I Am Not Black Figurative Language Analysis

The quote, “To become what one is, one must not have the faintest idea what one is.” by Friedrich Nietzche, helps us understand how figurative language deepens a person's sense of identity and belonging, disproving labels, providing empathy for the author or character, and explaining the struggles that people have gone through, especially immigrating to the Americas.

In the poem “I Am Not Black”, Prince Ea masterfully uses figurative language, showcasing the power of what it can express, and in this case, the poet's judgment on labels and how they affect identity. This is shown when he states, “. . . our bodies are just cars that we operate and drive around . . .“(Ea 19-24).”, playing a role in an extended metaphor that encompasses identity

The extended metaphor in this stanza essentially contrasts the poem's message with a real-world scenario, particularly when he states, ¨And with no money down, 0% APR and no test drive¨ he makes this comparison that provides a deeper meaning to the

For example, one piece of evidence is, “Or learn to stay still like statues giving no clues that we were there” (Koyzan, 67). This piece of evidence from line 67 makes use of a simile, which compares something that may be sorrowful if it was true, providing exaggeration and giving a deeper understanding of the way they felt on the inside during the course of what was being told in the poem. Furthermore, it represents the hardship and struggles they went through just to be unseen, and unscathed from the bullying that they faced just because of their identity and physical attributes, which directly affected their identity and thus gave a larger sense of belonging. My second piece of evidence is, “So broken heart strings bled the blues / As we tried to empty ourselves / So we would feel nothing” (Koyzan, 49-51). This piece of evidence is an example of hyperbole, which contrasts the idea that the language used in these lines explains what he did just to protect himself from the bullying, preventing emotion, thus, the figurative language used gives the reader a sense of identity and understanding toward the