Death and We Real Cool Essay - 1053 Words

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 else fooled, they know themselves that the destructive behavior they are taking part in will lead to their death. In We Real Cool, Gwendolyn Brooks uses denotation and sound devices to suggest that although some African-Americans may often think†¦show more content†¦The ingenious way Brooks uses denotation in this poem helps explain that although some African-American teenagers may often think of themselves as being cool for dropping out of school, staying out late, fighting, and drinking they know in actuality that these corrupt things they are taking part of will lead to a broken, shortened life. Brooks uses sound devices to suggest that although some African-Americans may often think of themselves as being cool for dropping out of school, which gives them time to engage in sinful activities will inevitably result in a broken, short life. Brooks uses pauses in the middle of lines called cesura’s to aid in helping the audience see how the brokenness of ideas and sound contributes to the brokenness felt by these African-American teenagers. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. Here, in lines 5-6, it is obvious when read how the brokenness in the middle of the line contributes to the meaning of the poem. Brooks also uses run-on lines to emphasize in sound the fact that when African-American teenagers decide it is cool to drop out they are beginning a headlong run into death. The never-ending brokenness that is shown by the run-on lines gives these misbehaved teenagers an excuse to sin andShow MoreRelatedDeath We Real Cool890 Words   |  4 PagesDeath in â€Å"We Real Cool† In Gwendolyn Brooks poem â€Å"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. â€Å"The sluggard’s carving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work† (Proverbs 21:25) The Bible makesRead MoreAnalysis Of We Real Cool702 Words   |  3 PagesWe Real Cool Analysis Mob mentality, also known as herd mentality is how people are influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors. In reality, people in the group developed one lifestyle, one purpose, and one mind. This mentality is slightly shown in something as innocent as school cliques. But often, this mob mentality can have negative consequences. Gwendolyn Brooks’ We Real Cool is a cautionary tale of 7 pool players living fast and dying young together. The poem uses symbolism,Read MoreThe Sonnet-Ballad, AndWe Real Cool, By Gwendolyn Brooks1069 Words   |  5 Pageson the south-side of Chicago. She paved the way for many female African American woman today. In the The African American Experience textbook there is two amazing poems written by her. One is titled â€Å"The Sonnet-Ballad† and the other is titled â€Å"We Real Cool†. On the surface these two poems seem to have simple means, but if you dig under the surface there is more than meets the eye. Each poem has t he three component that make a poem according to Stephen Henderson. Each poem has a theme, structure,Read MoreWe Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks: A Message for Troubled Youth749 Words   |  3 PagesIn Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem â€Å"We Real Cool† the speaker describes the life of seven troubled teenagers and the dire consequences that result from living a risky lifestyle. Brooks illustrates the lives of these teenagers using a variety of poetic devices and a unique form. The poem is quite short; only four stanzas, each being a two line couplet. Brooks’ intention was to send an important message to teenagers, her target audience for this poem. Gwendolyn Brooks was born on June 7, 1917 in Topeka, KansasRead MoreWe Real Cool505 Words   |  3 PagesIntroduction â€Å"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 â€Å"we.† It is suggestive that the subtitle of â€Å"We Real Cool† specifies the presence of only seven pool players at the â€Å"Golden Shovel.† The eighth â€Å"we† suggests that poet and reader share, on some level, the desperation of theRead MoreWe Real Cool a Poem by Gwendoly Brooks Essay examples1034 Words   |  5 PagesWe Real Cool â€Å"We Real Cool† is a poem that was written by poet Gwendolyn Brooks in the year of 1959. This poem states that the black young people in the United States went through to make a clear definition of themselves and tried to seek their values in the late fifties and early sixties, young kids knowing they are different from the society, so they started their abandonment from a young age, they give up school because they know they cannot be accept as other white kids, they were caughtRead MoreThe Message of Gwendolyn Brooks We Real Cool536 Words   |  3 PagesThe 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 readers attentionRead MoreComparing Gwendolyn Brooks We Real Cool and Robert Frosts Nothing979 Words   |  4 Pagessimilarities between their respective poems We Real Cool and Nothing Gold Can Stay. These similarities become all the more apparent when one attempts to compare the imagery of these poems. A careful consideration of this comparison indicates that the imagery of each of these poems is preoccupied with the concept of time in various aspects of its ephemeral nature, which ultimately reveals itself in a common theme of the untimely transition of youth to a state of death. Both Brooks and Frosts worksRead MoreWhat Is More Important, A Person s Race Or Their Character? Gwendolyn Brooks1074 Words   |  5 PagesWhat is more important, a person s race or their character? Gwendolyn Brooks wrote poems about African Americans and their everyday struggles. Brooks’s poems â€Å"We Real Cool†, â€Å"The Mother†, and â€Å"Gay Chaps at the Bar† help to demonstrate the racial discrimination that African Americans face in their everyday lives. Gwendolyn Brooks has said that her poetry was written for blacks and about blacks, yet any person or race can relate to the universal themes portrayed in her pieces. Poets use universalRead More Gwendolyn Brooks We Real Cool Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesGwendolyn 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