Analyzing “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl”
Patricia Smith’s poem, “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl” (for those of you who aren’t) was an extremely emotional and eye opening poem. The poet describes through the eyes of a nine year old, what it’s like growing up in society a black girl, and suffering through life’s changes known as puberty. Society has planted a seed in her young and impressionable mind that being ethnic means nothing about her is right. To fully comprehend her perspective, it helps to analyze the elements of tone, imagery and symbolism. The tone the poet uses in “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl” is verbal and dramatic irony. There are many expressive effects in this poem, verbalized through pain, suffering and even courage. When the author says, “Feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong.” And “It’s finding a space between your legs, a disturbance at your chest and not knowing what to do with the whistles.” She is telling us the girl’s confusion and suffering of her body changing. The young girl is caught between a child and a teenager, her body is developing and she feels out of sorts. The attitude and tone that is portrayed in the poem comes across to the readers is that of a confused and frustrated little girl.
Imagery is the most striking element …show more content…
When she says, “It’s flame and fists and life according to Motown.” She is telling us something deeper than the literal meaning of the words. Symbolizing that growing up a black girl is a struggle in finding confidence, and living according to a stereo-type, or everyone else’s ideas of the social norm. The blue food coloring for her eyes, the mop for her hair, and the wearing of all white clothes are all also evidence of symbolism. They create images of the character and her actions that suggest her eagerness to be something or someone she is
Patricia Smith’s poem, “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl” (for those of you who aren’t) was an extremely emotional and eye opening poem. The poet describes through the eyes of a nine year old, what it’s like growing up in society a black girl, and suffering through life’s changes known as puberty. Society has planted a seed in her young and impressionable mind that being ethnic means nothing about her is right. To fully comprehend her perspective, it helps to analyze the elements of tone, imagery and symbolism. The tone the poet uses in “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl” is verbal and dramatic irony. There are many expressive effects in this poem, verbalized through pain, suffering and even courage. When the author says, “Feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong.” And “It’s finding a space between your legs, a disturbance at your chest and not knowing what to do with the whistles.” She is telling us the girl’s confusion and suffering of her body changing. The young girl is caught between a child and a teenager, her body is developing and she feels out of sorts. The attitude and tone that is portrayed in the poem comes across to the readers is that of a confused and frustrated little girl.
Imagery is the most striking element …show more content…
When she says, “It’s flame and fists and life according to Motown.” She is telling us something deeper than the literal meaning of the words. Symbolizing that growing up a black girl is a struggle in finding confidence, and living according to a stereo-type, or everyone else’s ideas of the social norm. The blue food coloring for her eyes, the mop for her hair, and the wearing of all white clothes are all also evidence of symbolism. They create images of the character and her actions that suggest her eagerness to be something or someone she is