Analysis Of Gwendolyn Brooks Life For My Child Is Simple

In 2014 when addressing immigration, former president Barack Obama said, “My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.” This powerful statement has a unique approach on what it is to be American- accepting our different cultural identities. However, for many minorities including myself, it is difficult to embrace the roots of our culture because of the fear of oppression. Through the pieces of literature we read in class, my understanding of American identity broadened because it showed how embracing your culture is powerful in taking a stand against societal injustices. The literature has was also the inspiration to interview my father, an immigrant, to tell his story.
The poem,“Life for My Child is Simple”, by Gwendolyn Brooks illustrates the lessons minorities are taught at a very young age about overcoming societal oppression. Brooks’s purpose of writing the poem was to teach her son that despite the obstacles he will face in society, he should never give up on reaching towards his goals. Brooks states, “Not that success, for him, is sure, infallible. But never has he been afraid to reach.” Similar to the message of the poem, my parents raised me to achieve greatness despite the societal persecution. Also, my parents abandoned our culture in order to help my

Truth, being an African American woman and former slave, used her identity to her advantage when speaking out against racism and sexism. She says, “ I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?”, in order to demand equality. Her speech is noteworthy because she revealed her cultural background as a slave to send a bigger message about the importance of