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Legacies Nikki Giovanni Analysis

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The Life and Works of Nikki Giovanni

The ideas and subjects expressed in Nikki Giovanni’s works are a reflection of her life and times. Giovanni, born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1943, is a well-known African-American author who reached her prime in the late 1960´s and the early 1970´s. All of her writings prove her experiences as a child and young woman. ¨frequently anthologized, Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride and respect for family. Her informal style makes her work accessible to both adults and children¨ (PoetryFoundation 1). Her writings include the poems “Legacies” and “Choices”.

“Legacies” written in 1976 is one of Giovanni's famous pieces of work. Legacies express Giovanni’s knowledge passed down from her generation (Applebee 418). Her knowledge was passed by her grandmother a great teacher to her. She influenced her granddaughter in many ways, such as her informal speech/slang (PoetryFoundation 1). Giovanni uses her slang as an indication of her culture, as is seen in “Legacies” she uses this in a line, ¨I want chu to learn how to make rolls said the old women proudly.” (Applebee 418) “Legacies” is just one illustration of the connections with Giovanni's life and works. …show more content…

This poem expresses what the author expects to have but not achieving it (Applebee 420). In Giovanni's works she rages over family love, loneliness, and frustration (PoetryFoundation 1). As demonstrated in “Choices” she is frustrated as she can not achieve what she wants in result she goes along with what society wants her to do. According to the ¨Author Study Nikki Giovanni¨ it states ¨Unfortunately, Giovanni´s independent spirit got her into trouble with the university authorities almost immediately¨ (Applebee 405). This displays the need for independence as is seen in ¨Choices¨. Needless to say “Choices” authenticates the connection with Giovanni's life and

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The short Poem titled “Legacies,” by Nikki Giovanni, describes an interaction between a grandmother and her granddaughter. The grandmother wants to teach her granddaughter how to make rolls but the granddaughter refuses saying, ‘“i don’t want to know how to make no rolls”’ (Giovanni, line 11). However, the author writes that both did not say what they truly meant. The grandmother did not just want to teach her daughter how to make rolls, but she also wanted to teach her independence. However, the granddaughter did not want to learn independence because she wanted to still depend on her grandmother for something, even after she is gone.

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Through the poem, Giovanni reiterates the phrase, “We are Virginia Tech,” and that is a representation of how if nothing else they all have each other. That phrase brings unity to every single Virginia Tech student and alumni. Nikki Giovanni uses strong rhetorical appeals such as

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8) What is the tone/language of Nikki Giovanni’s poem? Does she use symbols/symbolism? I found Nikki Giovanni tone excited because of the way he used vivid words to describe the things that were in the library. He was very excited when he first lied eyes on the desk with the wooden chair. It was a big moment for him because there was a new world waiting to be discover.

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Giovanni himself describes Guillaume as, “Having more hands than an octopus, and no dignity.” (Baldwin 1956:54) According to Lorelai Cederstrom, “Baldwin examines the sexual roles which are forced upon Black (in this case, Italian) and white as a result of their social conditioning.” (Cederstrom 1984:176) In both Baldwin and Jacobs’ novels, the microaggressions towards Giovanni and Linda come from the fact that due to their race and nationality, they are treated as second class

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Due to the parallel that has been established between the Bible story and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” one would expect and assume that Beatrice would inhabit the typical role of Eve while Giovanni takes on the traditional role of Adam. However, as one reads Hawthorne’s tale, one realizes that this is not the case. Within the short story, it is interesting to note that that Beatrice gained her immunity poison and her ability to cause from her scientist father who the story established as being a God-like figure. However, this concept becomes even more interesting when one considers that later, Giovanni gains this same ability from his exposure to Beatrice within the garden and, by extension, Dr. Rappaccini. With these two notions in mind, readers can assert that not only it was Beatrice that was created before Giovanni, Giovanni’s poison abilities were created from a part of Beatrice herself.

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In the novel Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, the protagonist David’s obsession with maintaining a traditionally masculine façade is what leads to the demise of all of his relationships. David’s masculine presentation and insecurity over his own homosexuality are frowned upon by Western society in the 1950s, the novel’s setting. This general societal consensus leads to David’s internalization of homophobia, eventually leading to the ruin of his relationships with family, friends, lovers, and himself. Western society’s view of homosexuality and masculinity at that time is the primary reason for the expiry of David’s relationships.

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