Race and culture are immensely fragile issues in modern day society that many people discuss with the utmost prudence, yet in the poems, Nothing’s Changed by Tatamkhulu Afrika and Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful people in a Mercedes by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the two poets extensively discuss and reflect upon the their surrounding cultures, and how they affect human nature. Both poems serve to highlight issues such as inequality and democracy, while one reminisces to a time of racial segregation; the other discusses, more subtly, a divide between the wealthy and poor. By juxtaposing the lifestyles of different people, through the use of structure, imagery, tone and literary techniques, such as alliteration, the two poets are able to …show more content…
In TS, Ferlinghetti emphasizes this through the use of a very fragmented structure. The poem is essentially structured as a free verse, with no punctuation, rhyme scheme, or uniformity. Furthermore, Ferlinghetti alters the indentation space on each line, causing the rhythm to break, as one reads the poem. The lack of a clear structure provides a visual snapshot of a single moment, and aims to express Ferlinghetti’s anger towards the issue of inequality, by portraying the poem, as a rant. Moreover, the alteration of indentation space and fragmented rhythm could’ve been used to replicate the partition between social classes, to emphasize that American society is broken in it’s own …show more content…
In Two Scavengers, Ferlinghetti juxtaposes the description of the garbage men with the elegant couple: the garbage men wear “plastic” blazers denoting pettiness and inferiority, are described as “scavengers,” suggesting that they live off foraging and hunting. A metaphor and simile are used to describe them “grey, iron hair,” along with the elder one being associated with a “gargoyle Quasimodo,” making them see soulless and unappealing. However, Ferlinghetti implies that this is how the rich perceive the garbage men, and that he in fact, admires them. Although, iron can be seen as relatively unattractive, it is very rigid and strong. Likewise, while the simile of a “gargoyle Quasimodo,” may suggest a deformed and repulsive creature, Quasimodo’s are also considered hardworking, loyal and are known for protecting people form evil spirits – similar to how garbage men help provide sanitation and prevent diseases. In fact, Ferlingetti further amplifies this notion of the garbage men being superior, by physically placing them on a higher ground, throughout the poem, “looking down”, making them seem superior to the couple. Moreover, the poet utilizes an ironic and sarcastic tone when referring to the rich couple, in order to further amplify his disgust and disliking towards them. He frequently repeats the word “elegant,” and mockingly refers to them as “cool,” “hip,” and “the
The juxtapositions of text and image, the places where text shifts from short prose passages to more traditional poetic line breaks, and the works of art draw readers to their own understanding of the unconscious prejudice in everyday life. Thus, Rankine has the capability to push her readers with the use of the second person, where the reader is really the speaker. This method helps establish a greater unity of people, where she chooses to showcase her work as a collective story for many. In this way, she guides the reader with the second person toward a deeper understanding of the reality of a ‘post-race world’, allowing the reader to experience the story as if it’s their own. The final section, focuses on the themes of race, the body, language and various incidents in the life of the narrator. In the end, Rankine admits that she, “…[doesn’t] know how to end what doesn 't have an ending” (159). It is what her audience chooses to do with the newfound self that they find, where their standing on the reality of differences
For example, in the first paragraph Eighners states that he researched the word “Dumpster” by writing to the Merriam-Webster to discover the origin of the word belongs to the “Dempster Dumpster,” (55). This is evident that the author is an educated individual which is not something the reader might have expected about a homeless person. By doing this, Eighner is grabbing the reader’s attention and steering them away from the fact that he has a low socioeconomic status. According to the third paragraph, Eighner also asserts his preference over the word “scavenging” than “dumpster diving” by stating that he likes “the frankness of the word” that makes it sound like an “honorable niche” (55). In this case, the author is being honest and not ashamed of his status or of the way society may perceives him as. He believes that being a scavenger is something he feels honorable about, and not something others may pity him for. This assertion makes the reader create a greater sense of respect for the author because Eighner is being honest and accepting his way of living by owing to what he has “learned as a scavenger,” (55). The reader may not expect the author to feel pride in being a scavenger, but Eighner emphasizes his perception in hopes of gaining the readers trust and respect to prove that
Hodes article places itself in the theoretical framing of Fields, Holt, and Stoler to argue “the scrutiny of day-to-day lives demonstrates not only the mutability of race but also, and with equal force, the abiding power of race in local settings.” By examining Eunice’s day-to-day experience, Hodes seeks to show how even though the identifiability of race may change from place-to-place and period-to-period, the power of race to effect lives is not challenged. Eunice’s story is an interesting one to highlight the changing nature of race construction. After the death of Eunice’s first husband, she found herself forced to do work she previously saw as work of black women. This helps strengthen Hodes’ argument of the power of race because just as Eunice was forced to work these jobs to survive, so...
In the novel “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the story is a direct letter to his son. This letter contains the tools and instructions that his son will need in order to be a successful “black body” in the modern society. Coates explains his life experiences and hardships he had to overcome because of the color of his skin. Coates pushes an urgent message to the world; discrimination is still prevalent and real in today 's society, and the world is still struggling to accept an equal life for blacks. Coates writings alter the minds of his readers and allow them to experience life through a black man 's eyes. Ta-Nehisi Coates does this by the use of rhetorical strategies like, repetition and tone, metaphors and similes, and
Humans are born, but people are made. Entering the world with minds shapeless and pure, the world is the sculptor that perverts the conscience and hardens the heart. Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif” deals with just that—who we are and who we are told to be. Though the actual races of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta, are left completely unknown, they are all but ignored. The story simmers with the wounds of stereotyping, racism, and socioeconomic divide. Morrison’s exclusion of Twyla and Roberta’s races brings forth the learned status of racism within the world of the story and the reality of the reader’s conscience.
The author states, “your poor empty head” and “your poor idle hands.” The narrator fakes sympathy in this text. The use of repetition conveys the narrator’s sarcasm because he pretends to be sympathetic when he really thinks very low of them. The author wants the reader to see the narrator’s belittling attitude towards his masters, which allows the reader to understand how the narrator feels about his social status. The author uses the word “idle,” to emphasize that the narrator feels that his employers have no use. The narrator states, “the idleness that splits flowers and pokes its way into spiders’ stomachs.” He is suggesting that his masters are do useless experiments and the narrator continues and states that you should be thankful that you “must” think of something and that you “must” do something. This conveys that the narrator believes that his masters do the nasty things they do because they have nothing else to keep them busy. Which he is resentful that they have free time to do those things but also thinks of himself more highly that he is not “idle” like them.
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Dubois is a influential work in African American literature and is an American classic. In this book Dubois proposes that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." His concepts of life behind the veil of race and the resulting "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others," have become touchstones for thinking about race in America. In addition to these lasting concepts, Souls offers an evaluation of the progress of the races and the possibilities for future progress as the nation entered the twentieth century.
middle of paper ... ... We always had just beans and bread.” Although both narratives struggled for food, Mark’s family sometimes did not have any at all and they would try and find food in garbage bags, Anne on the other hand was tired of eating the same thing or not having enough; the difference is that she always had some food, but because of her curiosity she knew that white people had more and sometimes even better food than her and this bothered her tremendously. Although the struggle for equal rights, food, welfare and survival were all central themes in both narratives, through this essay one could see how similar but at the same time distinctive the injustices of race relations were in South Africa’s apartheid regime and in the Jim Crow South’s segregation era.
This brings us to the Toni Morrison short story “Recitatif”. This short story encourages an African American or ethnically minded style of understanding. The driving force for the thoughts and actions of both Twyla, Roberta, and the other characters is race and race relations. Those two events may seem like nothing, but it shows how even at the early age of 8, children are taught to spot the differences in race instead of judging people by their character.
Comparison of Nothing's Changed with Two Scavengers in a Truck Both poets convey strong ideas about the inherent divisions that are inherent in modern-day society. Afrika conveys his ideas by writing about racial discrimination and segregation in South Africa, informing the reader about the differences in the quality of life for Blacks and Whites. Ferlinghetti, however, decides to tackle the theme of social/wealth divide in San Francisco, U.S.A. Afrika also describes the landscape, nature and setting in much more vivid detail, using it to represent the history of District Six. Ferlinghetti, who focuses on the people who are the protagonists of his poem.
The poem also focuses on what life was like in the sixties. It tells of black freedom marches in the South how they effected one family. It told of how our peace officers reacted to marches with clubs, hoses, guns, and jail. They were fierce and wild and a black child would be no match for them. The mother refused to let her child march in the wild streets of Birmingham and sent her to the safest place that no harm would become of her daughter.
A Comparison Between the Poetic Techniques Of Ferlinghetti & Afrika Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Tatamkhulu Afrika both have very effective poems. Both of which are written to state some form of inequality or discrimination. There are distinct and hidden similarities and differences between the two. These are going to be highlighted in this report. As mentioned before, both are talking about certain inequality or discrimination; however there are two main differences: 1.
More specifically, Bob’s 1942 Buick Roadmaster is a metaphor for racial and class mobility. Given the benefits of his job in wartime Los Angeles, Bob uses this car to represent his economic status and show his superiority to the rich white folks who could not buy a new car (Himes 11). In this case, Bob wants to use this car to make a physical transgress. Then, Bob drives this car to cut off in front of some fasting-moving cars, challenge white drivers, and gives them stare for stare, hate from hate (Himes 12-3). This car, as a metaphor for his economic and physical mobility, expresses his anger for racism and hostility and his desire to move upward. Moreover, the car, as a sign of economic status, runs out of gas, meaning that Bob eventually fails to transgress and assimilate into middle-class. This metaphor implies Bob’s desire to break the structure of racial power to move upward. However, he has no chance to overcome this structural racism. Additionally, Himes uses first person narrative to tell a mysterious dream about a dog with “heavy stiff wire twisted about its neck” (1). It metaphorically foreshadows his fear of his own lynching caused by the whites’ oppression. Hence, by using metaphors, Himes firmly conveys that white power and racism are ingrained in American society; African Americans living in wartime Los Angeles are unable to get rid of
Alice Walker presented a concept in 1982 that still applies today. “The worst we have had to endure here is indifference and a certain understandable shallowness in our personal relationships.” (258) The indifference Walker refers to is race and the understandable shallowness can be better grasped after reading Jean Toomer’s Cane. While examining the poetic imagery of Cane, I was able to focus on five stories regarding race that serves as lessons to learn in today’s society.
Throughout the story, the writer uses the different lives of an African family and their union with an African American to show the cultural rift that occurs. Their daily lives show how people of different cultures strive to live together under the same roof. The clash of cultures is portrayed in the way they react to each other in the different circumstances.