Modern Children: Poem Analysis

“An Anti-Semitic Demonstration” was the more effective poem by using metaphors to explain the fear one feels during the arrival and anticipation of being sent off to a concentration camp by Nazis. During this time period life as a Jew must have been unbelievably frightening, for one was unsure of when they would be collected and where the would be taken away too. All just because of their religious beliefs or the fact they may be considered “undesirable”. Whereas in “The Family Album” they explained more about how the Jews were before their life changed forever. Neufeld does not go to explain the way they felt during the tough times of the Nazi ruling. However, he instead talks about how life was instantly changed when no one saw it coming.

The hippie aesthetic era was an important time in rock and roll during the late 60’s and on into the early 80’s. It was a time were rock had a sense of purpose. They sung about the issues that plagued the country. It was also a time where technology would play an important roll in the sound of music, with the advancement in recording and synthesizer technology (Covach, “The Hippie Aesthetic”). The hippie aesthetic was not immune to the advancement of music. This essay will go over three songs that represent the different aspects of this era. It’ll will review a song that is predominately hippie aesthetic, a song that is a little of both, and finally a song that has no trace of hippie aesthetic.

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.

The poem “A Story” by Li young Lee tells of a young child asking his father for story. The boy simply wants a story that he has never heard, his father is bombarded with panic as he seems to think he is disappointing his son. Through analysis of structure, points of view and metaphors this seemingly simple story is transformed into a deep meaningful poem about a complex relationship between a father and son.

The song expresses how people are not living up to society's values and norms. It suggest that the socialization is at fault and that they contribute to improvement of self being. The song implies the way society goes against values and norms by one of the very first lyrics in the song. The lyric goes, “What’s wrong with the world, mama, People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas…” (lines 1-2). This makes one aware of the lack of values in one's family. Values is the belief or an idea that a person or group has to determine is correct or not. Another verse of how the band shows one disobedience of the values and norms comes toward the middle of the song. “People killin', people dyin’, Children hurt and you hear them cryin, Can you practice what you preach, And would you turn the other cheek…” (lines 50-53). These verses show of society has failed to act stable and logical way that society once viewed as correct living. These actions show that citizens have not lived up to the expectations of society. Social norms are likes the laws of society. Laws are things that are illegal behaviour and norms are like behaving in a way society wouldn’t like. For example being in gangs, like the bloods, or the crips, or a big group that goes against society's norms like racial groups. An example of a racial group would be the KKK.

This song implies that individual’s are violating the norms and values of society. They start the song with a verse that expresses

So why would the band choose to illustrate such a serious stage of personal development with the nursery rhyme-like style of the song's chorus? Before we get to that, the song's emotional and psychological message must first be examined.

Middle-class families attempt to control their children’s life because they are anxious of life-determining issues of education, occupation, partnering and overall a prosperous lifestyle. This song could highly be misinterpreted by middle-class people because it evokes a sense of

I initially came across this band when they were first starting to gain popularity and cross into the main stream with indie rock/pop. The title of the song hints at what they are going through and at what’s to come in their future as a band. In the chorus, the lyrics are: This seems like their acknowledgment of the fact –with the release of this album—that they are going to get screaming and blindly adoring fans that don’t really care about them as musicians. The hysteria or Lisztomania from these fans sometimes represent a riot because they loose control of themselves. The band understands how the music industry works, so they want to enjoy their new found success and fame until the masses become bored or tired of them. This is also a cue I took when I first heard to lyrics to just enjoy the moment and not think too much about the meanings behind the music. We were all just going to enjoy the ride that is music. In the end, like most songs in this genre, the cheery and fast paced nature of the song works to mask the sad undertones that an in depth look at the lyrics can

In the first stanza it is the semantic field of water: ‘waters’ (twice), ‘sea’, ‘drowning’ and ‘being drawn’. As I mentioned earlier, water is often the symbol of life but it also evokes tears, sadness and despair.

All of the songs on this album relay different messages to listeners. Most songs contain a lot of pathos, call to action and more. Pathos is really prominent in certain songs such as Sorry, Formation, and Freedom. An excerpt from Sorry says: “Now you want to say you 're sorry/Now you want to call me crying/Now you gotta see me wildin '/Now I 'm the one that 's lying/And I don 't feel bad about it/It 's exactly what you get.” This displays the emotions after getting out of a relationship or during the struggles of it. Other lyrics from this song that display this

It presented a different, more negative atmosphere than the city. This was my home, a rented apartment that I couldn’t really call home. It would never be permanent and I can’t always come back because it was rented, not purchased. The walls were full of faded paint and insects crawling about. Eventually, even my cheerful and playful attitude was affected and I felt the desire to live in an alternative setting.

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” declared by an influential leader Martin Luther King Jr. As a soldier againsts unfairness, King strongly states that people should fight for freedom. Driven by human nature, humans are always chasing freedom. In “A Century Later,” the Pakistan-born British poet Imtiaz Dharker uses the poetic devices of symbolism, diction, and allusion to explore how perseverance drives freedom.

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.