A Close Reading of Nate Spears
In the poem “My Life Has Passed Me By,” Nate Spears describes the death of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old black young male. His neighborhood watch member, George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, shot him. This poem was coming from the viewpoint of Trayvon Martin. Spears starts off with the exclamation that Trayvon was too young to die; in the third stanza, Nate Spears starts to analyze America, which is the “Land of the free, the Land of I don’t care.” Spears points out the lack of concern that the American society have which led to Trayvon’s murder.
Spears uses repetition in the fourth stanza to highlight that Trayvon was in his own hometown, and it was not some misapprehension of someone who did not understand the culture of the town, He was just a young African American male walking the streets in his neighborhood. In the final stanza Spears shifted from Trayvon’s standpoint to someone telling him that his death was not in vain, because his passing astonished the nation. She was saying the shock was going to catch people’s attention that will force them into action and prevent an attack like this in the future. Nate Spears wrote the poem in first person starting from the beginning before transitioning into third person and it is …show more content…
Instead, they have the right to a normal life if that is what they desire. Parents should not have to fear for their teenage kids walking to the corner store for a snack because they feel like his or her child being killed. The act of injustice and discrimination still being in America is beyond unbelievable because we have come a long way when it comes to considering everyone equal under the law. We also have the mutual qualities that make us all human beings, therefore we are all to be treated with respect, dignity and treat others in the same
In the poem “My Life Has Passed Me By,” Nate Spears describes the death of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old black young male. His neighborhood watch member, George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, shot him. This poem was coming from the viewpoint of Trayvon Martin. Spears starts off with the exclamation that Trayvon was too young to die; in the third stanza, Nate Spears starts to analyze America, which is the “Land of the free, the Land of I don’t care.” Spears points out the lack of concern that the American society have which led to Trayvon’s murder.
Spears uses repetition in the fourth stanza to highlight that Trayvon was in his own hometown, and it was not some misapprehension of someone who did not understand the culture of the town, He was just a young African American male walking the streets in his neighborhood. In the final stanza Spears shifted from Trayvon’s standpoint to someone telling him that his death was not in vain, because his passing astonished the nation. She was saying the shock was going to catch people’s attention that will force them into action and prevent an attack like this in the future. Nate Spears wrote the poem in first person starting from the beginning before transitioning into third person and it is …show more content…
Instead, they have the right to a normal life if that is what they desire. Parents should not have to fear for their teenage kids walking to the corner store for a snack because they feel like his or her child being killed. The act of injustice and discrimination still being in America is beyond unbelievable because we have come a long way when it comes to considering everyone equal under the law. We also have the mutual qualities that make us all human beings, therefore we are all to be treated with respect, dignity and treat others in the same