In “Sadie and Maud”, “My Grandmother Would Rock Quietly and Hum”, and “Negro” all use poetic devices to convey the simple, clear message of being controlled by society and their rules and expectations they have set forth for people. All three poems address this theme, “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks and “My Grandmother Would Rock Quietly and Hum” by Leonard Adame and “Negro” by Langston Hughes. They all deal with the struggling issues pertaining to society and their standards. In “My Grandmother Would Rock Quietly and Hum” the speaker has to deal with the fading memories he has of his grandmother and his Mexican heritage. This affects him greatly and deeply because he wants to retain those few memories he has left of his beloved grandmother
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Towards the last lines in the poem “My Grandmother Would Rock Quietly and Hum”, Leonard Adame states, “ she gave me herself she would sit and talk of her girlhood- of things strange to me: Mexico epidemics relatives shot her fathers hopes of this country,” says the speaker. (Lines 33-42) Here the speaker talks about how his grandma would talk about certain things about his culture that his grandmother thought would be familiar to him but are not anymore. This is due to the fact that the speakers’ family moved from Mexico to America and society has made them change into something they are not. They had to conform to different values and customs to be considered “normal”. It was kind of a similar situation in the poem, “ Sadie and Maud”. In that poem Gwendolyn Brooks claims, “Maud went to college Sadie stayed at home. Sadie scarped life with a fine-tooth comb. She did not leave a tingle in. Her comb found every strand. Sadie was one of he livingest chits in all the land.” (Lines 1-8) The speaker here conveys this message about the “restraints of society” by utilizing the poetic device of symbolism; she gives us a description of how fine her life is without conforming to society’s rules. She lived her life however she chose and lived life to the fullest. In these other lines here the speaker says, “Maud, who went to college, is a thin brown mouse, she is living all alone. In this old house.” (Lines 17-20) In this part of the poem the speaker gives uses a simile to compare Maud’s life to a mouse. Shows how it went for her doing what was expected of her. Maud went to college got an education yet she did not get married and did not get the chance to live a happy life. She was in a hole like a mouse all alone without any company. Now, in the poem, “Negro” towards the ending Langston Hughes says, “ I’ve been a worker: under my hand the pyramids
Towards the last lines in the poem “My Grandmother Would Rock Quietly and Hum”, Leonard Adame states, “ she gave me herself she would sit and talk of her girlhood- of things strange to me: Mexico epidemics relatives shot her fathers hopes of this country,” says the speaker. (Lines 33-42) Here the speaker talks about how his grandma would talk about certain things about his culture that his grandmother thought would be familiar to him but are not anymore. This is due to the fact that the speakers’ family moved from Mexico to America and society has made them change into something they are not. They had to conform to different values and customs to be considered “normal”. It was kind of a similar situation in the poem, “ Sadie and Maud”. In that poem Gwendolyn Brooks claims, “Maud went to college Sadie stayed at home. Sadie scarped life with a fine-tooth comb. She did not leave a tingle in. Her comb found every strand. Sadie was one of he livingest chits in all the land.” (Lines 1-8) The speaker here conveys this message about the “restraints of society” by utilizing the poetic device of symbolism; she gives us a description of how fine her life is without conforming to society’s rules. She lived her life however she chose and lived life to the fullest. In these other lines here the speaker says, “Maud, who went to college, is a thin brown mouse, she is living all alone. In this old house.” (Lines 17-20) In this part of the poem the speaker gives uses a simile to compare Maud’s life to a mouse. Shows how it went for her doing what was expected of her. Maud went to college got an education yet she did not get married and did not get the chance to live a happy life. She was in a hole like a mouse all alone without any company. Now, in the poem, “Negro” towards the ending Langston Hughes says, “ I’ve been a worker: under my hand the pyramids