Poem Analysis: The Race By Sharon Olds

In the poem, “‘ Race’ Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez, I have annotated several pieces of syntax, imagery, and connotation. This poem is about how two brothers, of the age six and nine, have a bad experience going over to a place called South Gate to buy groceries. I believe that the author uses these forms of elements to create emphasis and emotion on the story. These elements, I believe, helped the story have more of a connection with the reader and a first person view of what the characters in the poem had to go through.

W.E.B. Du Bois has contributed greatly to contemporary sociological thinking because he began a conversation of what it means to be “other” in this American Society. In his conversation of what it means to be other he constructed and included three major concepts that continue to resonate till this day. His concepts include “the color-line”, “the veil”, and the “double consciousness” (Appelrouth and Edles, 269). Together, these concepts not only described past experiences of blacks in American society (e.g., slavery) but also continue to remind us that the relation of whites and people of color remains complex. In Du Bois’s own words, “the Nation has not yet found peace from its sins” (273).

The poem shifts to the present with the second stanza, which depicts the runner being carried once again “shoulder-high,” however, this time in a casket by pallbearers to his grave (Housman 2013, “Overview” 1). The townspeople come together again, but this time they are “Townsman of a stiller town” (Housman 2013). The poem highlights the theme of early death as the young runner is put to rest for a final time, and Housman makes it clear through his writing of the sorrow that townspeople feel towards the young life being cut short.

In this poem there is a lot of figurative language. One of the biggest types of figurative language used in this poem is irony. The irony in this poem is how the mother wouldn't let her child go to march because she feared her child would get hurt. Instead she sent her child to church because she believed it was a safe and sacred place but ironically the church ended up being bombed. Another piece of figurative language that is very effective in this poem is imagery. The way the poem is written helps me create images in my head for example, "She raced through the streets of Birmingham." I can imagine her running around desperately, looking for her child. The metaphors and hyperboles in this poem also help with the imagery, for example, "...night dark hair," and "…rose-petal sweet." These metaphors make me think of the girls smoothly combed black hair and her fresh and beautiful rosy smell. A hyperbole that had a huge effect on the tone was, "But that smile was the last smile to ever come upon her face." This hyperbole really helps me understand the effect of a tragic moment like this and how it can completely ruin

In the poem “‘Race’ Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez, connotation, imagery, and syntax was used to enhance the writing by helping us visualize and feel what the main character went through while dealing with racism in a neighborhood among whites and Mexicans.

Poetry can follow your life all the way through, from the innocence of a child, to the end of your days. The comfort, seduction, education, occasion and hope found in poems are elaborated in Poetry Should Ride the Bus by Ruth Forman. As the poem reads on, you not only travel through the life of a person from adolescence to being elderly through vivid imagery, but also hit on specific genres of poems through the personification of poetry as the characters in the stages of life. This poem’s genres hit on what poetry should do and be, by connecting the life many of us live.

Firstly, Mary Oliver uses a fractured and unique structure to show that hardships must be present in order for one to attain success. The poem is structured in such a way so that it starts off describing the struggles of crossing a swamp and life in general. For example, Oliver states,

In the poem, “35/10” by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, “the silver-haired servant” (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her daughter’s servant indicates a sense of self-awareness in the speaker. She senses her power is weakening and her daughter’s power is strengthening. It also shows wistfulness for her diminishing youth, and sadness for her advancing years. This

From the beginning of William Carlos Williams’ poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” the reader is captured by the statement “so much depends” (Williams line 1). As this short work continues the reader is seeing a graceful image that Williams creates. The mind’s eye can envision a painting that is tranquil, yet has the quiet activity of a rural farm home. With this in mind, what exactly is the author sharing with the reader? The poem communicates charmingly the dependence a man has for a vital piece of equipment.

The story set place during the Civil Right movement in a black household of a little girl and her mother. The poem signal that African Americans are not gifted with their freedom when the girl asked her mother to join the Freedom March “to make our country free” (Randall). Getting their freedom taken away, many African American children march the street of Birmingham to regain their natural rights. Taking a stand to fight for one’s right is the responsibilities of everyone. Another example is the mother’s reason for refusing to let her daughter go march because of her fear of the danger behold there. The mother then direct her daughter to “go to church instead” (Randall). Ironically, the girl meet her fate at the place thought to be the most sacred place. This ironic situation revealed that ignoring the violation of the rules upon civil rights is as dangerous as challenging it.

The main theme of the poem however, is the sadness and misfortune that accompany us on our journey through life. The Wilson River Road, in which the events of the poem take place, is symbolic of the road of life that we all travel upon. The darkness and the setting of the poem point to the seclusion and indecision that we experience when dealing with life’s tragedies. Many people feel as confused as the narrator does when he was “stumbling back of the car” (5, 911) in his attempt to do the right thing. In his moment of decision, though, the only company the narrator had was the silent and unheeding world around him.

Maxine is comparing the run on sentences to how the swimmer has to hold his breath without losing it when he swims. The form of the poem describes many things and really symbolizes the swimmer and what he has to go through to win his

“I did what was for the greater good. She was an idiot for believing me.”

Upon completing the first insect IAT, I was a little confused as to what the book meant to imply. It wasn’t until the Race IAT that I fully understood the magnitude of the research. I was taken aback by how poorly I did on the Race IAT. I have always been welcoming to other races and try to encourage others to do the same. This test made me question my authority and ask myself, how can I preach equality when my own mind doesn’t even think in this manner? I was also so surprised by the result because of my family’s beliefs. Since I can remember, my parents encouraged me to treat everyone as I would like to be treated and had never shown any sort of hostility toward any other ethnic or racial group.

“The Negro Mother” captures the pain of slaves and their hope for a better future. The voice in the poem belongs to black women of different time periods. The focus is how oppression has affected the past and how oppression can be solved in the future. In order for their deaths to be meaningful, African Americans must stop oppression. The allusion illustrated in line 7 with the red sea refers to Moses and the Exodus. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt by crossing the Red Sea. In line 3, the speakers says she “had to climb” and “had to know” to portray that there was an obligation to lead the African American race. The seed of the free in line 8 illustrates the youth and innocence of the African American children. The word “seed” suggests