Date of Award

Fall 1993

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

Program/Concentration

English

Committee Director

Janet Sylvester

Call Number for Print

Special Collections; LD4331.E64N59

Abstract

This poem is not about any character in particular. It is a montage of disenfranchised voices which reflect disenchantment with the status quo: a system that continues to see gang members as crazed people who are non-human, a stereotype which perpetuates gang-related killings.

Nevertheless, the poem has some of the qualities of a short story in that it has a beginning, middle, and end, as well as a central character, Bleek, who speaks for the norms of the poem. Through a series of scenes and reflections, Bleek takes us on a journey which is as demoralizing as the one that African Americans experienced when they were brought to this country on slave ships, their language and culture ignored as they were force-fed poverty and treated like puppets for children's flighty joy. But just as some slaves rose above their circumstances, Bleek is changed through the course of the poem. Needless to say, his journey is a necessary one in a society divided by violence and prejudice. As a result, he trades his old weapon, the gun, for a new tool, the pen. This is his story.

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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/edrw-6k52

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