The Voice of Rebels

Good evening, everyone! Today I am going to be discussing a short, yet powerful poem written by a female poet who is new to me: Gwendolyn Brooks! Being of African American heritage myself, I am always excited to discover African American writers, both male and female, who have made a great impact on the world of literature. For example, one of my favorite authors happens to be Alice Walker, author of one of my favorite books, (which inspired the subsequent movie which I also love) The Color Purple. I found it very intriguing that Walker has actually cited Gwendolyn Brooks as an influence. To me, that meant that Brooks must have surely been an astounding talent!

My focus of this post will be Brooks' poem, "We Real Cool."

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.

Something that I immediately admired about this poem is its rhythm and its succinct quality. However, at the same time, it is so effective. My initial thought on the poem was that although these pool players will die soon, they seem to be accepting of this. Upon listening to a recording in which Brooks herself discusses the inspiration for the poem, I learned that this is not the focus of the poem. I have included the short video below.

The main point that stood out to me during Brooks' speech preceding the poem is that these young men see themselves as "contemptuous of the establishment." This is the focus of the poem. This view of themselves might also be a product of stereotypes of the time about black people. 

Reading and reflecting upon this poem has inspired me to write my own version of it. My version takes a look at this same sort of mentality of young black men, yet it takes place during the late 80's, and early 90's. When I heard the phrase "contemptuous of the establishment," my first thought was the now disbanded, California hip-hop group, N.W.A. The point of view of this original poem is of the members of N.W.A., specifically following the release of their album, "Straight Outta Compton" and the rage that accompanied the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Having viewed the 2015 biographical film titled Straight Outta Compton just last month, I feel I have a greater understanding of the perspective held by these performers and the community of which they spoke on behalf. 

We Real Bad






We real bad. We

Get mad. We



Break rules. We

Ain’t fools. We



Preach facts. We

Pile stacks. We



Live the song. We

Die strong.



In writing my poem, I have altered the vernacular in order to the fit the speech of rappers of the time. To offer a brief synopsis, when the speakers say that they are "bad," they mean that they are "cool." When they "get mad," they are becoming angered that they are being subjected to unprovoked discrimination and violence merely for their skin color. The facts that they preach are the stories that they tell through their songs which detail this oppression. When they say that they "pile stacks," they are merely commenting on the money that they make from the records that they sell. The money is not their only concern, however. The rappers "live the song," meaning that they have experienced the very same injustice that they rap about. They want to make a change. Finally, the line "we die strong" is in reference to the death of former N.W.A. member, Eazy-E. Although his life may have ended early, he held firm in his beliefs and helped leave a legacy of not only music, but of important social commentary.







My question for you today is simply, what do you believe to be the meaning of Brooks' "We Real Cool"?

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Marriage or Prison?

Hello again! Today I will be discussing and comparing two short stories: "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and "A New England Nun" by Mary Wilkins Freeman. I will give a short overview of each story, provide my own personal thoughts on the concept of marriage, and then finally attempt to approach the endings of each story from a different angle. Let's begin!

In a nutshell, both of these stories contain a female main character. In "The Story of an Hour," it is Louise Mallard, an older woman who has been married for years and who is desperate for an escape. This escape seems to finally be granted to her when she hears of the news of her husband's death. On the other end of the spectrum, the main character in "A New England Nun" is Louisa Ellis, a younger woman who has lived fifteen years of her life alone in wait of her returning fiance. As she waits, she becomes increasingly content with a solitary lifestyle and dreads that her marriage to this man, Joe Dagget, will disrupt her quiet routine. It is a funny coincidence how these two characters also share very similar names- Louise and Louisa!

I personally find it very interesting that neither of these women enjoy marriage/the idea of it. For many years, Louise Mallard has lived as a subordinate to her husband, the bread-maker, and dreams of experiencing a life of her own, and making her own choices. To her, marriage is a prison. I can see why a woman would not want to live a life like this. For Louisa Ellis, the problem is that she has become so accustomed to being by herself that she has, in a sense, fallen out of love with the idea of marriage. To her, the impending marriage is a nightmare. Basically, when these two women think of marriage, this is what they see:

Not very pretty. I, however, think of marriage in a different way. I think that a part of this might be the fact that we live in the 21st century, where men and women experience equality. Although I have never been married, the thought of marriage is a wonderful dream to me. I see it as a chance for two people in love to share memories, to start a family, and to be equals. I could never see myself living alone like Louisa Ellis. I have a wonderful boyfriend who not only treats me as an equal, but whom I see quite often. These are the things that both Mrs. Mallard and Louisa lack. When a marriage is based on the ideas of equality and love, it can be a very beautiful thing.

http://www.brides.com/blogs/aisle-say/2013/10/happy-marriage-gene-scientific-study-results.html

Now that I have shared my personal thoughts on the subject matter, let's take a moment to imagine what it would be like if these stories had ended in an opposite way. 

In "The Story of an Hour," Mrs. Mallard becomes elated with the thought of living as an unmarried woman, only to find that her husband has not actually died. The shock of this causes her to die. However, what if she had not died? What if Mr. Mallard was in fact dead? I imagine her denying Richards' advances, maybe even moving away from her old home, and experiencing life for the first time. She might find herself spending time with friends, gardening, going on walks, buying herself gifts, and maybe even starting a career. I envision her living several happy years alone and dying naturally, instead of from "heart troubles." The possibilities are endless! 

The conclusion of "A New England Nun" is a little bit different. Louisa, finding out that her fiance had fallen in love with another woman, decides not to confront him about it, and ends the marriage on the grounds that she was so accustomed to her current way of living. Louisa is relived that Joe is not entirely heartbroken about this. But what if the affair between Joe and Lily had never existed? What if Joe and Louisa had married, as planned? It is clear to see that Louisa would initially be very disappointed. She would have to leave her tidy home, she would be expected to care for both Joe and his elderly mother, and Caesar the dog would be set free and would go on a rampage. 

But maybe that would not be the case. I would like to think that Louisa would learn to make compromises with Joe and that she would soon learn to love her life with a partner. After all, aren't healthy compromises another important part of a strong marriage?

My question for you is what is your perception of marriage? Is it a prison, or is it paradise? Do you think that society as a whole has moved away from marriages like the Mallard's, or could they still exist today? Finally, what are the components of a healthy marriage?

A photo of my boyfriend and I holding hands on one of our first dates

Thank you, and have a lovely weekend!