The Black Counter-Culture in "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
After reading the poem "We Real Cool," by Gwendolyn Brooks, most people think that Brooks is making an ironic statement. Most will read the poem and think that Brooks is being sarcastic by using simple language and in the end asserting that the seven pool players will die soon, or more broadly that all who speak in this manner will die soon. No doubt some people will see Brooks' statement "We/Left school" as the beginning of her disapproval of a lack of an education, and that the lines of the poem represent the thoughts or statements of the pool players. I disagree. There are too many other factors in and around the poem for Brooks to merely be writing a sarcastic poem about? whom? What Brooks is saying through the speaker of the poem is that Blacks in America are at the fledgling stage of finding their own voice, and they are willing to do anything, even die, in order to be heard and noticed.
First of all, Brooks is an African-American individual. She was born in 1917 and would have been discriminated against in Topeka where she was born, and even in Chicago where she grew up and went to school. She lived to see the effects of the ever-increasing freedom of the African-American people, and experienced it firsthand. After Brown vs. The Board Of Education of Topeka Kansas and the end of World War Two, Blacks were embarking on a new journey. They had come from slavery to separate-but-equal, but now the new problem for blacks was identity. What is an ideal black man? What does an African American stand for--or against for that matter? We are, but who are we? These are only a sample of the questions expressed through the action of the poem, and its exposition in t...
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... and especially money are not given up easily.
In conclusion, the author uses other devices to help point the way to understanding. For one thing, she uses repetition in the word "We" to emphasize the separate nature of the group. But, repetition also emphasizes rhythm in the poem?s reading. When one reads the poem, the "We" should be emphasized as its own separate syllable, when it is at the end of a line. And speaking of rhythm, the poem also exhibits a unique rhythm that goes against the convention of stressed and unstressed syllables. In the poem, the words are stressed syllables and the unstressed syllables come with the periods and at the end of the lines. And so the poem itself is a statement by Brooks that the African American voice is coming into being. It is counter-culture, counter-convention, and it is steadfast to the death of all who hearken to it.
The poem 'We Real Cool' by Gwendolyn Brooks is a stream of the thoughts of poor inner city African-Americans who have adopted a hoodlum lifestyle. Though many can have different interpretations of this poem, it is fair to look at the life and career or the works and influences of Gwendolyn Brooks.
In “We Real Cool,” by Gwendolyn Brooks, one can almost visualize a cool cat snapping his fingers to the beat, while she is reading this hip poem. Her powerful poem uses only a few descriptive words to conjure up a gang of rebellious teens. Brooks employs a modern approach to the English language and her choice of slang creates a powerful jazz mood. All of the lines are very short and the sound on each stop really pops. Brooks uses a few rhymes to craft an effective sound and image of the life she perceives. With these devices she manages to take full control of her rhyme and cultivates a morally inspiring poem.
...attack Cuba and the Soviet Union violently. Thus, the President furthers his main objective of avoiding war with Soviet Union by asserting his legitimate power, seeing that he possesses the most power out of all the members in the exComm.
Cuban President Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his nation from an attack by the U.S. Eve...
Before we can begin to discuss the reasons that the disorder is more commonly diagnosed in men, we must first understand some background information on the disorder itself. Antisocial personality disorder was first introduced as a disorder in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association (Moran, 1999). Its overall prevalence is about 3% and 1%, in the male and female populations respectively, according to the DSM-IV-TR. Other studies report varying percentages. If the population is a prison, forensic, or substance abuse treatment setting, the prevalence is even higher (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). In a number of studies, the prevalence rate was found to be as high as 40-60% in the male prison population.
The first part of the disorder that needs to be explored is the symptoms. “The essential feature of Antisocial Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).” Some examples of this are that people with this disorder frequently commit acts that could be grounds for arrest (but they do not always get arrested), mutilation of small animals in childhood, or the beating of ones spouse or child. A person with this disorder usually seems to have an artificial charm and can be very manipulative, which may have led to many of the murders in the headlines above. Another key feature of this disorder is that individuals suffering from this disorder tend to be irresponsible, especially in the workplace and finances. The individuals tend to fail at keeping a job for very long and cannot keep track of their spending. Another key feature of the disorder is that the individual usually doesn’t care about the safety of themselves or others. This behavior ...
This chapter attempts to focus upon the problem of identity that confronted the African-Americans in America. Thus it investigates the African-American’s identity dilemma as shown in the poetry of Claude McKay and Langston Hughes. At the same time, it provides a solution for the African-American’s problem of estrangement and identity crisis. But while McKay’s self-rejection of his blackness urges him to trace the quest for identity in exile, Hughes’ self acceptance of his blackness enables him to reconcile with the white oppressors who stripped the black race from its identity. Moreover, it sheds light upon the psychological consequences that resulted from the violation of the African-American’s identity. Furthermore, this chapter shows the African-American’s self debasement, helplessness, and double consciousness that emanate from the sense of uprootedness.
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:
Current seat belt law originated from federal legislation in the 1960s that made it mandatory for all automobile manufacturers to include seat belts in their vehicles as a standard feature. Originally, the purpose of a seat belt was not to protect the occupants in the case of a crash, but rather to physically keep them in the vehicle, as driving was bumpy business.
Anti-Social Personality Disorder is a classified personality disorder in which a person, sometimes referred to as a “psychopath”, has a lack of empathy, an increased chance of acting violently towards others, and a complete disregard for authority and punishment. Prevalent features and symptoms include: shallow emotions, irresponsibility, mistrust of others, reckless thrill-seeking, disrespect for the law, prone to lash out with physical violence, harmful impulsiveness, arrogance, manipulative, greedy, lack of kindness or compassion, disrespect for others, and dishonesty (Psychology Today, n.d.). A main factor of this disorder is the inability to process, interpret, and display emotion, even fear. An example is that most criminals with this disorder respond drastically different to their sentencing than normal. They seem relaxed and unable to process it on an emotional level. They are also fully aware of what they are doing, and have no sense of distorted reality, or remorse which classifies them as sane people. They also have neurotransmitter deficiencies in the brain, such as reduced serotonin and dopamine (Freedman & Verdun-Jones, 2010). The overall population of people having this disorder is a small amount, about 3% and higher in prisons and abuse clinics which is around 70%. Also, because of their constant involvement in violence, most people diagnosed with this disorder die by violent means such as suicide and homicide (Internet Mental Health, n.d.).
The tropical island of Cuba had been an object of empire for the United States. Before the Missile Crisis, the relationship between Castro and the US were strained by the Bay of Pigs occurrence in 1961. This was where counterrevolutionary Cubans were American funded and tried to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. However, the counterrevolutionaries failed. Castro then found an alliance with the Soviet Union and an increase of distrust that Castro had on the US. On January 18, 1962, the United States’ Operation Mongoose was learned. The objective would be “to help the Cubans overthrow the Communist regime” so that the US could live in peace. Consequently, Castro informed the Soviet Union that they were worried about a direct invasion on Cuba, thus longed for protection against th...
Ogloff, J. R. (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, (40), 519-528.
Antisocial Personality Disorder, also informally known as psychopathy/sociopathy, is a disorder where people elicit manipulative behaviors and lack morals. This includes disregard for rules, violence, superficial charm, promiscuity, a superiority complex, and difficulty forming attachments. This is said to be caused by genetics as well as modeling, or watching other people perform this kind of behavior. 3.3% of Americans are diagnosed with Antisocial Personality disorder. It’s 70% more common in males than females and is seen greatly in
We have all heard the excuses before, “do I have to wear it? It isn’t like it’s going to protect me,” “it’s uncomfortable, I’m only going around the corner,” or “I’d rather be thrown out of the vehicle than to be stuck in a seat belt.” No matter how good of a driver you are, or you think you might be, there are always situations that are beyond your control. Such as, bad weather, drunk drivers, and road conditions. Sometimes, seat belts can be a life or death in an automobile accident. Not only is wearing your seat belt every time you get in a vehicle, but it is required by law in 49 states, with the exception of New Hampshire. Although seat belts are known to lock up and wrinkle your clothes, I believe that wearing your seat belt is beneficial because every fourteen seconds someone is injured in a traffic crash. Seat belts are not only known for holding you in place during a collision, but more importantly the are known to save the lives of the occupants in the vehicle.
We have all heard the excuses before, "It's uncomfortable, I'm only going around the corner", I'd rather be thrown out of a car than be stuck in a seatbelt," and my favorite, "I'm a good driver I don't need to wear one." Well you may be a good driver but there are situations beyond your control such as bad weather, road conditions and not to mention other drivers that can affect your safety. Seat belts can mean the difference between life and death in an auto accident. Wearing a seat belt every time you enter a vehicle is not only the smart thing to do it is the right thing because it saves lives, it's the law and it will save you money.