Poem And Twomorrow By Tupac Shakur

Even though some people are often blindsided by the luxuries and privileges they live with, large populations of the world don’t even have access to the extravagances some consider “human rights.” Written by Tupac Shakur, the poem “AND 2MORROW” illustrates the pains observed and felt by Shakur. Despite these adversities, he states that he remains hopeful of what will come “2morrow.” Throughout the entirety of the poem, Shakur shows that in troubling times, it is imperative that people stay optimistic. In conveying this theme, Shakur utilizes informal diction to make evident the conditions in which he lives, while also using shifts to further illustrate the central message. Firstly, Shakur consistently uses informal diction—like slang, for

Shakur starts the poem by establishing that his world “today” is full of treacheries like hate and fear, but the audience never sees these taking place. However, Shakur first shifts his poem in his switch to nighttime, as opposed to daytime. He writes that “tonight is filled with rage / violence in the air” (9-10), which not only is a change in time, but he also now illustrates the misfortunes in his neighborhood by discussing violence and stating that there are “children bred with ruthlessness because no one at home cares” (11). Yet again, Shakur is using a device—in this case a shift—to emphasize the poor conditions of his home. Ultimately, this shift shows that Shakur not only faced internal conflicts like anger and fear, but also overcame great external obstacles. With that being said, the most prominent shift of the poem illustrates Shakur’s ability to remain positive despite these conflicts. Shakur states, “But 2morrow I c change / a chance 2 build a new” (16-17) to communicate to the audience Shakur’s resilience in spite of the difficulties he faces. This shift is the epitome of the poem’s central message, as it is the point at which Shakur emphasizes the importance of positivity. Enduring extreme adversities, Shakur’s ability to remain positive is ultimately what leads to his success, as he knows he fought “with all…[his] heart 2 keep…[his] / dream alive”