Jimmy Santiago Baca Oppression Poem Analysis

65 Words1 Page

Jimmy Santiago Baca's views on Oppression are clearly stated in his poem, "Oppression." Baca states "The sun will share your birthdays with you behind bars." This represents confinement. Baca went to prison because of petty crimes, this could be what the poem was referring to. And from that statement it's easy to determine Baca's feelings towards oppression which could be interpretated as anger and fear.

Show More
Related

  • Jimmy Santiago Baca's A Place To Stand

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    His audience can see, from his initial introduction to language, to his cultural education, to his superiors’ reaction to his literacy, that Baca’s willingness to speak out, to write poetry, and to communicate are inherent acts of resistance and revolution, no matter how inconsequential they may seem at face value. As his memoir is a depiction of a real life, whether liberation is or is not achieved is up for debate (if liberation is achievable at all), but, through the use of language, Baca establishes the beginning of his resistance to many of the vicious cycles which marginalization can perpetuate, a form of resistance that will hopefully continue on to aid the generations that may follow in his footsteps. Through language, Baca finds his self-worth and is able to acknowledge the systematic injustices that have plagued and destroyed facets of himself, as well as most of his family. Though language does not provide the opportunity to entirely reconstruct what has been lost, it can act as a safeguard against the possibility of even more devastation. Thus, the existence of A Place to Stand is a form of resistance in itself. Just like other texts by incarcerated figures, such as Wall Tappings and Mother California, Jimmy Santiago Baca’s memoir is a staunch reminder that incarcerated men and women desperately and unequivocally believe they need to be

    Read More

  • Analysis Of I Am Offering You This Poem By Jimmy Santiago Baca

    417 Words  | 1 Pages

    Love isn’t just giving or receiving material objects. Love is more about proving to the person, you don't have to give anyone anything to prove your love. Your honesty and heart should be enough. “I Am Offering You This Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca proves that there's a better way to show your love then being materialistic. In this poem Baca is writing to a loved one. He tells them that he doesn't have anything to give them except his love and this poem. He is giving this poem to them for when he's not there, they will always be reminded that he loves them. Just because someone doesn’t have a lot to give, doesn't mean they don't love you.

    Read More

  • Antigone And In The Time Of The Butterflies

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    Maya Angelou’s “Equality” depicts a more patient yet tenacious rebel than described in Dunbar’s poem. “You declare you see me dimly”, she begins, “through a glass that will not shine.” Maya describes the denial of her boldness, of her rebellion; but, she continues to march, chanting “Equality and I will be free. Equality and I will be free.” She identifies herself as a shadow, unimportant to those she opposes— but she intends to repeat the mantra “Equality and I will be free” until she is heard. The sixth stanza left me in literal tears (and I am not an emotional person, thank you very

    Read More

  • Resistance From Oppression in Horton and Wheatley's Poems

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    The back slave waits for his freedom. He knows he is created in the image of his God but his fairer fellows fail to see it. Phillys Wheatley and George Moses Horton give voice to the agony of the enslaved male and female. This essay presents an analysis of the poems On Being Brought from Africa to America and George Moses Horton: Myself by Wheatley and Horton respectively. The analysis discovers the message of resistance to the oppression of slavery, its effects and the hypocrisy of the “white Christian” found in these poems.

    Read More

  • Urban Black English Poem Analysis

    192 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Jimmy Baaca's Coming Into Language

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    He explains that “I could respond, escape, indulge; embrace or reject earth or the cosmos” (Baca 55). Baca was exploring on an endless journey without any boundaries, in which he could see his past floating around him. He saw his future and what language was doing to him. Baca expresses that “each word steamed with the hot lava juices of my primordial making, and I crawled out of stanzas dripping with birth-blood, reborn and freed from the chaos of my life” (55). Baca was no longer a captive of his own emotions never feeling like a victim of other people’s mockery and intimidation. He was physically in prison but in his poems, he was anywhere that he wanted to be. With the power of words Baca realized he could do anything and soon overcame his fears of

    Read More

  • Analysis Of I Am Offering This Poem

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1990 poem “I Am Offering This Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca is themed around the life of a prisoner who has nothing else to offer except poetry. As one learns, more about the author’s background, the context of the poem becomes clearer. Examine this piece of information taken from the biography of Baca, “A Chicano poet, Baca served a ten-year sentence in an Arizona prison and his poetry grows out of his experience as a convict” (Baca). Baca’s experience as a prisoner reflects in his writing in that prisoners are often deprived of their rights and many of their possessions while serving a sentence. In his poem, “I Am Offering This Poem”, Baca speaks from the point of view of a prisoner having nothing to offer his love interest except the

    Read More

  • Poem Analysis: Ballad By Sonia Sanchez

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    The most preeminent quality of Sonia Sanchez “Ballad” remains the tone of the poem, which paints a didactic image. Sanchez is trying to tell this young people that we know nix about love as well as she is told old for it. In an unclear setting, the poem depicts a nameless young women and Sanchez engaged in a conversation about love. This poem dramatizes the classic conflict between old and young. Every old person believes they know more then any young person, all based on the fact that they have been here longer then all of us. The narrative voice establishes a tone of a intellectual understanding of love unraveling to the young women, what she comprehends to love is in fact not.

    Read More

  • Jimmy Santiago Baca The Power Of Life Analysis

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    This rebellious action was a result from not being allowed to return to school so Baca would be able to read and write. He is then told by Captain (Mad Dog) Madril, “This committee cannot in good faith recommend school at the present time. Prisoner is assigned field duty for six months. Request for schooling will be considered at that point” (Baca 163). Baca was denied for education privileges because he was said to be, “- a menace to society,” (Baca 162) by a black sergeant. When assigned to the hole, he had the opportunity to get away from everything on the outside. The hole has a hold over Baca’s mind and brings back the memories to when he was a child and happy. In his poem, “I am Offering this Poem” Baca’s tone to his audience is all about poetry bringing comfort, warmth and protection. He writes, “Keep it, treasure this as you would if you were lost, needing direction, in the wilderness life becomes when mature” (“Offering”). Wanting an education, Baca soon realizes that poetry acts as a map or guide to get away, or finding a place back to somewhere or

    Read More

  • Robert Creeley Poem Analysis

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    Robert Creeley, a famous American poet, lived from 1926 to 2005. Creeley was normally associated as a Black Mountain poet because that is where he taught, and spent most of his career. Throughout his life, Creeley wrote many different pieces of poetry. Four great poems by Robert Creeley are, “For Love”, “Oh No”, “The Mirror”, and “The Rain”. The poem “For Love”,was written by Creeley for his wife. In this poem Creeley explains, the love someone has for another person, and how complicated it is making his life because the person doesn’t know how to explain their love. “Oh No” is a poem that is literally about a selfish person who ended up in hell, but this poem has a deeper meaning. Part

    Read More

  • Oppression in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oppression in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

    Read More

  • Jimmy Santiago Baca´s Poem "So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs from Americans"

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...r wealth. As the poem progresses, Baca’s writing tone is switched to anger. The angry tone expresses the writer’s feelings towards racial discrimination and both immigrants and those living in poverty. The reader is able to easily identify the tone of the poem because it is shaped by the use of powerful imagery, significant symbolism, and insensitive diction.

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Oppression Analysis

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There is no perfect relationship. The idea that there is gets us into so much trouble.”-Maggie Reyes. Kate Chopin reacts to this certain idea that relationships in a marriage during the late 1800’s were a prison for women. Through the main protagonist of her story, Mrs. Mallard, the audience clearly exemplifies with what feelings she had during the process of her husbands assumed death. Chopin demonstrates in “The Story of an Hour” the oppression that women faced in marriage through the understandings of: forbidden joy of independence, the inherent burdens of marriage between men and women and how these two points help the audience to further understand the norms of this time.

    Read More

  • The Black Woman Poem Analysis

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poetry is the ultimate form of expression, an arrangement that is so unique it has the ability to capture song, art, drama and movement into one. Not only has it become the text of passion and imagination but also our everyday language has been renewed and intensified so we see things in a new light, as if for the first time. Poetry does not abide by rules and formulas but instead represents imagination beyond the presence of an object. Above all poetry is a mystery and a challenge, to interpret, empathize and understand it is what makes it intriguing, consoling and sustaining to humans. Its power lies in its ability to use our personal affinities to sway our view of a poem, allowing us to hold more importance to it than it actually possesses. The anthology “then and now” focuses on indigenous poetry in Africa, the history, values and feelings behind the words that make their message so powerful. “The black woman”, written by former president of Senegal Léopold Senghor, tells a story of a beautiful untouched Africa before colonization. He becomes a type of messenger, expressing the joys and grievances felt by collective Indigenous community in Africa and similar injustices evident in many other parts of the world.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of I Know Why A Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    Those without freedom suffer through imprisonment. Not being to be one’s true self can result in damaging results in a person’s state of mind and success. A person who constantly feels the weight of discrimination is often lacking in complete happiness. In I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou uses narration to effectively achieve her purpose of illustrating that despite being oppressed, one still longs for freedom symbolism and imagery.

    Read More

More about Jimmy Santiago Baca Oppression Poem Analysis

Open Document