Kitchenette Building Poem Analysis

In the four poems “kitchenette building,” “the mother,” “a song in the front yard,” and “Sadie and Maud,” the writer, Gwendolyn Brooks, focuses largely on women's issues that bring into light the marginalization and dehumanization of women in America. The purpose of these four specific poems are to place emphasis on the expected role of women and their desire to defy the oppressive roles imposed upon them, although unable to.

In the first poem, “kitchenette building,” the speaker starts and ends the poem using the pronoun “we.” This subtle act of inclusiveness displays that the issue being discussed is not just the issue of one woman, but of all women. The speaker mentions “we are things,” “dry hours,” and “the involuntary plan Grayed in,

This poem, in my opinion, shows a contrast between having a plan laid out for women like in the “kitchenette building,” versus having no plan like the speaker in this poem, and how those two experiences similarly play out among women. When I compare these two poems to the patriarchal view of women I see this: “At least in the “kitchenette building” women knew what they were supposed to be doing whereas in “the mother” the speaker took her free will and made a rash decision that has left her remorseful. Do you see what happens when women are allowed to think for themselves?” With that said, I want to make it clear that I understand that this poem is a woman's experience with abortions. However, if I am to take this a step further, the poem's purpose to show how women bare the weight of such a life altering decision alone, also brings into light the patriarchal explanation on why abortions should not be a woman's right. Far too often in the media I hear about men who are against reproductive rights. I think this is mainly due to the male desire to have control over women. It’s a power issue. It apparently is not enough that men govern our society; now some men want to govern a woman's body too? These two poems in relation to each other suggest that women are in a constant state of sadness whether they

In the poem we are introduced to a young girl who apparently lives a privileged life when she refers to the poor kids as “the charity children (7).” The first line “I've stayed in the front yard all my life,” serves as a double entendre for limitation or restriction and the class system, as she mentions in line two that she wants a “peek at the back.” It is apparent that she wants to experience freedom. As the poem progresses the reader is made aware that her mother does not agree with her daughter going to play in the alley with the other children because she doesn't want her daughter associating with them (5-14). As the poem draws to an end the speaker says that she wants to be like Johnnie Mae, the girl who her mother dislikes and says that will grow up to be a bad woman. The speaker says “And I'd like to be a bad woman, too,/ And wear the brave stockings of night-black lace/And strut down the streets with paint on my face (18-20).” To the speaker, being a “bad woman” is equivalent to authorship over her life. That is ultimately what so many women fight for. You’ll see that a lot during the Women’s Rights March and if you're an avid reader, in a lot of feminist books as well. So I think that this poem acts as a representation of that want and how class and upbringing sometimes works against