Essay on Gwendolyn Brooks

Free Gwendolyn Brooks papers

Gypsies
Our history books are full of ethnic and religious groups who have been mistreated. However, these books say very little, if anything at all about the Gypsies. In this paper I am going to discuss a few of the many hardships and prejudices that Gypsies have faced, and continue to face today. T

gun control
Will Gun Control Reduce Crime Yes Handguns exact an inordinate toll on American lives, isn't it time that we ban handguns? "In 1989, guns killed 11,832 Americans." ( Dolan, Edward, page 203) " There are an estimated sixty-five million firearms in the United States, which means, there are s

An Analysis of Gwendolyn Brooks’

“The Preacher: Ruminates Behind the Sermon”

In Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem, “The Preacher: Ruminates Behind the Sermon”, she shows the reader a different side to God. The theme of the poem is that God, as esteemed as He may be, is just as human as we are. This is shown in a few different stanzas where Brooks suggests that God feels human emotions and desires simple human activities. Another important thing that expresses the theme is the style in which the poem is written.

One of the most obvious places where God is humanized is in stanza three. “But who walks with him?-dares to take His arm, / To slap Him on the shoulder, tweak His ear, / Buy Him a Coca-Cola or a beer. . .”(p.182). The author makes it very clear in the way that she writes these lines that, in her opinion, God desires (or should desire) to partake in activities that human beings take for granted, simple human activities, like buying a beer or horsing around. These are the kinds of things that people would never imagine God to want to do because He is so high above human beings. Brooks, on the other hand, seems to think that God gets bored being so lofty and would not mind coming down to shoot some pool or maybe go bowling. This is a clear way of humanizing God, through humanizing the things He wants to do.

Brooks also gives God human emotions. This is important in expressing her theme because, being the God is an all-powerful being, it is hard to imagine Him feeling lonely or happy in the way that we (human beings) do. In stanza four, Brooks does this quite well. “Perhaps sometimes He tires of being great / In solitude. Without a hand to hold.”(p.183). These two lines are affective in humanizing God’s emotions because of the emotions they evoke in the reader. As a person, remaining in solitude all the time, would be quite lonely and sad. Therefore the reader is able to imagine that it must make God...

Brooks, Gwendolyn. "The Preacher: Ruminates behind the Sermon". The Premier Book of Major Poets. Ed. Anita Dore. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1970. 182-183