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In Leonard Adame s poem, Black and White, he describes how the ruling minority of the whites treated blacks. The main idea of the poem is to tell the reader of that time, how the blacks were being treated. He uses great diction to describe the treatment. For instance he says, they lay like catch in the plaza sun, which helps the reader understand that the men were on the ground like fish in the sun. He also uses imagery, in which many words described in the poem refer to black and white. The diction Adame uses tries to describe the relationship between black and white.
For example he states, photographers stare and snap at the dead men, at the keyboard of rifles above their heads. These two lines describe the white photographers starring at the dead black men and taking pictures of them for the newspaper. The newspaper that the white photographers are taking pictures for is symbolic because it is made up of the colors black and white. He also uses a metaphor in describing the rifles taken from the dead men. He says, Keyboard of rifles, which describes the rifles all lined up like the keys on a keyboard. The diction he uses in this poem really lets you understand the differences between black and white in the African town of Rhodesia.
The author uses great detail to describe his poem. For example he writes, Rhodesia, sweaty flank of the world, which lets the reader understand that Rhodesia is a hot place. He also writes, I read as quietly as they lay. This means that he is reading as quietly as the dead Africans lay, meaning very very quietly. The detail the author uses helps the reader tremendously understand the poem and the setting it is in. The structure of the poem is very easy to follow.
The first stanza talks about the author reading and then says that the men were put as a lesson to others. Then in the second stanza it describes what the men look like. The third stanza states what a secretary says to the people. The final paragraph states the photographers surrounding and taking pictures of the dead men.
The author does not use many sound patterns in this poem. He does use some near rhymes such as, sweaty and quietly or lesson and sun. He uses an onomatopoeia in the 21 st line to describe the sound of, snap that the cameras made. The tone of the poem is a little anger and a little irritated.
The author is angry and irritated because the white men are ruling the town of Rhodesia that is majored by blacks. He is angry because they killed the black guerrillas and set them out in the sun for people to be warned. Also photographers are taking pictures of them all dead and with their rifles over their heads. The setting of this poem is in the African town of Rhodesia. It is a small town and at the edge there is a jungle. The author, during writing this, was probably in a bad mood about racism in Africa between the blacks and the whites.
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Research essay sample on Black And White Helps The Reader
