Introduction “We Real Cool,” perhaps Brooks’ single best-known poem, subjects a similarly representative experience to an intricate technical and thematic scrutiny, at once loving and critical. The poem is only twenty-four words long, including eight repetitions of the word “we.” It is suggestive that the subtitle of “We Real Cool” specifies the presence of only seven pool players at the “Golden Shovel.” The eighth “we” suggests that poet and reader share, on some level, the desperation of the
Death in “We Real Cool” In Gwendolyn Brooks poem “We Real Cool” Seven African-American high school dropouts want everyone to admire them. These teenagers explain how they stay out late playing pool, fighting, sinning and drinking. Though they believe they have everybody else fooled, they know themselves that the destructive behavior they are taking part in will lead to their death. “The sluggard’s carving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work” (Proverbs 21:25) The Bible makes
youngsters , the seven dropouts “being cool” at the golden shovel in the story “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks do not realize the amount of damage their doing to their futures by living the lifestyles they do. The work is a condensed yet concise statement on the recklessness of youth who are like cars without brakes in the frenzy of youth. They do not anticipate an accident awaiting them in their uncontrolled life. They do whatever they perceive to be “real cool,” (1) and this nonchalant uncaring
Death and We Real Cool "The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work" (Proverbs 21:25). The Bible makes a very clear statement in this passage as to how being lazy can be the cause of one’s death. "We Real Cool" is about seven African-American high school dropouts who want everybody else to think that they are cool. These teenagers explain how they stay out late playing pool, fighting, sinning and drinking. Though they think they have everybody
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote the poem “We Real Cool” in 1959 and was published in1960, right in the middle of the civil rights movement and only a couple years after the Brown v. Board of Education trial, which challenged racial segregation in schools. In the poem, a group of kid’s drops out of school allowing them to have a lot of free time on their hands which often leads to criminal activities. Many have interpreted this poem in different ways. One possible interpretation that I feel strong about is
The poem “We Real Cool”, written by Gwendolyn Brooks, is about a group of seven young boys who abandoned school to live the street life. They can’t wait to live a fun carefree life, drinking, partying and ditching all responsibility. Throughout this poem, Brooks is sending a clear message to her reader with the use of rhyme and imagery she creates a lasting impression showing that dropping out of school in order to embrace the street life amounts to nothing in the end. Brooks begins her poem with
The Message of Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool" "We Real Cool" is a short, yet powerful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks that sends a life learning message to its reader. The message Brooks is trying to send is that dropping out of school and roaming the streets is in fact not "cool" but in actuality a dead end street. Brooks conveys her message in an ironic manner, which is presented in the title of the poem. Before actually reading the 10 line poem the first thing that grabs the reader's attention
STUDENT NAME PROFESSOR CLASS DATE We Real Cool: Poetry Explication “We Real Cool” is a poem written by Gwendolyn Brooks in 1959, and published in her book The Bean Eaters (We Real Cool, pg 1). A simple and light poem, “We Real Cool” is vague enough to allow readers to visualize their own characters and setting, but specific enough to keep a consistent rebellious image. Brook’s attitude toward the characters is undecided, as the tone is neither tragic nor victorious, but more
Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool" The poem 'We Real Cool' by Gwendolyn Brooks is a stream of the thoughts of poor inner city African-Americans who have adopted a hoodlum lifestyle. Though many can have different interpretations of this poem, it is fair to look at the life and career or the works and influences of Gwendolyn Brooks. The life and art of the black American poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, began on June 7, 1917 when she was born in Topeka, Kansas. She was the first child of Keziah Corine
"We Real Cool"(1960) by Gwendolyn Brooks. The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. This is a short poem with five stanzas each having two lines. The poem is short and the choice of words is concrete and targeted at the subject that the poet is striving to put forth. The poem is generally on the life of the pool players. It depicts the fast paced lifestyle of the pool players