While reading "What It’s like to be A Black girl" by Patricia gave mood of suffering, courage and also pain. While reading the poem I also noticed her losing her purity and self-value. A little girl at the age of 9, growing up to understand how hard it is being a African American female in America in the 1990's. Things that helped me interpret this poem were the tone of the poem; the imagery and the figures of speech. One of the tones noticed was suffering. The author Patricia smith states, "Its dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering"(4-5). This was to show the tone of suffering to become something she was not. Another tone was pain; the little girl in the poem seems to be having a lot of pain. With the disturbance at her chest and smelling blood in her breakfast, she shows she may have been bruised or maybe even raped. Another tone was
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When I read “it’s jumping
Double Dutch/until your legs pop ...” (11-12). I could see a group of kid’s double dutching in the streets and the fire hydrant shooting water out. She talks about dropping food coloring in her eye. This, to me, paints a picture of any girl trying so hard to become someone she is not. When the speaker says, "Its fists and flames and life according to Motown…"(17), it shows she is a girl that is willing to fight for her beliefs and culture. Even though imagery is important, I believe that the figures of speech were the main reason that I could relate to and interpret this poem. When the speaker says," it’s jumping double Dutch until your legs pop,"(17), her legs aren’t actually popping. She was adding it to show how long and hard she was jumping rope. She also talks about "having a man reach out for her” (23), meaning having a man act as if he truly cares for her, and she then says, “caving in around his fingers"(24). Meaning to me, that she thought he was good for her, but he was just playing with her heart and
When I read “it’s jumping
Double Dutch/until your legs pop ...” (11-12). I could see a group of kid’s double dutching in the streets and the fire hydrant shooting water out. She talks about dropping food coloring in her eye. This, to me, paints a picture of any girl trying so hard to become someone she is not. When the speaker says, "Its fists and flames and life according to Motown…"(17), it shows she is a girl that is willing to fight for her beliefs and culture. Even though imagery is important, I believe that the figures of speech were the main reason that I could relate to and interpret this poem. When the speaker says," it’s jumping double Dutch until your legs pop,"(17), her legs aren’t actually popping. She was adding it to show how long and hard she was jumping rope. She also talks about "having a man reach out for her” (23), meaning having a man act as if he truly cares for her, and she then says, “caving in around his fingers"(24). Meaning to me, that she thought he was good for her, but he was just playing with her heart and