Analysis of "WE REAL COOL"

A detailed Summary of Analysis of "WE REAL COOL"

"We Real Cool" is a very unique and nicely done work of poetry. The author Gwendolyn Brooks does a very nice job of having this poem flow off the tongue easily and also makes the poem very easy to read. Brooks also has a few very direct and influential message in the context of the poem. The messages and, likewise, the poem were made to appeal to young African Americans in the late 1960's during the struggle for African-American civil rights. Brooks expresses the problems and also the dangers which affected the young African-American community in the poem as a way to help the youth realize the ways of their problems and change themselves for the good of the community and most importantly themselves.

The content in this poem is directed African-American youth in the 1960's. Jazz was the popular music of the time in the African-American community, and slang words were used in the content of the songs and likewise in the common language of young African-American youth. Also the way the poem is written is a way to get the young black youth to read in the late 1960's. The poem is very easy to read and has a catchy almost musical flow. This was easier for the youth to read because many had litt

Brooks was expressing the problems of the African-American community at the time. The smooth-rhyming scheme was easy for African-American youth to read. The lines displayed the cause and effect of certain problems in the community. The words also expressed a need for a feeling of unity in the community. In all Brooks wanted to try and help her community and further the fight for African-American civil rights in 1960's America.

There are quite a few lessons to be learned in the lines of this poem. Each line expresses a problem in the African-American community at the time leading up to the final line "We Die Soon." Problems like dropping out of school represented by the line We Left School, hanging out to the wee hours of the morning represented by the line We lurk late. Listening to music that was considered sinful by the line we sing sin, and alcoholism by the line we thin gin. The reason these problems were so abundant in the African-American community was because of the lack of education and job opportunity, which then sprung the civil rights movement to begin. Brooks expresses these problems inside the poem in a way in which African-American youth will see the problems stated in their own words and from someone in their own community. The lines leading up to the final one at first do not seem to tell any significant lesson about the African-American community, but that changes with the last line. All the lines prior to the final one show the common practices that were considered normal by the youth. The yo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Left School, African Americans, Blueberry Hill, Longfellow Brooks, Gwendolyn Brooks, Hill I'll, Louie Armstrong, african-american community, Armstrong Blueberry, Real Cool, Die Soon, african-american youth, blueberry hill, youth read, civil rights, poem easy read, community words, late 1960's, inside poem, easy read, leading final, african-american civil rights,

Approximate Word count = 1033
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English