According to Newton’s Third Law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This concept was primarily applied to physics, but it is evident in many aspects of life. This universal law can be seen everywhere, from roller coasters in Hershey Park, to the grounding of the kid with the messy room, to the change winds before a storm, and, of course, to the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks. Spending her whole life in the poor inner-city, Brooks was surrounded not only by choices good and bad, but people living out the consequences of the choices they made. Brooks used these experiences to add depth and great lessons to her work. Much of Gwendolyn Brooks’ poetry centers around the concept that there are consequences for every action, and many of them are negative. Her poems, “The Mother”, “The Bean Eaters” and “Sadie and Maud” particularly feature this theme.
Gwendolyn Brooks was born to David Anderson Brooks and Keziah Wims on June 7, 1917. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to inner-city Chicago, where Brooks would stay for the rest of her life. Growing up as an african american in the mid twentieth century, Brooks battled a lot of racial discrimination. She attended three high schools in total, only two of which were even integrated schools. Not only was Brooks on the receiving end of discrimination from whites, but also from blacks with lighter skin than herself. This was very trying for Gwendolyn, as it would be for anyone. To combat the prejudice she encountered, Brooks spent many years working for the NAACP. Gwen went on to have two children, and as a family they continued living in Chicago until her death in early December, 2000.
Gwendolyn began writing at a very young age. According to Adventures in America...
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.... Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 8 May 2014 .
Bloom, Harold, ed. "'The Mother'." Gwendolyn Brooks, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 8 May 2014 .
Cone, Temple. "'Sadie and Maud'." In Kimmelman, Burt, and Temple Cone, eds.The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 8 May 2014 .
"Gwendolyn Brooks Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
Gwendolyn Brooks was an extremely influential poet. Her poems inspired many people. Brooks’ career started after publishing her first poem Eventide. This poem started Brooks’ career as a well-known American poet.
The life and art of the black American poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, began on June 7, 1917 when she was born in Topeka, Kansas. She was the first child of Keziah Corine Wims and David Anderson Brooks. When she was four, her family moved to their permanent residence on Champlin Avenue in Chicago. Her deep interest in poetry consumed much of her early life. For instance, Brooks began rhyming at the age of seven. When she was thirteen, she had her first poem, 'Eventide', published in American Childhood Magazine. Her first experience of high school came from the primary white high school in the city, Hyde Park High School. Thereafter, she transferred to an all-black high school and then to the integrated Englewood High School. By 1934, Brooks had become a member of the staff of the Chicago Defender and had published almost one hundred of her poems in a weekly poetry column. In 1936, she graduated from Wilson Junior College.
Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. McQuade, Donald, ed., pp. 113-117.
Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "The mother" tells us about a mother who had many abortions. The speaker is addressing her children in explain to them why child could not have them. The internal conflict reveals that she regret killing her children or "small pups with a little or with no hair." The speaker tells what she will never do with her children that she killed. She will "never neglect", "beat", "silence", "buy with sweet", " scuffle off ghosts that come", "controlling your luscious sigh/ return for a snack", never hear them "giggled", "planned", and "cried." She also wishes she could see their "marriage", "aches", "stilted", play "games", and "deaths." She regrets even not giving them a "name" and "breaths." The mother knows that her decision will not let her forget by using the phrase "Abortions will not let you forget." The external conflict lets us know that she did not acted alone in her decision making. She mentions "believe that even in my deliberateness I was not deliberate" and "whine that the crime was other than mine." The speaker is saying that her decision to have an abortion was not final yet but someone forced her into having it anyway. The external conflict is that she cannot forget the pain on the day of having the abortions. She mentions the "contracted" and "eased" that she felt having abortions.
Gelfant, Blanche H. "The Forgotten Reaping Hook: Sex in My Antonia." Bloom's Modern Critical Views, 103-123.
Gina Meyers and Jill McDonough both illustrate a lack of control within the poems “Hold it Down” and “Accident, Mass. Ave.”. “Hold it Down” by Gina Meyers describes a long narrative of the problem, a lack of control, impossibilities and frustration in everyday life, while “Accident, Mass. Ave.” presents a narrative of a problem, a moment of loss of control, aggression and frustration in a single moment that happen on a specific day. Similarly the poems are long and include long enjambed lines disturbed by few short and small lines. Contrasting the poems are ordered and structured very differently.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
" Bloom's Literature. Ed. Facts on File, Inc. N.p.:
Charters, Ann & Samuel. Literature and its Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 137-147. Print.
“Lucille Clifton.” Poets.org. The Academy of American Poets, 1997-2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/79 .
Fulfilling the roles of both mother and breadwinner creates an assortment of reactions for the narrator. In the poem’s opening lines, she commences her day in the harried role as a mother, and with “too much to do,” (2) expresses her struggle with balancing priorities. After saying goodbye to her children she rushes out the door, transitioning from both, one role to the next, as well as, one emotion to another. As the day continues, when reflecting on
Liscio, Lorraine. “Beloved’s Narrative: Writing Mother’s Milk.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, Vol.11, No.1 (Spring, 1992): 31-46. JSTOR. Web. 27. Oct. 2015.
Schultz, Jeffrey, and Luchen Li. "East of Eden." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 8
Wasley, Aidan. "An overview of “Mother to Son”." Poetry for Students. Detroit: Gale. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Gwendolyn Brooks once said “I felt that I had to write. Even if I had never been published, I knew that I would go on writing, enjoying it, and experiencing the challenge”. For some, writing may not be enjoyable or easy, but for Brooks writing was her life. Gwendolyn Brooks not only won countless awards, but also influenced the lives of several African Americans.