The one poem of Cullen’s that really stuck out to me was “Incident”. This poem is a straight-forward, realistic account of many incidences that occurred in the lives of African Americans during this time. For the eight year old in this poem, it may have been the first time that he was called that racist term. I would assume that for every African American who has been referred to by this name that it was a traumatic, memorable experience. This poem was a simplistic piece of writing but it captured the essence of racism through one moment. I thought that this poem was one of Cullen’s most captivating pieces of writing. He wrote one line about the racism that this young child experienced that was especially memorable stating, “Of all the things that happened there that’s all that I remember” (9).
Another very interesting poem of Cullen’s is “The Litany of the Dark People”. This poem coincided with many of the themes in Cullen’s writing that we have been discussing in class. “The Litany of the Dark People” used religion to represent the struggles of African Americans. This poem appealed to me because I thought that stylistically and structurally this poem worked very well. I liked that it was set up sequentially because each stanza represented a different phase in the African Americans’ lives. The poem began by referencing slavery and how it is an experience of the past. Cullen used a very descriptive line to reference slavery in the first stanza that I thought was particularly relevant stating, “our flesh that was a battle-ground shows now the morning-break” (53). Cullen continues the poem by portraying the African Americans as strong and unyielding. In this stanza they are determined not to allow all of the hardships that they have faced to keep them from their goals. One line that was particularly powerful in which Cullen states, “Yet no assault the old gods make upon our agony shall swerve our footstep from the wake of Thine toward Calvary” (53). Then in the third stanza of this poem, Cullen sees hope for the African Americans’ future or at least for their final destinations. I saw Cullen’s message for this poem as one of inspiration to African Americans to hold on for brighter days.
2 comments:
The poem "Incident" definitely stuck out to me too. That is so horrible for the 8 year old to go through. I would agree that every African American referred to this way would remember that time as traumatic and horrifying. The poem was short, yet very captivating. I agree that the statement made "Of all the things that happened there that's all I remember" (9). The child was there for 8 months and during that long period of time, the child remembers such a horrific experience. Obviously that would be something to remember but I feel in a way as well that as an 8 year old, that may have been one of the first if not the first time they have been referred to as a racial term.
I too thought Incident was a pretty good one. It shows that the word "Nigger" can have strong very negative and strong impact when used. The boy spent a pretty long time in Baltimore but this was all he remembered. He hadnt even done anything to the white boy and he even might thought they might be friends...but than he sticks his tongue out and gives him the ultimate insult--just because he is black. Maybe Cullen wanted whites to know exactly the magnitude to which this word has strength to reach.
I would say i was dissapointed in Cullen here for being again so negative,(he didnt have one good experience in Baltimore in all the summer months he was there?) but he was trying to get his point across. Cullen appears to me to be a sad person, dissapointed in the world for how it has spit his culture, heritage, roots out. This is a tough world to live in for anybody and a struggle to stay happy is a theme Cullen uses as well.
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