An Analysis Of T. G. Wells 'Poem What It Look Like'

On the surface, the plot of “What it look like” appears to be straightforward, and tells the struggles living as an African American and the culture he was brought up in. The speaker was obviously brought up in a ghetto community which consist of drugs and rap music. Hayes reveals the story through a narrator’s voice. It is told from his point of view that allows readers to relate and understand the meaning of his life. Therefore, a reader should understand that a great deal of knowledge and experience informs Hayes narrative. Through the examination of the apparent meaning of this poem it is changing your self-image to be respected and socially accepted by others individuals. Ultimately, through this analysis, it can be discovered that social acceptance plays a large role in how African Americans view themselves in today’s society. One of the lines that supports the apparent meaning is in the line when Hayes mentioned Othello in the line, “Like I was saying, my motto is Never mistake what it looks like for what it is else you end up like that Negro Othello, (Was Othello a Negro?)” (Hayes) In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, …show more content…
For instance the KKK who were a very well-known terrorist group, would come up with scare tactics to strike fear into their hearts and also belittle them because of the color of the skin. There are white individuals that have been brought thinking that they have power because of the way their parents raised them but then there are those who are oblivious to the power that individuals are speaking upon. Sometimes, racism isn’t always obvious and rare. Therefore, when it comes to the poem, “What it look like” by Terrance Hayes the deeper meaning is that white people don’t know that they have power like black people say they do. With everything happening in today’s