Comparing The Explorer By Gwendolyn Brooks And Frederick Douglass By Robert Hayden

The African-American people have suffered great hardships since slavery. During the 15 and 19th century many Africans were taken and forced into slavery. Some slaves

In conclusion, the poem was used as a key to unlock some of the thoughts the negro had concerning Africa. The negro in this poem was a representative of all negroes during this time; their thoughts and the their feelings toward Africa. Cullen’s usage of the literary devices allow for an effective expression of the meaning of this poem. Poems are intensified language of experience, so the devices assured the connection of the reader to the poem and the experience. This applies to many issues in society today because as beautiful as our country is there are still dark clouds that cover the very essence of what the states once stood

Socially African Americans were taken advantage of by the whites, politically they implemented laws that controlled and limited african americans rights and economically, sharecropping

Brooks’ poem “The Sonnet-Ballad” follows Stephen Henderson’s idea on what makes a poem “black” in some areas, and not so much in others. Starting with the first component, theme. One of the themes this poem has is helpless. Meaning being targeted and not being able to help yourself. She could not do anything about them taking her lover, and her lover has not choice but to follow death. At the time this poem was written America was still going through civil right movement, so this something at black people could relate to. Black were being targeted and oppressed, and there was not much they could do about it. The next component is structure. This poem that Brooks created is a combination of a sonnet and a ballad. This is what Henderson feels a black poem needs to have, a mode. On thing that Brooks fail on in Henderson’s eye is her form. Brooks does not create this poem to mirror the African American language, or dialect. Brooks also did not do well on the third component either. Brooks does not have much saturation in this poem she created. Even though it does have some themes that African American people can relate to it does not hold up to saturation. It lacks African American refers. In some area Brooks was able follow Henderson’s ideas and in other ways she was not. Henderson may not consider “The Sonnet-Ballad” a “black” poem.

In this time period, life was extremely hard for African Americans simply because they were slaves and even though they were emaciated in 1863 by the Emancipation Proclamation. They were still treated with such disrespect...to the point where they were considered not to be humans. They were instilled with so much fear that the thought

African American face a lot of hardship. Police brutality is one of them. Police would see a black person waking down the street minding there own business and they would beat them up for no reason or the reason was because they were black. Some other hardship is not being treated equity. In the text it say that “ whites were able to do more things the black people.” So that’s the hardship that black people had to face.

Race plays a big part in this poem. He speaks on Harlem and its culture and this environment but also about mutual interest with people

Many African-Americans were affected by the Jim Crow laws physically, mentally, and emotionally. They all had to come together as a family

Throughout this poem Hughes has placed many symbols in the readers mind to bring the image of the African American people to thought. He reminds African American readers of their origin and what they have been through by using the

All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh

“When it is finally ours this freedom, this liberty, this beautiful” (Line 1) is one of the many lines in Robert Hayden's poem “Frederick Douglass”. One of many poems in which Hayden takes events or figures from African American history as his subject. This poem was written as a tribute to Frederick Douglas himself. One of the very well-known and praised African Americans in the nineteenth century. This is no ordinary poem for Hayden. It is written in an improper sonnet. By improper I mean, sonnets are usually fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, which typically has ten syllables per line. Hayden has done a great job in using many different literary techniques to emphasize the work Frederick Douglass has done.

Next there was a reference made is from the quote “The revolution will not go better with Coke.” I think this relates to the poem as all Americans drank Coke at the time, so why are they all not treated fairly? I think both of these references relate to not being treated fairly like all humans should be. These impacted African Americans negatively throughout time. Another reference that I thought was really important to the poem is “the revolution will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie Woods...”

The United States is a immigrant country, which faces varieties of problems. The African American problem is one of the most serious one. Racial segregation is a deep-rooted social problem, which reflects in every field in the United States. For example, education, labor market and criminal justice system. In the aspect of education, most of black children were not permitted to enter the school, because the white children studied there. In the aspect of labor market, the black people 's average wages were lower than the whites. They did the manual work. In the aspect of criminal justice system, the blacks were easily in jail. Badly, their sentences were also more serious than the whites. In general, the blacks live in the bottom of the American society. Martin Luther King delivered the famous speech I Have a Dream, ' ' I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ' ' (1) However, it was difficult for African American to get the freedom. The 1776 Declaration of Independence announced that everyone are equal and freedom.But black slavery still occurred in the southern states of America. Then the Civil War broke out, African American kept struggling for land and political rights.

Brooks had a lot of problems occurring in her life at the time considering she was African American. The author´s purpose of this poem was to be in harmony until there is time to be at war. After the conflict is over, the people can proceed back to peace and

Langston Hughes was the leading voice of African American people in his time, speaking through his poetry to represent blacks. His Influence through his poems are seen widely not just by blacks but by those who enjoy poetry in other races and social classes. Hughes poems, Harlem, The Negro speaks of rivers, Theme for English B, and Negro are great examples of his output for the racial inequality between the blacks and whites. The relationship between whites and blacks are rooted in America's history for the good and the bad. Hughes poems bring the history at large and present them in a proud manner. The injustice that blacks face because of their history of once being in bondage is something they are constantly reminded and ridiculed for but must overcome and bring to light that the thoughts of slavery and inequality will be a lesson and something to remember for a different future where that kind of prejudice is not found so widely.