fou

Poems: English Literature Literature refers to any material used to communicate a given message. Literature is mostly the body of a written work depicting culture, history, creative or imaginative writing. Through literature, scholars are able to put across their message to the society and in so doing, they educate and influence the community’s thoughts and opinions. Poems have been in use ever since time in memorial. The writers of poems are poets. Their stylistic device used to write poems are different from other writing techniques because poems are short, brief, straight to the point, and have a rhythmical tone. Poets therefore are able to communicate a given message within a very short time. The poets usually use life phenomenon within their environment as the main source of their writing themes. Therefore, the themes in poems resemble or correlate with the current situation within a society in which the poets live in. Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was a poet living in the era between the year 1902 and the year 1967. During this period in America, the society was grappling with the issue of segregation and integration. The minority communities were rising up and clamoring for integration while at the same time the majority conservatists were arguing against integration in favor of the then status quo. Langston identified with the minority communities because of his ethnic decent and thus had a liberal mindset. As a result, the themes most apparent in Langston’s work are in favor of segregation and overcoming obstacles. Two prominent poems written by Langston Hughes are ‘Mother to Son’ and ‘Waitin on Roosevelt’. Both poems address the same issue Langston’s Hughes’ work was highly regarded as they used to captivate a huge audience and even were published on National Gazettes such as The New York Times (Hughes, 1994). Mother to Son Poem The ‘Mother to Son’ poem is an intriguing poem. The poem illustrates the close relation between a mother and son. It is through this relationship that a mother is able to raise the son in to a good and responsible adult. Thus, through the relationship, the mother nurtures the son the best way possible keeping in mind the eventual effects of the society. The poem ‘Mother to Son’ depicts a mother reinforcing her son’s belief in hope of a better future. The mother simply narrates how tough it has been for her to make ends meet while at the same time nurturing her son. She continues to explain that the struggle is not over yet because her son will have to pick up the mantle very soon and continue with the struggles. One can relate the mother to son poem as a depiction of how one generation nurtures and influences the future of the forthcoming generation. It is very important to understand this relationship because the future seemingly depends on it. Waitin on Roosevelt Poem ‘Waitin on Roosevelt Poem’ is a very captivating poem because of its political sense. The poem analyzes the minority African-American Society with respect to the present political leaders. Most of the political leaders would promise development to the African-American community upon election and once election is over, the leaders do not fulfill their promises. The African-American community as depicted in the poem is depending on Franklin Roosevelt to come through with the promises he made during political campaigns. Some of the members of the African-American community depended on Franklin Roosevelt to make changes so that they could find a way through which they can earn an honest income. However, Roosevelt did not deliver on his campaign promises and therefore the African-American community is no longer going to wait on Roosevelt to initiate the changes (Rampersad, 2001). The FilmTHE Blind Side In the modern day world, literature can incorporate films that convey a specific message within itself. Such films take on a representative role relating to issues within our community and express a given opinion with regards to the issues. For example, the film ‘THE Blind Side’ is a modern day film whose main characters set off to overcome the struggles within their careers in order to become successful. Michael Oher is a young man in high school struggling to make good grades so that he can play college football. His back ground is not glamorous but very poor. In addition, Oher had a very traumatizing childhood that would or should have stripped him off his ability to love. It is very for a person with Oher’s background to feel inadequate and loose hope (Hancock & Bullock, 2010). Overcoming Obstacles In the three sets of work, the underlying theme is the overcoming of obstacles. The theme is present in all three works that one cannot fail to miss it. In the ‘Mother to Son’ poem, the mother is educating the son on the various daunting obstacles she faced while growing up. She goes on to explain that the obstacles did not pass when she grew in to an adult but rather, the obstacles became more serious. The mother explains how nurturing a child on her own given the shortcomings of the father transformed her in to a more responsible person. The mother also explains that the son should not fear the problems that they face as a family but rather find a way through the problem. Therefore, we can see how the mother was able to raise the child, given her ethnical origin, financial status and social stratifications presented obstacles in her life. It is through her own determination that the mother was able to improve on her situation while at the same time excel in her abilities to nurture her son. In the poem ‘Waitin on Roosevelt’, the African-American community is tired of waiting for their political leaders to come out and change their living standards. The obstacles they face are such as lack of employment; therefore, they cannot earn an income to support themselves. Thus, the members of the African-American community cannot afford food or shelter as they are evicted from their living quarters. However, given the dire circumstances, the African-American community is still able to survive and live through to the next day. This is a very daunting task especially given the fact that they lack proper shelter and food. Once the African-American community thus decides to take matters in to their own hands and develop their lives in the hope of a better future. In the film ‘Blind Side’, Michael Oher sets of to becoming a college football player. Oher’s father was in prison while his mother was a drug addict thus his childhood was quite traumatizing. Michael Oher met the Tuohy family and the family thus brought stability back to Oher’s life. The stability allowed Oher to focus on his dream of becoming a college football player. Since his grades were not good enough, he had to study hard and train hard at the same time. In the end, Oher was able to get grades good enough to earn him a scholarship and therefore, play college football. Oher had a good and supportive family in the Tuohy family that allowed Oher to express himself. Oher then had to overcome the obstacles in his life that made it impossible for him to become a football player. Conclusion The two poems and the film depict the struggles that the society faces on a daily basis. Even though segregation was removed in favor of integration, the minority communities in America still face huge and daunting obstacles. All that is necessary is that the individuals should find a way to excel and never lose hope. Hope is the last thing that can actually drive a person to excelling by overcoming the obstacles. Comment by Rayan Afiouni: No they are not. Comment by Rayan Afiouni: b Rayan Afiouni Ballad of Comment by Rayan Afiouni: weak intro Comment by Rayan Afiouni: You don’t know this Comment by Rayan Afiouni: What does this mean? Comment by Rayan Afiouni: Use the word persona Comment by Rayan Afiouni: ? Comment by Rayan Afiouni: YOU NEED QUOTES You just tell me what it’s about but do not explain or analyse the poem at all. Comment by Rayan Afiouni: Not true. Comment by Rayan Afiouni: Is Comment by Rayan Afiouni: What were they? Rayan Afiouni Comment by Rayan Afiouni: was Comment by Rayan Afiouni: You do not analyse the poem… No marks given for no analysis. Rayan Afiouni Comment by Rayan Afiouni: Vague Comment by Rayan Afiouni: Does not connect with the sentence Comment by Rayan Afiouni: Change Rayan Afiouni Untrue Comment by Rayan Afiouni: ?? Comment by Rayan Afiouni: Too vague needs technique