Railroad, this tradition has continued and has begun to take on many different levels of significance to this community. Used as a tool to escape racial persecution throughout history physically and mentally, quilting has acted as an art that transcends racial barriers and to bring the races together in a positive way. In “The Century Quilt”, poet Marilyn Nelson Waniek develops complex meanings of the quilt using the literary devices of color symbolism, time shifts, and a warm atmosphere to effectively demonstrate the theme of love in families transcending the idea of race.
Color drives a significant amount of the meaning in this poem, as the idea is used in describing the characters and objects throughout the poem and in creating the atmosphere of the work. This was especially prevalent in the description of the quilt in lines 15 through 17 as having “Van Dyke brown squares”, “ white squares”, and “one square the yellow-brown of
Mama’s cheeks”. By having these different skin tones present, Waniek is representing the races represented in her family, which includes African- American and European roots. Including the sweetgum lead in each of the squares, this further emphasizes that while the speaker’s great-great-great grandfather was white, the speaker’s father is black, and she herself is
- Decent Essays
Symbolism In The Century Quilt By Marilyn Nelson Waniek
- 830 Words
- 4 Pages
In “The Century Quilt,” Marilyn Nelson Waniek utilizes several literary techniques to represent the speaker’s undying heritage through her family heirloom that binds generations with one another. As an indication of the diversity and complexity within her family, the speaker goes into depth about the immense effect her Meema’s blanket had on her growth into a woman and the etching along her own quilt that represents her Native American pride. With the use of evocative imagery and symbolism of her
- 830 Words
- 4 Pages
Decent Essays - Decent Essays
The Century Quilt Poem
- 725 Words
- 3 Pages
family histories. The Hmong culture makes story tapestries and West African tribes use song and oral story to pass on their traditions. In the poem, “The Century Quilt,” poet Marilyn Nelson Waniek shares the story of one family’s heritage and the role blankets play in telling the family history. Waniek uses the literary devices of shifts, symbolism and colors to show the complexities of the speaker’s heritage, and how the familial relationships in her life have shaped her. The poem begins with the
- 725 Words
- 3 Pages
Decent Essays
Popular Essays
- Consequences And Corruption In Arthur Miller's The Crucible
- Character Analysis Of The Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong
- Uses Of Violence In The Ballad Of Birmingham By Dudley Randall
- Roles Of Women In Oedipus The King, Antigone, And Medea
- Thomas Jefferson Declaration Of Independence Grievances Analysis
- Paradise Lost Reflection