Strange fruit is a poem about a lynching, where two colored men were forced out of their cells by an angry mob and the men were lynched. The author, Abel Meeropol, wrote this poem when he saw a disturbing picture of two young colored men lynched and white people were amused by the event of the black’s death. It was published in 1937 and became famous when the famous singer, Billie holiday, sang the song on television. This poem is very dark and makes me feel curious about why they would act that way and makes me feel sad and bad for the men who got lynched. In the poem a colored man is being lynched and is describing how dark the event is and how the people act when they see the event. The point of view is from the author describing what he thinks about the picture that he saw. The author wrote this poem because he wanted to spread the word that racism is bad in the way of a poem. When the author wrote this poem he was disgusted to see that people were enjoying the death of two other men. In the event two men were lynched because an angry mob got …show more content…
The poem send this message with a sad and dark tone. The tone is really important in this poem because it makes the poem more depression and dark. The speaker of this poem uses a depression and sad emotion to discuss this poem. The speaker of the poem and the tone of the poem both make the poem sound intense and very heart breaking to hear that in the past people were treated differently just because of their skin color. Also, the poem really sends out the message that racism is a horrible thing and how brutal and disgusting that people will treat others with disrespect because of their skin color. This poem relates to history because the poem was written when racism was a big problem in society. I think that this poem was a big help to stop
“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday conveys the inhumane, gory lynchings of African-Americans in the American South, and how this highly unnatural act had entrenched itself into the society and culture of the South, almost as if it were an agricultural crop. Although the song did not originate from Holiday, her first performance of it in 1939 in New York City and successive recording of the song became highly popular for their emotional power (“Strange fruit,” 2017). The lyrics in the song highlight the contrast between the natural beauty and apparent sophistication of the agricultural South with the brutal violence of lynchings. Holiday communicates these rather disturbing lyrics through a peculiarly serene vocal delivery, accompanied by a hymn-like
This leads the reader to put the point of view of the poem into play. Because it talks of such a brother, and because Hughes’s was a revolutionary poet who constantly wrote on the struggles of the black man, then the reader is able to easily interpret the poem as a cry for the African-American man. Langston Hughes’s writing as an African American then makes the narration very probable and realistic. Another example of Hughes’s constant struggles with racism and his inner and thoughtful response to that is clearly seen when he recalls being denied the right to sit at the same table. His point of view is that he was not able to sit at the table because he was an African-American.
This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality, only to find out that at this time equality for blacks does not exist. It is written for fellow black men, in an effort to make them understand that the American dream is not something to abandon hope in, but something to fight for. The struggle of putting up with the racist mistreatment is evident even in the first four lines:
Strange fruit is an amazing dark poem that was sung by Billie Holiday as a very powerful deep meaning song. Strange Fruit is a terrifying protest against the inhumane acts of racism. Strange Fruit was about the murders and lynching going on in the south at the time from public hangings to burnings. The south has a cruel and terrifying past that still haunts people who live down there, reminding them that it was only a short time ago. Very rarely did any one person get prosecuted for killing a person of dark skin. It was difficult to bring suspected parties to trial when often times the whole town had some involvement.
The poem starts with two boys from different races in opposite side of a train. That itself symbolizes the separation among races and color. The author uses simile to describe the boys apparel; for example, the narrator describes the clothe of the african american boy as “ black
From my perspective, in the poem, he says that while riding through the Baltimore, he was excited and enjoyed every bit of his travel and sight that he had. During his travel he happened to notice a Baltimorean starring at him for no reason. Those made him wonder why the stranger was staring at him. He says in the poem in the second stanza that, he was a kid then who was just eight years old and the stranger who was starring was not anyone older than him, it was just another boy of the same age. Seeing him, the poet just smiled, but it was taken back when the other boy just stuck his tongue out and called him a "Nigger." This shows that even children are being taught racism at a young age and they keep blacks from thei...
Billie Holiday was a famous Harlem Renaissance jazz and blues singer. Her voice took on the emotion of the song, which was a quality not many singers had. Those strong emotions might have come from her cruel and misfortunate past. Holiday recorded many songs, but there was one song that made a huge impact. That song was Strange Fruit, a poem by Abel Meeropol that was set to music. The title came from the analogy that compared the lynched bodies of two men to fruit that hung on trees. Though Holiday was negatively affected by the song, Strange Fruit mostly impacted people’s lives positively. Even today, people are still being affected by Strange Fruit. Billie Holiday’s performances of Strange Fruit sparked a revolution that would later result
The ballad was an excellent tool of story telling which also had underlining meaning with how blacks were treated during this time in the middle of the century. The irony of the poem could be considered one of the biggest aspects of this poem because not only does it build up through the poem itself, but it describes how blacks dealt with injustice and fear that anything could happen to them at any time. Along with that, the language in the ballad provided an element that created imagery for the reader and a connection so that this poem is more memorable. With these aspects together, it shows what is actually at stake in the struggle for equality during a time of great tension for blacks in the United States.
The poem also focuses on what life was like in the sixties. It tells of black freedom marches in the South how they effected one family. It told of how our peace officers reacted to marches with clubs, hoses, guns, and jail. They were fierce and wild and a black child would be no match for them. The mother refused to let her child march in the wild streets of Birmingham and sent her to the safest place that no harm would become of her daughter.
Strange Fruit is a poem on the lynching in southern American at the time. The poet was Apel Meeropol, who was a middle age white, male from New York City. He was an English teacher who had a strong passion for poem and social activist. As a social activist he was very disturbed at the continuation of racism of America at the time and seeing a photograph of lynching put him over the edge
“Strange Fruit” is a poem that was written in 1937 by Abel Meeropol, who was inspired to write this poem when he looked at a picture of two teens, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, who were broken out of their jail cells, by a mob, and lynched. Meeropol "’was very disturbed at the continuation of racism in America, and seeing a photograph of a lynching sort of put him over the edge.’" (Npr.org) After reading the poem, I was mortified. The poem gives you a very graphic picture of the “fruit” hanging from the tree after the lynching. After reading the poem, I listened to Billie Holiday’s performance where she sang the poem. Her voice intensified it to a level that I didn’t know was reachable. “Strange Fruit” is overall, a frightening,
“Strange Fruit,” written by Abel Meeropol, published in 1937. Meeropol went to Dewitt Clinton High School and graduated in 1921. He then began to teach there for seventeen years. In the late 1930’s, Pellison said, “Meeropol ‘was very disturbed at the continuation of racism in America, and seeing a photograph of a lynching sort of put him over the edge’ (NPR). This picture which had haunted him for days, was his inspiration. Its message brings readers to realize what the strange fruit symbolizes to and gives the reader a sensation of imagery. The imagery in Abel Meeropol’s poem, Strange Fruit, reveals the brutal reality of racism in America during the early to mid 1900’s.
...ites a short 33-line poem that simply shows the barriers between races in the time period when racism was still openly practiced through segregation and discrimination. The poem captures the African American tenant’s frustrations towards the landlord as well as the racism shown by the landlord. The poem is a great illustration of the time period, and it shows how relevant discrimination was in everyday life in the nineteen-forties. It is important for the author to use the selected literary devices to help better illustrate his point. Each literary device in the poem helps exemplify the author’s intent: to increase awareness of the racism in the society in the time period.
However, the entire poem can be applied to any person, who wonders about the issue of identity. Langston is a black adult in a racist world. He offers to write a poem with a narrative that centers on a student, who is asked to write a page about his life. The speaker reflects on himself and notices that he is colored. That day when going home he noticed that he was the only colored student in his class.
The poem “The United Fruit Company” itself is considered as a social protest, and the protest topic is the history of inhumane doing of “The United Fruit Company” in the area of Central America. This poem is suitable for the comparison of the formalist way of viewing a poem and the non-formalist approach: it is based on historical facts, but carefully written so if we know nothing we can still understand it.