Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry

How does the second poem, written a few years after the conference at Fisk University, serve as a kind of commentary on the first? Which of the poems in your opinion is more politically charged?

“Of De Witt Williams on his way to Lincoln Cemetery” is a poem about a “plain black boy” whose casket is being taken to the Lincoln Cemetery. The speaker of the poem mentions places such as “the Pool Hall” and “the Show” where the boy spent much of his time when he was alive. There is mention of the casket being taken “down through Forty-seventh Street:/ Underneath the L.” A person familiar with Chicago would know that these places are very much prevalent to criminal activity, typically committed by African American’s of the lower class. In this poem the reader is not told how the main character dies. In “The Boy Died in My Alley” we are introduced to a more serious, more somber tone. Though “Of De Witt Williams on his way to Lincoln Cemetery” does not exactly have a happy tone, it appears that De Witt Williams’ death is not nearly as tragic as the boy who died in the alley in the second poem. The speaker in “The Boy Died in My Alley” indirectly describes the neighborhood in which he lives in. The speaker states, “The Shot that killed him yes I heard/ as I heard the Thousand shots before.” Given this piece of text, the reader can agree that the neighborhood is probably one in which the sound of gunshots is nothing uncommon therefore hinting at an extremely dangerous neighborhood. For someone to hear a gunshot and not be concerned about it is the tantamount of seeing someone lying dead on the floor and merely walking past them as though it were not something of great importance. The second poem by Brooks appears to be far more intense than the first. The poem depicts the black society as a group of emotionless and undisturbed peoples. The dying boy’s “cry climbed up the alley” and “up to the wind.” Nobody was willing to help the boy even though his cry pierced through the night. The speaker, probably an African American living in the neighborhood, sates “I joined the Wild and killed him with knowledgeable unknowing.” It is important to note here that the word “wild” is capitalized. The capitalization of the word probably suggests that the speaker’s view on the people living in the neighborhood, who did not help the boy, is negative. Comparing people with “the Wild” conveys a serious tone, which we do not necessarily get from “Of De Witt Williams on his way to the Lincoln Cemetery.” The death in “The Boy Died in My Alley” is tragic as it tells the reader that the boy begged for help but no one stopped to do so. The unwillingness for people to help him can suggest that the people living in the area are too far gone- too disconnected to care for anyone or anything; the people are exhausted. In my opinion, the second poem is definitely more politically charged. When a group of people become emotionally unattached due to the poor living conditions, the government is usually a direct correlation to the happenings in the given area.

 

Persepolis

Persepolis, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, tells the story of a young girl’s childhood into adulthood with the main storyline focusing on the Islamic war taking place in Iran during the late 80’s and early 90’s. At one point in the novel, Marjane’s father tells her that “politics and sentiment don’t mix.” Though Marjane’s father makes this claim, their family history and their daily life seem to tell a different story. The claim Marjane’s father makes seems to be awfully flawed not only for the Satrapi family but for anyone directly involved in the war and destruction happening in Iran.

The Satrapi family proves this statement to be false for many reasons. When Marjane’s mother is verbally harassed by a man, she is genuinely distressed. The man, who has been highly influenced by politics, degrades Marjane’s mother by (verbally) sexually harassing her. The fact that the stranger’s words upset her hints at the correlation between politics and sentiment/emotion. Another part in the novel that politics and sentiment play a role is when they get pulled over for being suspected of drinking alcohol. They were all nervous and panicked by the idea of getting in trouble with the government, Marjane’s father especially who orders Marjane and her grandmother to run inside before them to spill all the alcohol down the toilet. Apart from almost getting in trouble with the government and sending Marjane to Austria, for Marjane’s father this statement holds some truth. Marjane and her mother on the other hand will undeniably disagree with the comment. Marjane’s mother contradicts the statement after she is accosted by the man with the obscene comment at the store and told by another to adjust her veil as she expresses pain and agony. Marjane also contradicts the statement when she marries Reza and later divorces him. She marries him so she can spend time with him outside of closed areas (such as the home) and then expresses regret to her grandmother for having done such a thing.

Though males could just as easily as women get in trouble for various things, it seemed to me that males had more privileges than females in the novel. For instance, in the second part of the movie when the school assembly was called to encourage girls to wear longer veils because the shorter veils stimulated the males more easily, the male gender was favored significantly. I got the feeling that the Iran was becoming a male dominated country, so it is possible that the words held lighter meaning for Marjane’s father than they did for Marjane and her mother?

 

The Moviegoer

The search in Binx’s terms is “what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everdayness of his own life.” It is obvious throughout the course of the novel that Binx is stuck in the rut of the everyday routine, and he is searching for something more out of life. The novel most definitely exposes ideas of existentialism as I believe Binx’s search is about finding some sort of meaning to life. True, he is stuck in this everyday routine, but it appears that by the end of the novel he has some answers regarding his search. At the beginning of the novel Binx is unable to commit. He does not experiment much and lacks confidence. Instead of marrying and starting a family (settling), Binx instead has flings with his secretaries at work. His inability to commit, in a sense, implies him running away from the search. The most experimenting Binx does prior to taking the search seriously is taking a different route to the movie theater. This, to any normal person, would be considered something not very exciting. The first big step that Binx takes in advancing with his search is going to Chicago. Of course, I do not think that just because he travels to Chicago his search is complete, but I do think that it helped him to think of his life from a distance far more consciously. In addition to that, it is important to note that at this point in the novel, Binx puts somebody else’s (Kate’s) needs before his own which could be a parallel to Kierkegaard’s theory. I don’t think Binx actually knows that he is doing this but with this act, he transitions from the aesthetics stage into the ethics stage. As I read this portion of the novel, I kept thinking about how refreshing it is to travel. Sometimes when we get tired of working and going to school and doing the things that we do every day, do we not take weekend trips just to recharge our batteries? I feel as though Binx going to Chicago is certainly the beginning of his “awakening.” In the epilogue when Binx says that he has no inclination to say much on the subject, I do not think that it is because he has not fulfilled the search. I think that Binx has simply accepted the search and is moving forward with it. Perhaps he says that he does not have much to say on the topic because he has not completely (emphasis on completely) found what he is looking for? Just because he may not have sealed the search completely, I do feel as though he has, to an extent, found what he is looking for. At this point in the novel Binx is married to Kate. His decision to finally commit could signify acceptance of the search and even though it appears that he has fallen right back into the everyday routine, it appears that he is far more confident than before. The way Binx assuredly tells the reader about his life in the epilogue encourages the reader that he is living life the way he sees fit. The kind of search that Binx set out to accomplish in not one that can be checked off your to-do list so easily. I think it is a search that will last a lifetime.