Hair By Elizabeth Acevedo Essay

No one should feel the need to hide their true culture/identity because of other people. In the poem, “Hair” by Elizabeth Acevedo she shares her experience as an Afro-Dominican woman with hair that people throughout her community have still not accepted. Her poetry divulges how many women of color have dealt with the same common problems. Acevedo uses various stylistic techniques including repetition, similes, and metaphors to develop an argument throughout her poem. In the poem “Hair” by Elizabeth Acevedo she argues that women similar to her should not hide their hair in its natural state for the sake of other people nor be judged because of their hair. She also argues people should be their true selves and not feel the need to hide their

Elizabeth conveys, “What they mean is, / ‘Why would you date a black man?’ / What they mean is / “a prieto cocolo.’/ What they mean is, / ‘Why would two oppressed people come together? It’s two times the trouble.’/ What they really mean is, / ‘Have you thought of your daughter’s hair?’” (Acevedo 22-30). Acevedo repeats the phrase ‘what they mean is’ in her poem to show the readers that she is telling her story truthfully and isn’t skipping past anything. She is telling stories from her own experiences within her society. To display to her audience through her own experiences that people shouldn’t be judged because of their culture. Another use of repetition used by Elizabeth Acevedo is recalled from the first line of the poem, “My mother tells me to fix my hair” (Acevedo 1), and the last lines of the poem, “My mother tells me to fix my hair. / And so many words remain unspoken / because all I can reply is: / ‘You can’t fix what was never broken.’” (Acevedo 43-46). She connected the first line in the poem to the end to note to the readers that through everything that has been said about her hair, she knows her hair was never the problem. This deepens her argument even more by clearly indicating there is nothing wrong with her hair, therefore nothing to be “fixed” because it is her identity and culture which should be