Literary Analysis Of Liberty Needs Glasses, By Tupac Shakur

1705 Words4 Pages

“excuse me but lady liberty needs glasses / and so does mrs justice by her side” (Lines 1-2). “Liberty Needs Glasses” written by Tupac Shakur is a poem he wrote criticizing the way the justice system and the liberty this country has presented over the years. Both Lady Liberty and Mrs. Justice always seem to look right over injustices and infringements on liberty in America. Rather than giving justice to everyone Lady Liberty and Mrs. Justice pick and choose who gets justice. Shakur stresses the imperfections of justice and liberty as well as the flaws with both. As well as for a country that values liberty and justice, America should open its eyes and see what is truly going on. Nevertheless, needing glasses to be able to function the way they are supposed to. Furthermore, the structure Shakur uses are the free verse style. A free verse being a literary device that does not have any rules. However, it can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. He uses this style to create metaphors and similes to connect to the prejudice in …show more content…

In “excuse me but lady liberty needs glasses / and so does mrs justice by her side / both the broads r blind as bats / stumbling thru the system" (Lines 1-4) he uses simile to compare them to bats by being blind during the daytime and failing to see what is really going

Show More
Related

  • The Great Scarf Of Birds Analysis

    595 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem opens upon comparisons, with lines 3 through 8 reading, “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets/ of their branches. The maples/ were colored like apples,/part orange and red, part green./ The elms, already transparent trees,/ seemed swaying vases full of sky.” The narrator’s surroundings in this poem illustrate him; and the similes suggest that he is not himself, and instead he acts like others. Just as the maples are colored like apples, he

    Read More

  • Learning To Read And Write By Frederick Douglass And Malcolm X

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone remembers when they learned to read and write some more than others. Even well known people like Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X. They wrote narratives, “Learning to Read And Write” by Frederick Douglass and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, to show us when, where, and how they learned to read and write. Both authors go through struggles that we would never think could or would happen. Even though they go through struggles they still became eager to learn more to better themselves. It gave them power they never thought they could achieve. They have many similar and different trials that they went through so they could learn how to read and write.

    Read More

  • Book Of Negroes Literary Analysis

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Laurence Hill’s novel, The Book of Negroes, uses first-person narrator to depict the whole life ofAminata Diallo, beginning with Bayo, a small village in West Africa, abducting from her family at eleven years old. She witnessed the death of her parents with her own eyes when she was stolen. She was then sent to America and began her slave life. She went through a lot: she lost her children and was informed that her husband was dead. At last she gained freedom again and became an abolitionist against the slave trade. This book uses slave narrative as its genre to present a powerful woman’s life.She was a slave, yes, but she was also an abolitionist. She always held hope in the heart, she resist her dehumanization.

    Read More

  • The Book of Negroes Expository Essay

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is impossible for anyone to survive a horrible event in their life without a relationship to have to keep them alive. The connection and emotional bond between the person suffering and the other is sometimes all they need to survive. On the other hand, not having anyone to believe in can make death appear easier than life allowing the person to give up instead of fighting for survival. In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo survives her course through slavery by remembering her family and the friends that she makes. Aminata is taught by her mother, Sira to deliver babies in the villages of her homeland. This skill proves to be very valuable to Aminata as it helps her deliver her friends babies and create a source of income. Aminata’s father taught Aminata to write small words in the dirt when she was small. Throughout the rest of the novel, Aminata carries this love for learning new things to the places that she travels and it inspires her to accept the opportunities given to her to learn how to write, read maps, and perform accounting duties. Early in the novel Aminata meets Chekura and they establish a strong relationship. Eventually they get married but they are separated numerous times after. Aminata continuously remembers and holds onto her times with Chekura amidst all of her troubles. CHILDREN. The only reason why Aminata Diallo does not die during her journey into and out of slavery is because she believes strongly in her parents, husband and children; therefore proving that people survive hardships only when they have relationships in which to believe.

    Read More

  • Literary Techniques Used In Keep Ya Head Up In Tupac Shakup

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    “While the rich kids is drivin ' Benz ,I 'm still tryin ' to hold on to my survivin ' friends.” In this quote Tupac had his audience take a second to image a rick kid driving in the hood with a Benz while a poor African Amirian boy is struggling to keep his friends. Tupac uses his lyrics to help paint a picture though his lyrics of the life of a black person which brings us to Imagery. The use of imagery in this song is amazing. Without even watching the music video and just listening to the song I could easily image everything that Tupac was trying to explain. This is what makes Tupac the best rapper still till this day! Another use of imagery is when he said “Dying inside, but outside you 're looking fearless, While tears, is rollin ' down your cheeks”. By this quote we as the audience should realize that there is more to this song that Tupac is trying to explain. In this quote I feel as though he was explaining that as African Americans more so black women tend to always wear this smile on our face no matter the situation when we know something in us is dying or is just not right. For some reason us black women have a habit of hiding our true feeling and situations. Last was the use of symbols which ties in with imagery. “They got money for wars, but can 't feed the poor”. What was Tupac really trying to say? This quote symbolize so much about America as a whole, and how as a nation we spend so much of our money on weapons for warfare but yet there are little kids who go days and weeks without no food. Is that fair? This quote symbolized pain and loss of hope because they (poor people) will never see a happy day. As they say we have to have the poor to have the

    Read More

  • Radicalism In The New Negro, By Alain Locke

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The New Negro” as described by Alain Locke is seeking social justice, however he is doing so in a way different from the various forms of resistance that preceded him. Locke describes a shift from radicalism in the fight for social justice to a need to build a relationship between races. The “New Negro” has come to the realization that assimilation into American culture is not a viable answer; therefore he has decided to build his own culture in collaboration with American culture. The construction of this culture became known as The New Negro Movement or The Harlem Renaissance. This was the attempt of the black community to birth for themselves a status quo in which they were no longer defined by their oppressors’ views. It was with in

    Read More

  • Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: Abolish Censorship

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1950s, America was facing the competitions with Soviet Union. Cold War, fear of atomic warfare, and communism influences intensified the society’s instability. What’s more, many social problems attracted people’s focus: many writers “concerns about censorship and conformity during a period when free expression of ideas could lead to social and economic ostracization” (Telgen 138). Many essays and novels reflected this social background. However, one author, Ray Bradbury, became a preeminent writer in that era. His work not only pointed out that the people are becoming more and more apathy as well as the censorship problem, but also showed people’s fear about war.

    Read More

  • Ethics in Black Like Me by John Griffin

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Black Like Me is the incredibly interesting story of John Griffin, a Caucasian man who decided to try being African American in the south during the 60s. In this analysis paper I will be addressing the ethics of this project, his potential self-deception, his ability to pass unnoticed as an imposter, along with his courage for attempting such a dangerous project in the Deep South. His project was a success and a remarkable accomplishment for such an individual.

    Read More

  • Charles Dicken's A Tale Of Two Cities By Tupac Shakur

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tupac Shakur once wrote about the rose that grew from the concrete, which by keeping hold of its dream proved nature’s law wrong. The motifs of the rose that grew from the concrete are repeated in Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities and reflected in the life of Tupac Shakur. Driven by a yearning for the redemption of their troubled pasts, Sydney Carton and Tupac make amends with those who hurt them, pledging themselves to a higher calling.

    Read More

  • Homer’s The Odyssey

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    The passage of the simile is the first verse paragraph following several prose paragraphs. The structure of the verse is loose in following rhythmic or syllabic patterns. Although the form does not have any specific significance to the content, perhaps it is written in verse to sound somewhat poetic. Because the scene is very descriptive and dramatic, it is fitting to write it in a poem-like structure rather than simple prose.

    Read More

  • The Language Of Oppression By Robin Bosmajian

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language always conveys a message. Language can convey a message that is full of manipulation. In Robin Lakoff’s essay, “Everybody’s a Politician”, she discusses how manipulation is used in day to day conversations, even if one is not intentionally trying to manipulate. Language can be used to dominate others. In the essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he explains the power of using names to define others. Language can change the way a person thinks. In the same essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he also discusses the way someone thinks can be changed by language. Lastly, language has the power to degrade an individual. In another essay, by Robin Lakoff, “You Are What You Say”, she explains how

    Read More

  • George Orwell's 1984

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Probably the most important thing to remember while reading 1984 is that Orwell never intended the book to be a prediction of the future. It was more or less a satire of political fiction, however, I believe Orwell was on the right track concerning future possibilities of a New World Order, or total government control. An interesting quotation from the book is from the "thought police" when they say "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever." I believe Orwell's hope in writing the book was to warn people of political warning signs he saw.

    Read More

  • Evolving Dimensions of Hip-Hop Culture: From Bronx to Mainstream

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    For example, Tupac commences his rap song by referring to poverty in the first few verses in his song as he states, “I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself/ Is life worth living should I blast myself? / I’m tired of being poor and even worse I’m black/ My stomach hurts so I’m looking for a purse to snatch,” (Shukar l. 2-4). In these verses Tupac indicates that many African Americans live in poverty and they are not given many opportunities to do well for themselves. Changes to better their situation seem unobtainable and he portrays the voice of impoverished groups as he questions his purpose in life. He contemplates whether or not he should continue living. This verse also indicates that people with very little opportunity must deviate from the norms which society has placed on them, meaning that because they have no opportunity they must resort to stealing in order to avoid

    Read More

  • George Orwell's 1984

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thinking back into history, many important events have occurred in history since the publication of 1984 by George Orwell in 1949. In no specific order there would be the Holocaust, The creation of the United Nations, NATO (North Atlantic treaty Organization), and even The Iron Curtain being established. After 1984 was published huge events also occurred in history. There was the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Korean war, the Vietnam War, the creation of the Berlin Wall, and the destruction of the Berlin wall, Joseph Stalin dies, and Khrushchev gains power....etc, etc. No matter when a book is published the events in history will always surround it, such as this book.

    Read More

  • 1984: Why Freedom is Important

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    The term `freedom' is often associated with the notion of living free of restraint and having an unfettered liberty to engage in rational actions with a sense that that our actions will not be controlled or interfered with. Given the above definition of freedom and the principles of positive and negative freedom, this essay shall seek to demonstrate that while they do not experience freedom fully, the proles are more free than Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four. This essay shall also discuss the reasons why we consider freedom to be important with a particular focus on our assumptions of human nature and its components.

    Read More

More about Literary Analysis Of Liberty Needs Glasses, By Tupac Shakur

Open Document