What Does The Poem The Bean Eaters Mean

Gwendolyn Brooks in “The Bean Eaters” uses symbols and setting and imagery to speak about an older couple and their routinely life cycle. During the climatic period of time the couple endure the same routine day in day out, without changing a single thing. The setting paints a picture of an elderly poor couple living in a penniless environment. In “The Bean Eaters” Gwendolyn uses figurative symbols to best convey the theme of her poem. From plates to silverware to dolls and old clothes, objects seem to play a bigger role in the imagery of this poem than the people, the "bean eaters." Focusing on the stuff allows Brooks to create a more general social note instead of a poem that might let us to empathize with just two people. Lines 3-4: The image of two people sitting down to eat off of chipped plates and cheap silverware gives us a good starting point for picturing their lives as people who are barely scraping by. Lines 7-8: More images of stuff: in fact, our speaker makes the stuff-ness of this poem plain when …show more content…
After all, the title of this poem is "The Bean Eaters." It's like Brooks is pointing a big, symbolic finger at beans. In fact, beans become a stand-in for everything that this couple lacks: a good home, a network of friends, a big juicy steak… Instead, they're making do with the cheapest goods they can find. The point is, though, that this couple makes it work. They're survivors.” Gwendolyn Brooks in the Bean Eaters” Line 1: They're not exactly a supper you dream about. In this case, they're a symbol of everything that this couple is lacking financially and even socially. “Gwendolyn Brooks in the Bean Eaters” Line 11: The poem begins with a symbolic reference to beans, and it ends on the same note. The couple's meal together becomes a way for them to surpass their circumstances – they look past the beans and into their ironic, interesting