This poem by Gwendolyn Brooks is very short, and it rhymed... so I liked it. :) But when analyzing the poem it has much deeper meaning than you would think an 8 line poem would have. I believe that she is speaking of all African Americans back in her day, and how they took chances and broke the law to make money and survive. The number 7 is a lucky number and she says that they go to the pool hall, I'm sure to make money and gamble on the games. I think it is interesting that she mentioned "thin gin" like watering down the booze to make more profit. She speaks of young black men who skip school and are not educated, and at the end I interpreted it as their lives are shortened due to the risks they take, but they don't really care. They like the crazy life they live of "lurking late" and "singing sin" and "Jazzing June" because they are rebellious! Her voice is very cool and it makes the poem a trillion times better when you hear it from her.
I did not fully understand this poem and had trouble analyzing it. I just liked the fact that it was short and a quick read. However, your analysis really helped me understand this poem better and gave me a whole new perspective of it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI was hard for me to understand this poem. But I think the way she wrote it was more prevalent in her time and made more sense. It definitely talks about how young people are skipping school and trying to make the best out of their time. And I agree when you said it's a lot better when you hear it from her!
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