Sunday, November 30, 2008

Speaker 2: We Real Cool - Gwendolyn Brooks

I only read this poem because I thought the title was humorous. The speaker of the poem is a rebel that plays hookey. He/she is talking about all the rebellious things they do on the streets. They "thin gin" and "sing sin" which shows that these people are real anarchists. The speaker of this poem portrays one of those people I see in Grease. It seems like the speaker roams the streets snapping his/her fingers and whistling horrible melodies.

Also, this person "left school" and "lurks late" so I assume that they have had a rough past. When a poem is based on the speaker, there are a lot of things I have to assume I feel. I can get the feeling of the poem. This poem is showing the power and superiority the speaker has because he/she breaks all the rules. "We" refers to all those people who waste their lives I feel. Gwendolyn uses this speaker to show how she feels. Towards the end of the poem, this superiority comes to an end with "we die soon". It shows what Brooks really thinks about this lifestyle. She uses the opposite to portray her feelings.

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