##toric Themes In Claudia Rankine's Citizen : An American Lyric

White Australians state “shame when [their] kids they die from colds or from sheer neglect. Shame when [they] live on the river banks. While collectin' [they’re] welfare cheques. Shame when [they’re] blind from trachoma. Shame when [they’re] crippled from blights.” The rhyming scheme in the stanza makes poem flow seamlessly constructing a conversational tone as if the narrator is speaking directly to the audience. This feature purposefully lulls the reader into agreeing with the white Australia’s arguments as it constructs an image that the Indigenous people are refusing to integrate themselves with modern society and suffering the consequences of those decisions. The mention of welfare cheques also contribute to the perspective that white Australians are attempting to mend the lives of Indigenous individuals, however this could not be further from the truth and message of this

We cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavoured to live with the land; they seemed to live off it. I was taught to preserve, never to destroy.” (Tom Dystra) these impactful words demonstrate the true feelings of the indigenous people when white men took their land. “The Dead Heart”, is an inspirational lyrical poem by “Midnight Oil” and it was written in 1986 to support the message of, mistreatment of Indigenous people and to raise awareness about the Stolen Generation. “Midnight Oil” is an Australian band who recognised this issue, and the issue of land, and how land has a spiritual, physical, social and cultural meaning, there land is their home and it shows significance. Throughout the song there will

Our knowledge of the generic conventions used in poetry influences our understanding of the text. “The Firstborn”, a poem by Aboriginal author Jack Davis, enables the reader to determine the poem as a graphic protest about the extinction of and discrimination against the Australian Indigenous people, and the loss of their ethnicity, as their world collides with the Western culture. By focussing on my understanding of both generic conventions and author’s context, I am able to conclude that the poem concerns a tragedy within the Aboriginal community.

Beds Are Burning, is an Australian rock anthem with a powerful message regarding Aboriginal land rights. Originally written and performed by Midnight Oil in 1987, from their album Diesel and Dust, the song’s target audience was every Australian with a conscience and to educate, protest, openly discuss and raise awareness about the removal of the Australian Aboriginal people from their rightful home in the desert. Beds Are Burning, has stood the test of time and made its impact on the conscientious global music scene, with its message being applicable to and resonating with displaced people worldwide, this anthem has retained its relevance and popularity to this day.

Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history.

Claudia Rankine’s Citizen contains a number of intricate images usually following a story within a section of the lyric. Using the context of the story, one is able to perceive his or her own meaning for why the image was included. The images provoke thought and emotion in many different ways. While an image may seem sad to some, others may decipher a positive or progressive view of their own. The true beauty of these images alongside their text is that they will bring forth a unique response from each and every reader.

The poem America by Claude McKay is on its surface a poem combining what America should be and what this country stands for, with what it actually is, and the attitude it projects amongst the people. Mckay uses the form of poetry to express how he, as a Jamaican immigrant, feels about America. He characterizes the bittersweet relationship between striving for the American dream, and being denied that dream due to racism. While the America we are meant to see is a beautiful land of opportunity, McKay see’s as an ugly, flawed, system that crushes the hopes and dreams of the African-American people.

In the first couple of lines in Hughes’s poem he speaks upon past African American struggles and encourages them to move forward from them with the use of his refrain lines, ‘that day is past,’ and ‘bitter was the day.’ He makes various references “responding to the early days of depression, moreover…having a range of tone, language, and insight…” (Shulman 295), to speak upon slavery and inequality. For example, he awakens the memories of slaves being lynched, whipped, and

In Citizen by Claudia Rankine, there is a selection of images scattered throughout the work, adding intriguing visual aspects uncovering sometimes-hidden themes in her writing One such image is an excerpt from Wangechi Mutu’s Sleeping Heads instillation, featured on page 147 of the book. In this collage, a child painted in red looks plaintively off-canvas, a cut out hand grasping his throat, with a bullet through his brain. This image is not easily shaken, and stands out from the others. Not only is it eccentric like the rest, but the longing tone the child’s eye gives off draws the viewer in, causing them to feel the need to figure out exactly what he is trying to tell them.

Throughout the poem, the poet also establishes a theme, created by W.E.B Dubois, that African-Americans live a double consciousness of being black and being American at the same time. The poet celebrates the two sides of the African-American experience as hate and love, pleasure and pain. In the beginning of the poem, Claude McKay describes that America

The following lines of the poem “Cookalingee” shows in the midst of all this privation, hardships bereavement and assimilation, the aboriginals have still retained the aboriginality. Showing the pride in their own race and color is very important for Aborigines and all the people who have been oppressed because of skin color. This reminds of cultural movement started in America around 1960s by African Americans to advocate the concept ‘Black is Beautiful’. It plays an important role in developing positive blackness and

Citizen is formatted into various stanzas and sentences, in some case the stanzas are just one line. Claudia Rankine uses various literary elements to throughout the lyrics. However, the narrator/point of view is the one that changes constantly being male, female, black or white. Rankine’s most impactful point of view is when she uses second person, making the reader the speaker, thus creating impactful events. The tone of the lyric is tireless, this is expressed through the countless incidents mentioned that resulted without change. Unlike most lyrics Rankine’s work is filled with images some are direct but others are more complex, yet all are representative of discrimination against the black community.

Many people assume that that racism does not exist in America, however much has as we have improved there is still many things we have to improve. Racism is really big problem in our society. It’s clear that the lady in the poem does not want someone too dark to be living in the complex. I believe it’s important to talk about it because many people are treated wrong only because of the color of their skin color. It’s interesting that the setting takes place in a conversation between two people on the phone. Rather than it taking places in the bus or in a café. Perhaps the real issues here is that the gentlemen may be homeless if the lady does not rent the places to him. Once again it goes back to racism because the gentlemen might be homeless because of his

The layout of Citizen is also a striking statement. Rankine advertises this book of poetry as an American lyric to lay emphasis on the form and what it represents. A single speaker exploring personal feelings and instances of racism bridges the gap between narrator and reader. The poetry is experimental, and represents a refusal to subscribe to the regular conventions of poetry, with the use of free form poetry, image text and the offering of dates. By providing the reader with dates from real life events, the reality of these depictions, of the lack of government interference and rise in unlawful killings, is cemented in the brain.

In the current political climate, it seems that there is no room for moderation. You’re either watch one side or the other, and there is no room for the other’s side’s views. These political affiliations continue to separate Americans further and further apart, yet renowned African American poet Langston Hughes seemed to find a solution for these problem seventy years ago in his poem “Theme for English B,” where a young black student is tasked with writing an assignment for English class. Written in a time of great racial uncertainty, Hughes uses the seemingly innocuous experience of writing a paper to challenges ideas regarding the complexity of racial unity as Americans and encourages the exploration of a shared national identity.