The tone conveyed in Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool" reveals much about the state of the narrators. The sudden shift in content as well as the form of the poem help to convey a sombre and regretful tone that forces the reader to reconsider the prior statements laid out in the other stanzas. While the narrators, known only as the Pool Players, put forth what seemed to be pride throughout the first several thoughts, but as the poem ends, the freedom evoked in the prior passages gives way fear before an abrupt death.
Throughout the poem, the narrators mention several actions in which they engage. These can be regarded as youthful hooliganism as they make seemingly minor infractions against the rules and laws that had been laid out before them. Brooks ends her poem with the line "We die soon." After reading this abrupt termination, the reader realizes that its through these minor infractions and youthful romanticizing of breaking rules that these people have damaged the memories of their lives, and quite likely have threatened the potential of their current lives. With this final thought, the Pool Players reveal that it is not with pleasure that they recount these actions, but shame.
Leo,
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard to imagine a whole essay you haven't written, but if this were a full essay I would be concerned about structure. I get an idea in your introductory paragraph of the scope and direction of your argument, but the second paragraph you've written here reiterates the whole argument laid out instead of expanding upon and developing the first part of it.
Be careful, also, of vagueness. In your first sentence here the phrase "reveals much about the state of the narrators" would be much stronger if it were more specific. What does it reveal exactly?