Joy Harjo’s poem “New Orleans” paints a painted picture of a woman struggling to find the remaining fragments of her culture throughout history and the city where she resides. In her remarks on her memories and stories, Harjo constantly uses images related to progress and analogies involving money and the pursuit of wealth which lead to the ultimate decay of the Creek’s culture and community.
Harjo first writes about “a shop with ivory and knives” (13). Perhaps related to a economic analysis to the poem, the ivory represents the European settlers, specifically the white ones, and the violence that seems embedded in them and surfaced with either guns or spears. The importance is the contrast between these two objects and the “red rocks” (14). …show more content…
The latter is signified by the mention of “trolley cars on beaten silver paths” (62). This can be contrasted directly with DeSoto’s delusional vision of “shining streets/of beaten gold to dance on with silk ladies” (38-39). Instead of gold streets, the people of New Orleans developed trolley tracks worn out by use and only able to take the people so far before ending. The tracks represent the gradual spreading of the capitalist society in New Orleans, forcing out a large amount of history and people in its wake. It is the illusion that money is as abundant as the earth or water, as the two are constantly mentioned besides gold throughout the poem. Along with this mirage is the two mentions of women treated in this society. There is the “black mammy dolls/holding white babies,” and the man “dancing with a woman as gold/as the river bottom” (64-65, 69-70). Another essay could be written about the “black mammy dolls” line, but for the sake of space, we can analyze that women of color are not only viewed and used as free labor for white people, but they are also only valued for their ability to have children (64). It’s important to note the distinction between the mention of the “white babies” and the children in the rest of the poem, as those children are included in the community of the Creeks alongside the women, and both are presented as equally important in the preservation of the Creek culture (65). The other view of women created by the dancing man and woman is that women are primarily for men’s entertainment. DeSoto also had “silk ladies” to dance with in his cities of gold (39). Therefore, this objectification goes hand-in-hand with the pursuit of power and wealth in this society because, once again, the community has been
Harjo first writes about “a shop with ivory and knives” (13). Perhaps related to a economic analysis to the poem, the ivory represents the European settlers, specifically the white ones, and the violence that seems embedded in them and surfaced with either guns or spears. The importance is the contrast between these two objects and the “red rocks” (14). …show more content…
The latter is signified by the mention of “trolley cars on beaten silver paths” (62). This can be contrasted directly with DeSoto’s delusional vision of “shining streets/of beaten gold to dance on with silk ladies” (38-39). Instead of gold streets, the people of New Orleans developed trolley tracks worn out by use and only able to take the people so far before ending. The tracks represent the gradual spreading of the capitalist society in New Orleans, forcing out a large amount of history and people in its wake. It is the illusion that money is as abundant as the earth or water, as the two are constantly mentioned besides gold throughout the poem. Along with this mirage is the two mentions of women treated in this society. There is the “black mammy dolls/holding white babies,” and the man “dancing with a woman as gold/as the river bottom” (64-65, 69-70). Another essay could be written about the “black mammy dolls” line, but for the sake of space, we can analyze that women of color are not only viewed and used as free labor for white people, but they are also only valued for their ability to have children (64). It’s important to note the distinction between the mention of the “white babies” and the children in the rest of the poem, as those children are included in the community of the Creeks alongside the women, and both are presented as equally important in the preservation of the Creek culture (65). The other view of women created by the dancing man and woman is that women are primarily for men’s entertainment. DeSoto also had “silk ladies” to dance with in his cities of gold (39). Therefore, this objectification goes hand-in-hand with the pursuit of power and wealth in this society because, once again, the community has been