While all the other children are in school learning, and being; for the most part, obedient and civil youngsters , the seven dropouts “being cool” at the golden shovel in the story “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks do not realize the amount of damage their doing to their futures by living the lifestyles they do. The work is a condensed yet concise statement on the recklessness of youth who are like cars without brakes in the frenzy of youth. They do not anticipate an accident awaiting them in their uncontrolled life. They do whatever they perceive to be “real cool,” (1) and this nonchalant uncaring way is the latest “in” thing to do. As they take pride in declaring that they had left school and they “lurk late” (3). Throughout the poem the speakers show a level of academic delinquency that amplifies the underlying depth of Brooks work through the use of connotative language, tone, and form.
Throughout the poem Brook’s tone centers on the speaker’s rebellion and wasteful ways. Their temporarily happy with the decisions they’ve made but again don’t realize that these choices will ultimately hinder what type of life they will later lead. Additionally, the tone of the poem is upbeat and flamboyant until the last line “We die soon”, (8) which seems to carry the most weight with it in the story; it indicates brooks view that street people have a lower chance of being contributing members of society and therefore are more likely to deal in dangerous situations that will more than likely be the cause of a shortened life. Also, the quick paced style of the work resonates with the speaker’s carefree ways of living. They lead a hard and fast life living one day to the next without the slightest concern for tomorrow. Their getting no educa...
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...ker’s get their message across to the reader. Every line consists of merely three words, and the words used in the poem are sharply condensed to exaggerate the ideas of the speaker’s through poor grammar and word usage, but nonetheless directs the reader’s attention through the work to deliver the message directly as Gwendolyn brooks intended it to be.
Brook’s poem “We Real Cool” Is an example of what type of lifestyle young people should strive to avoid and also serves as a kind of red flag that demonstrates what will more than likely happen as a result of leading previously mentioned lifestyle. In a world where people are primarily judged on appearances and intellectual ability, the speakers of the poem will find that life beyond youth will be arduous and difficult without a proper education and life skills required to be a contributing member of any society.
The poem “We Real Cool” is the story of young kids, possibly teens, who are rebellious, uneducated, and arrogant. It states: “We real cool. We left school. We lurk late. We strike straight. We sing sin. We thin gin. We jazz June. We die soon.” (l.1-8) The poem talks about the pool players and their lives. It seems as though the pool players are school aged because the poet says, “We left school.” (l.1-2) This line shows how they have no interest in school or learning. Since they choose to ditch school, they are most likely uneducated or immature therefore, their behavior throughout the poem, is not too surprising.
Baldwin gives a vivid sketch of the depressing conditions he grew up on in Fifth Avenue, Uptown by using strong descriptive words. He makes use of such word choices in his beginning sentences when he reflects back to his house which is now replaced by housing projects and “one of those stunted city trees is snarling where our [his] doorway used to be” (Baldwin...
While Loewald’s poem is spoken in the voice of society and explains the role of a model minority to the ‘little migrants’; Lesson’s poem is almost an answer to the speaker. He does not state what the ideal immigrant must do to please society but how society’s misconceptions of them will make them stronger. It is about survival and its main purpose is to empower those who have been constantly knocked down by the society they live in but are not a part of. The language that is used in this poem depicts the speaker as invincible. Not only is he an unexplainable, unreliable maniac but he is also too great to overcome. The usage of these powerful terms goes into play with the overall message of this poem;what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Brooks’ selection of single syllable words helps set the rhythm of a jazz mood. The monosyllable words provide a rhythmical tool for generating a snappy beat to her tale. Her repetition of rhyming words close together adds unity to the poem. By placing the one syllable words close together: “cool / school” (1-2) and “sin / gin” (5-6), it emphases each word. The feelings and imagery are clear in this poem. The rhyming lines in her verse contain only three words, and it keeps the poem’s rhythm moving. The short verse makes it easy to remember. The short lines speed it up, but the sound on each stop really stands out. Only the subtitle is longer, which Brooks utilizes to encompass the setting. Her careful use of short words keeps the beat and describes what the boys are doing, like leaving school, or staying out late. These simple
"We Real Cool" is a short, yet powerful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks that sends a life learning message to its reader. The message Brooks is trying to send is that dropping out of school and roaming the streets is in fact not "cool" but in actuality a dead end street.
Social inequality has been prevalent in modern-day America, where you could get picked on for just wearing the wrong brand or hairstyle. This occurs the most upon people who are struggling to adjust to adulthood; teenagers. Social inequality has and still is affecting teenagers across the world, and writers are writing about this problem in order to raise awareness and to change the view of the public. These authors write about example in which the inequality is demonstrated, hoping to present a different perspective and to motivate the reader against social inequality. However, not enough awareness has been raised to help prevent it. This is working, but not quickly, but it shows that things like books and music can help to raise awareness,
These teenagers don't like or respect their parents very much. One asks: "My God, are we gonna be like our parents?" Another in the group replies: "When you grow up, your heart dies." But the storm clouds over their lives are really the result of rigid high school caste systems.
Today’s society as well as the majority of our schools can definitely improve on how it encourages creativity and individuality in today’s youth. A lot of the time, it’s hard to do this, but with smaller classrooms, more qualified and devoted teachers, and more cooperation from the students, everyone’s needs could be met, and students would receive a better education. Many of today’s schools have no tolerance for anything that may go against the “norm.” Schools today can allow for individuality and differences in students, but they either choose not to or are not aware that anything is wrong with the way they do things. In Melville’s, Billy Budd, there are examples of this stifling of individuality. The crew members on board the “Avenger” are made to all conform and follow orders without question. Through Claggart, the men’s individuality and rights as people are taken away through fear. No matter what anyone is trying to accomplish, satisfying everyone is almost always impossible. It is no different in today’s school system, satisfying everyone is difficult. Students are not allowed to express themselves as freely as they should. This is not the case in all schools, but it is Especially since incidents like those at Columbine High School, schools now view acts of individuality and creativeness as those of malicious intent. There is a kind of intolerance for those who act differently from the majority. Ever since the two boys from Columbine murdered their classmates, everyone has been extremely cautious about everything from actual death threats, to mere heated discussion between classmates. It is almost to a point of overkill.
During the poem the speaker does not address his readers. The readers are simply overhearing a man assessing the society in which he lives as he daydreams about what is could be and yet what it is not. It is evident that his goal is to get the readers to look down upon this society which is so caught up in daily routine; prohibiting anyone from having freedom of imagination. This detachment that is created between the speaker and his readers incorporated with the boring monotone at the very beginning of the poem gives the readers a negative impression of the society before they begin to analyze the actual words of the poem.
One of the main themes of “We Real Cool” is wasted youth, which is hinted at its title. The title is a sentence using slang and improper grammar, which could reflect the wasted potential of black youth, particularly young, black adolescents, who either skipped school or dropped out completely in order to enjoy their freedom in the streets. Instead of using “really cool,”
When life becomes overwhelming during adolescence, a child’s first response is to withdraw from the confinement of what is considered socially correct. Individuality then replaces the desire to meet social expectations, and thus the spiral into social non-conformity begins. During the course of Susanna’s high school career, she is different from the other kids. Susanna:
Brooks concludes the poem by explaining how Sadie's children receive an incredible gift of vitality from her. Sadie's daughters lead lives that are guided by their mother's example rather than by the restraints of society. Then there is Maud, "a thin brown mouse," "living all alone / in this old house" (18-20). Brooks uses this image of solitude to convey her message one last time. By doing only what society expects--by going to college and living a "respectable" life that is free of risk--one is likely to become unhappy and ultimately to die alone.
Youth individually is important in this society. If not, the youth of this society are just like everyone else, which discourage them to be themselves. A very humorous, intellectual man, author Mark Twain created a satire which became a lecture in 1882, to show the humor of society to the youth. In “Advice of Youth” Mark Twain informs the youth through logical appeals, irony, and parallelism.
Teenagers often find themselves going through the motions of doing what they are told when they are told to do it. In conforming to societies norms teenagers begin to feel as if they blend in and nothing is really special about them. John Updike was able to write a coming of age story in which his main character Sammy gets shoved into adulthood rather quickly over spontaneous decision. Through Sammy’s thoughts, intense observations, and his actions we are able to see his deep depravity and his longing to stand out from the crowd.
In life poor decisions are made which leads to repercussions that can land anyone in a difficult situation. For example, A teenager drops out of high school, hangs out with a negative group of friends who encourage rebellion, and ends up uneducated out in the streets doing illegal activities; that choice to leave school has created many other problems because of it. In the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, Brooks gave a genuine answer to what commonly happens when the negative choice of dropping out of school can lead one; “We Left school, We Lerk late, We die soon” (732-733). Many people drop out of school and become very successful however that is not the case for all people so when a kid makes that choice poor things can happen.