“On the Subway,” by Sharon Olds as she contrasts the two worlds of a wealthy Caucasian and a indigent African-American. The Caucasian narrator, a female, describes how this black man appears to her as she fears for her life as if he is ready to prey on her. She brings two worlds from different backgrounds together through the use of imagery and fearful and hopeful tones. Throughout Olds poem imagery is constantly being used as a way to describe the world of this poor black man. In lines 2-10, she details the appearance of the black man, specifically “he has the casual cold look of a mugger” (line 8). Already viewing him as a thief because of his skin color. Next, she describes how his shoelace were tied, stating in lines 2-4 “in black sneakers …show more content…
I look at his raw face, he looks at my fur coat, and I don’t know if I am in his power —” focuses on the fact that she is wearing a very expensive clothing that this poor man has his eyes on. He looks as though he may attack her and take the dark fur from her. At this point Olds begins to question who is in control, realizing that she may not be in power and her views may be wrong all along. Towards the ending the tone changes to hopeful. She has come to an understanding of their two different worlds. Lines 26-31 “There is no way to know how easy this white skin makes my life, this life he could take so easily and break across his knee like a stick the way his own back is being broken,” the black man has now become powerful. She compares how the black man’s back is being broken relating to slavery where they used to work all day and get whipped, but just as his life is harmful so is hers; their worlds connect. At the ending she hopes for a brighter future for both the black man and herself; the world “light” brings on a more determined ending rather than a doubtful one. The tone in her writing develops a particular message to readers; from how the writer is frightened to how the white woman understands and hopes for a better
In this poem, “On the Subway”, written by Sharon Olds brings two worlds into proximity. We will identify the contrast that develops both portraits in the poem and discuss the insights the narrator comes to because of the experience. The author refers to several literary techniques as tone, poetic devices, imagery, and organization. The poem talks about a historical view based on black and white skin. It positions the two worlds the point of view of a black skinned and a white skinned. The boy is described as having a casual cold look for a mugger and alert under the hooded lids. On the other hand, based on his appearance the white skinned person felt threatened by the black boy. She was frightened that he could take her coat, brief case, and
“Immigrants at central station, 1951”, this poem is about the Skrzynecki family waiting to depart on a train at central station to a migrant. The first stanza describes the time and the atmosphere of the where the family were the family is situated. The poem begins by capturing a brief moment in time from the whistle declaring its arrival to the scene of leaving with it. “It was sad to hear the train’s whistle this morning” these words provoke sadness where it usually brings joy. This tell us that the Skrzynecki family were sad due to the fact that they were about to travel to the unknown. “All night it had rained.” The imagery in the first stanza is depressing, the poems tone here is sad. As the poem goes on it says, “But we ate it all” the metaphor here is used for positiveness. No matter how depressed they were they still enjoyed it. The second stanza is about
Without the use of stereotypical behaviours or even language is known universally, the naming of certain places in, but not really known to, Australia in ‘Drifters’ and ‘Reverie of a Swimmer’ convoluted with the overall message of the poems. The story of ‘Drifters’ looks at a family that moves around so much, that they feel as though they don’t belong. By utilising metaphors of planting in a ‘“vegetable-patch”, Dawe is referring to the family making roots, or settling down somewhere, which the audience assumes doesn’t occur, as the “green tomatoes are picked by off the vine”. The idea of feeling secure and settling down can be applied to any country and isn’t a stereotypical Australian behaviour - unless it is, in fact, referring to the continental
In Tim Seibles' poem, The Case, he reviews the problematic situations of how white people are naturally born with an unfair privilege. Throughout the poem, he goes into detail about how colored people become uncomfortable when they realize that their skin color is different. Not only does it affect them in an everyday aspect, but also in emotional ways as well. He starts off with stating how white people are beautiful and continues on with how people enjoy their presence. Then he transitions into how people of color actually feel when they encounter a white person. After, he ends with the accusation of the white people in today's world that are still racist and hateful towards people of color.
The death camp was a terrible place where people where killed. Hitler is who created the death camp for Jews. The death camp was used for extermination on Jews. This occurred on 1939 – 1945. The death camps were in the country of Europe. Hitler did all this because he didn’t like Jews and the religions. The book Night is a autobiography written by Elie Wiesel. The poem called First they came for the communist written by Martin Neimoller is a autobiography.
was found guilty and hanged (Dieters, 2012). Seven years later, Fitzpatrick’s former roommate confessed to the murder on his deathbed. Residents of Detroit were outraged that an innocent man had been put to death. Then, two years following Fitzpatrick’s execution, another Detroit resident, Stephen Simmons, was tried and convicted of killing his pregnant wife during a drunken rage. His execution was made into an event resembling a carnival, complete with a band, local merchants selling their goods, and a seating section for spectators.. When asked if he had any last words, Simmons recited a poem. His “appeal to the heavens” shocked witnesses. The execution was called “cruel and vindictive” by onlookers. The result of these two cases was an
trauma can have on someone, even in adulthood. The speaker of the poem invokes sadness and
In her poetry, Sonia Sanchez stresses the importance of black unity and taking action against white oppression in addition to writing about brutality in the African American community, the interconnection between African American women and men, family connections, and problems in society. She a notable poet who uses urban Black English in written form. She also endorsed the addition of African American research applications in organizations of higher educational institutions and was the first professor to offer a conference on literary works by The u. s. declares females while at the School of Pittsburgh. . She is a notable poet who uses urban Black English in written format. She also endorsed the addition of African American research applications
The diction Adame uses tries to describe the relationship between black and white. For example he states, “photographers stare and snap at the dead men, at the keyboard of rifles above their heads.” These two lines describe the white photographers starring at the dead black men and taking pictures of them for the newspaper. The newspaper that the white photographers are taking pictures for is symbolic because it is made up of the colors black and white. He also uses a metaphor in describing the rifles taken from the dead men. He says, “Keyboard of rifles,” which describes the rifles all lined up like the keys on a keyboard. The diction he uses in this poem really lets you understand the differences between black and white in the African town of Rhodesia. The author uses great detail to describe his poem. For example he writes, “ Rhodesia, sweaty flank of the world,” which lets the reader understand that Rhodesia is a hot place. He also writes, “I read as quietly as they lay.” This means that he is reading as quietly as the dead Africans lay, meaning very very quietly. The detail the author uses helps the reader tremendously understand the poem and the setting it is in.
This darkly satiric poem is about cultural imperialism. Dawe uses an extended metaphor: the mother is America and the child represents a younger, developing nation, which is slowly being imbued with American value systems. The figure of a mother becomes synonymous with the United States. Even this most basic of human relationships has been perverted by the consumer culture. The poem begins with the seemingly positive statement of fact 'She loves him ...’. The punctuation however creates a feeling of unease, that all is not as it seems, that there is a subtext that qualifies this apparently natural emotional attachment. From the outset it is established that the child has no real choice, that he must accept the 'beneficence of that motherhood', that the nature of relationships will always be one where the more powerful figure exerts control over the less developed, weaker being. The verb 'beamed' suggests powerful sunlight, the emotional power of the dominant person: the mother. The stanza concludes with a rhetorical question, as if undeniably the child must accept the mother's gift of love. Dawe then moves on to examine the nature of that form of maternal love. The second stanza deals with the way that the mother comforts the child, 'Shoosh ... shoosh ... whenever a vague passing spasm of loss troubles him'. The alliterative description of her 'fat friendly features' suggests comfort and warmth. In this world pain is repressed, real emotion pacified, in order to maintain the illusion that the world is perfect. One must not question the wisdom of the omnipotent mother figure. The phrase 'She loves him...' is repeated. This action of loving is seen as protecting, insulating the child. In much the same way our consumer cultur...
While on the subway, the speaker is sitting on the opposite side of the car, facing the boy. The speaker utilizes imagery in this line, “He has the casual look of a mugger, alert under hooded lids. He is wearing red, like the inside of the body exposed. I am wearing dark for fur, the whole skin of an animal taken and used.” This imagery appeals to the audience by the sense of sight. The speaker is depicting the boy’s appearance as well as her own. She does this to contrast the differences between his raw appearance and her opulent appearance. She wants to elucidate that he looks treacherous while she looks like she could be the victim of a burglary. All of the imagery in the rest of the poem serves to describe the variations between the boy and herself.
In the novel there were many events that showed how the African Americans were in this time period. One of them being the court case of Tom Robinson, who was put under arrest for raping a white girl. Even though the white girl was the one coming on to him this resulted in her father walking in on them and hitting his daughter. Know this should have ended with the girl getting in trouble, but that was not the case in this time period it was a white man word versus a black man word and in this time a black man’s word was worth less than a dime. This was also shared in some level in the poem, this mask that it says African Americans had to wear to hide there pain and sorrow is the same thing that Tom Robinson had to do when facing life in jail, blacks had no choice they knew their fate in the hands of the
In “on the Subway” the author Sharon Olds talks about two characters on a subway, by using similes and imagery.
The poem “ Who understands me but me” by Jimmy Santiago Baca. Is about being locked away in jail because in the poem it repeatedly saying how they take or more specifically “ They stop each hope so I have no passage out hell. Then the poem has a change in outlook it goes from feeling down to looking at the brighter side. It says “I can live
Fear is an amazing emotion, in that it has both psychological as well as physiological effects on the human body. In instances of extreme fear, the mind is able to function in a way that is detached and connected to the event simultaneously. In “Feared Drowned,” Sharon Olds presents, in six brief stanzas, this type of instance. Her sparse use of language, rich with metaphors, similes and dark imagery, belies the horror experienced by the speaker. She closes the poem with a philosophical statement about life and the after-effects that these moments of horror can have on our lives and relationships.