During the mid-1900s, Christian faith, a central element in the United States’ culture, inspired both oppressors and supporters of the African-American struggle to attain equal rights. Natural rights, a common Christian philosophy, deemed all people as created equally under one God. However, many, unwilling to forsake their own divisive ideology, contradictingly disagreed. In contrast, supporters believed the same God created all people, black and white, in the same image. They identified with Jesus, as he represented the least among society. The black poet Gwendolyn Brooks did not believe in Christianity. However, in her works My Dreams, My Works Must Wait Till After Hell and The Good Man, Brooks proposes the existence of two contrasting Christianities:
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In My Dreams, My Works, she does not outline the actions that the savior must pursue. The Good Man answers this crucial question by expressing the need for humanistic action. The poem’s title itself an allusion to a parable told by Jesus, The Good Samaritan, which expresses the need for humanity to love thy neighbor as thyself. Similarly, Brooks uses consonance and internal rhyme to exemplify the necessity for the Good Man (1) to be “enhancer, renouncer” (2) in “the time of… affectionate evil” (4). The combination of these terms elucidates the need for a firm maintenance of both traits in a savior. In this sense, Brooks upholds those in rights movements as saviors; they resist the vile laws of society and seek to uplift human dignity. However, as Juan Williams, author of the book This Far By Faith, notes “One key to black Americans' willingness to sacrifice is that every Sunday the Gospel told them that God would not desert them if they had the courage to walk with Christ.” In Brooks’ eyes, the pursuit of rights originates in the Christian concept of a savior whom provides liberation to his followers. As Brooks utilized consonance earlier in the poem to parallel modern needs with an ancient savior, she uses alliteration for the same reason by stating, “repair a ripped, revolted land” (16). This was one of the primary goals of
In My Dreams, My Works, she does not outline the actions that the savior must pursue. The Good Man answers this crucial question by expressing the need for humanistic action. The poem’s title itself an allusion to a parable told by Jesus, The Good Samaritan, which expresses the need for humanity to love thy neighbor as thyself. Similarly, Brooks uses consonance and internal rhyme to exemplify the necessity for the Good Man (1) to be “enhancer, renouncer” (2) in “the time of… affectionate evil” (4). The combination of these terms elucidates the need for a firm maintenance of both traits in a savior. In this sense, Brooks upholds those in rights movements as saviors; they resist the vile laws of society and seek to uplift human dignity. However, as Juan Williams, author of the book This Far By Faith, notes “One key to black Americans' willingness to sacrifice is that every Sunday the Gospel told them that God would not desert them if they had the courage to walk with Christ.” In Brooks’ eyes, the pursuit of rights originates in the Christian concept of a savior whom provides liberation to his followers. As Brooks utilized consonance earlier in the poem to parallel modern needs with an ancient savior, she uses alliteration for the same reason by stating, “repair a ripped, revolted land” (16). This was one of the primary goals of