same matter, which is racism towards African Americans.
... overall themes, and the use of flashbacks. Both of the boys in these two poems reminisce on a past experience that they remember with their fathers. With both poems possessing strong sentimental tones, readers are shown how much of an impact a father can have on a child’s life. Clearly the two main characters experience very different past relationships with their fathers, but in the end they both come to realize the importance of having a father figure in their lives and how their experiences have impacted their futures.
...nal family. The second poem uses harsh details described in similes, metaphors, and personification. The message of a horribly bad childhood is clearly defined by the speaker in this poem. Finally, the recollection of events, as described by the two speakers, is distinguished by the psychological aspect of how these two children grew up. Because the first child grew up in a passive home where everything was hush-hush, the speaker described his childhood in that manner; trying to make it sound better than what it actually was. The young girl was very forward in describing her deprivation of a real family and did not beat around the bush with her words. It is my conclusion that the elements of tone, imagery, and the recollection of events are relevant to how the reader interprets the message conveyed in a poem which greatly depends on how each element is exposed.
African-Americans’/ Affrilachians’ Suffering Mirrored: How do Nikky Finney’s “Red Velvet” and “Left” Capture events from the Past in order to Reshape the Present? Abstract Nikky Finney (1957- ) has always been involved in the struggle of southern black people interweaving the personal and the public in her depiction of social issues such as family, birth, death, sex, violence and relationships. Her poems cover a wide range of examples: a terrified woman on a roof, Rosa Parks, a Civil Rights symbol, and Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, to name just a few. The dialogue is basic to this volume, where historical allusions to prominent figures touch upon important sociopolitical issues. I argue that “Red Velvet” and “Left”, from Head off & Split, crystallize African-Americans’ /African-Americans’ suffering and struggle against slavery, by capturing events and recalling historical figures from the past.
Both authors use figurative language to help develop sensory details. In the poem It states, “And I sunned it with my smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles.” As the author explains how the character is feeling, the reader can create a specific image in there head based on the details that is given throughout the poem. Specifically this piece of evidence shows the narrator growing more angry and having more rage. In the short story ” it states, “We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among bones.” From this piece of text evidence the reader can sense the cold dark emotion that is trying to be formed. Also this excerpt shows the conflict that is about to become and the revenge that is about to take place. By the story and the poem using sensory details, they both share many comparisons.
In the third stanza, the language becomes much darker, words like: anger, explode, and against make this stanza seem even more warlike than the first stanza.
...r wealth. As the poem progresses, Baca’s writing tone is switched to anger. The angry tone expresses the writer’s feelings towards racial discrimination and both immigrants and those living in poverty. The reader is able to easily identify the tone of the poem because it is shaped by the use of powerful imagery, significant symbolism, and insensitive diction.