In the poem “The Journalist,” written by J. Patrick Lewis, Lewis describes how Helen Zia uses journalism to address social issues, as well as using repetition to contribute to the overall message of the poem. One of the most obvious points of repetition in the poem is the final line of each stanza when Lewis something about parentheses. For example, in the 4th line, Lewis writes “Nothing I am bears those parentheses.” A stanza later, Lewis writes “No one I know deserves parentheses.” He uses the same format for the next two stanzas, creating a sense of repetition in the poem. I believe that Lewis wrote this to express that there is nothing anyone can do to go above the “parentheses,” or the boundaries that, in this poem, an Asian has. Another
