Tupac Shakur’s poem is similar to James McBride’s passage because they both discuss the harsh conditions for black males in New York City. In the beginning of the poem, Shakur describes a “rose” growing from a harsher environment than where it’s supposed to grow in. The “rose” grew from a “crack in the concrete” which was “Proving nature’s law is wrong it/learned to walk without having feet” (Shakur 2-4). Concrete is shown in Shakur’s poem as the numerous difficulties that many black males have to face if they live in New York City. By using this symbol, the audience understands how unlikely a “rose” can pass through, yet it can be done with hard work and dedication. Towards the end of McBride’s passage, he reveals the statistics of black males
The author uses tone and images throughout to compare and contrast the concepts of “black wealth” and a “hard life”. The author combines the use of images with blunt word combinations to make her point; for example, “you always remember things like living in Woodlawn with no inside toilet”. This image evokes the warmth of remembering a special community with the negative, have to use outdoor facilities. Another example of this combination of tone and imagery is “how good the water felt when you got your bath from one of those big tubs that folk in Chicago barbecue in”. Again the author’s positive memory is of feeling fresh after her bath combined with a negative, the fact that it was a barbecue drum.
In “Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples, the author uses pathos and ethos to get across his message on how subconscious racism and prejudice is still prevalent in today’s society. His main focus is the stereotypes, and the struggles as a result of those stereotypes, that black men have to deal with in society consistently that can affect daily life in ways that many don’t tend to consider.
In Brent Staples’ “Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space” he forces women to recognize the feeling of estrangement from the surrounding public that he has endured. He first took notice at the age of twenty two, when his own self-judgement resulted from scaring a woman when solely walking at night near his college, the University of Chicago. He maintained his dejected attitude when he wrote that a few years later, his own work mistook him for a thief instead of a journalist. Brent Staples heightened his frustration by mentioning a black male journalist who was blamed as a killer in a murder, instead of the writer reporting it. In portraying two versions of his story, he proves that this was a rather common and difficult occurrence for not only him, but others of his race. To attempt to resolve this, he decided to attempt to cross the street or sing classical songs to portray innocence. In this article, Staples’ forces his audience to encounter the hypocrisy in which all black men are dangerous. He concluded the essay with the realization that you can't change what people think, only attempt to show them who you are. Brent Staples appeals to the audience through his emotionally charged language with the use of his experiences with unconscious prejudice.
Next, Shakur says, “Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air”(5-6) The dream or goal of a rose is to live, as with any plant. Also, the dreams mentioned here could serve as a double entendre. Shakur, as the rose, could be stating that he just wants to live, as thats the goal of many urban youth enduring the hardships of living in the projects. “Fresh air” in this context could be a new
Staples explained what he went through when he was in Chicago, New York, and Pennsylvania. He tells us a story about why people looked at him in a different way and how they acted towards him because of his skin color. Staple’s voice showed strong emotions of frustration and anger in his story. His tone is very serious and calm. In his essay “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power To Alter Public Space” He uses diction, figures of speech, and syntax. He wants everyone that is reading to feel and try to get the reader to see what he went through and how bad it was to get around town.
In the short story “Rose” by John Biguenet, he uses symbolism to express the pain he has for his son’s death. Biguenet writes that “And he remembered that as he turned toward the flashing red light, lifting his eyes over the roses…”. I feel like this is how Biguenet expressed what his last memory was before he got the news about his son. This poem is full of examples somewhat like this one. I know from the poem that all he thought about was the roses he saw before hearing the news about his son’s death. Biguenet uses many hidden symbolic objects to express how he feels about his son’s death.
Imagine what life would be like as a rose grown from a crack in concrete.Think about how people would ignore you when you grew from that piece of concrete.Or think about how you would say to your offspring about life in the metaphor of some broken stairs.The poem “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” is about how Tupac is in the form of a Rose and how he explains how this rose grew from concrete and was able to walk and breath air.I do believe that when he said no one cared for the rose that grows from concrete was meaning no one cared for Tupac when he was growing up.
Brent Staples “Black Men and Public Space” is a look at how people perceive black people in the 1960s. Staples explains how people would treat him on a day to day basis. Even when he was a child he would be looked at differently because of his color. He quickly establishes ethos, logos and pathos credibility tough the many examples. This article shows the injustices done to him while living in New York. Brent Staples Black Men and Public Space uses pathos, ethos, and logos effectively throughout the essay.
In the fourth stanza, Clark uses imagery to talk about segregation. She also uses the simile, “I-40 bisected the black community like a tourniquet of concrete,” which means they cut off the flow of traffic and really segregated the black community from everything else. Also in this stanza, the violence of the 60’s was shown through the imagery of the lines stating, “Ambulance siren driving over the house that called 911, diminishing howl in the distance,
Author and editorial writer for the New York Times, Brent Staples, skillfully uses both his educational and racial background to exemplify and reflect on the harrowing times black men faced during the mid-1900’s. Growing up the oldest of 9 in 1951, he pushed himself through primary schooling and against the predications of most, was accepted into college where he earned his B.A, and eventually, a coveted Ph.D. His anthology of literary works focus on politics and cultural issues and popularly include, Parallel Time: Growing up in Black and White, which won the Anisfield Wolf Book Award, An American Love Story, and the piece in mention, Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space.
Independently, Shakur’s lyrics suggest the inequalities he has experienced throughout his life and of his race in general. In the first verse, Shakur expresses his upbringing without a father and the struggles with the racial tension in his neighborhood. He implies that he has been pushed into a world of violence and crime because of his low socioeconomic status. He states that peace can only be attained if the African Americans are offered a place in the society. The second verse focuses upon the broader oppression of the black body where he addresses the police violence and inequalities of the system. His lyric analyzes the violence in the streets and the fear of police officers that are willing to shoot him because he appears threatening. Finally, the third verse expresses that he is still waiting on things to change, yet the answer is not present. The greater meaning to his
The city streets and poverty take a toll on people. The narrator ponders, however, how he escaped the terrible effect of the wild ghetto streets. After all, his childhood and his brother’s childhood were exactly the same. Sonny was such a pure soul, as he loved jazz music and he played so beautifully, but what caused him to depart from the path? As an answer, Baldwin writes, “Some escaped the trap, most didn’t” (229). The narrator elaborates; he says, “Those who got out always left something of themselves behind, as some animals amputate a leg and leave it in the trap” (229). Here, Sonny’s older brother, is trying to reconcile the difference between himself and his troubled brothers attempts to explain why some get stuck and trapped in the
Fresh air is a symbol for a place better than the ghetto or a place where he, an African American male, can thrive. The last lines of Tupac’s The Rose that Grew from Concrete reads, “Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared.” Recognize the praise being given to the rose by Shakur, because it made it through the difficult times when it felt lonely and when no one else ever
Did you hear about the rose that grew from concrete? Well, son, I’ll tell you… Two amazing poems to show how perseverance is a large virtue. When you read them, you can tell. The poem “The rose that grew from concrete” is about a rose that grew from concrete with no support. And the poem “Mother to son” is about a mother talking to her son about how life is hard. These poem names aren’t very cryptic. Anyway. They are both about perseverance, but they show it in very different ways. Both poems show an interesting way of expressing the theme of perseverance, and that, of course, is what our essay today is about.
INTRODUCTION When cement is mixed with water in order to prepare concrete, the hardened concrete formed after hydration is not a solid mass but a porous material. There is formation of pores due to water which is initially added. Water occupies some fraction of the total initial volume and after the hydration of cement water is held physically, chemically or is adsorbed on product after hydration. This leads to formation of different types of pore structure inside the hydrated cement. CLASSIFICATION OF PORES STRUCTURES IN HYDRATED CEMENT 1.