ipl-logo

Literary Analysis Of Carl Sandburg's 'And They Obey'

1099 Words5 Pages

Carl Sandburg, often referred to as “the poet of the people”, utilized poetry as a means for social reform. Engrossed in the so-called “Gilded Age” of the early 20th century, Sandburg focused most of his work on exposing the corrupt foundations of the nation’s dazzling successes. Having grown up as a poor laborer, Sandburg focused almost exclusively on the treatment of the working class in works such as “I am the People, the Mob” and “And They Obey”. To add emphasis to his cause, Sandburg utilized poetic techniques such as free verse, repetition, rhetorical questions, and contradictions. Sandburg hoped to alter the political and social conscience of the country through his poetry rather than the traditional approach of political participation. …show more content…

The over-arching tone of war and post-war society was likely influenced by Sandburg’s own experience serving in the Spanish-American war. Less direct and self-explanatory than “I am the People, the Mob”, “And They Obey” relies more on the interpretation of the audience. Two unnamed groups interact within the poem: “they” or ”you”, and “we”. It is assumed that the “they” within the title, as well as the “you” being commanded, is the obedient working class to the demanding “we” of the government. The juxtaposition of the two stanzas emphasizes the futile work of the laborers commanded to “Smash down the cities” only to later “Build up the cities” (Sandburg, 1, 9). The submission of the workers, obeying to the commands given to them and adopting the roles they are assigned, is portrayed in a negative light when presented with the pointlessness of the contradictory demands. In regards to “I am the People, the Mob”, Sandburg directly presents the idea of self-awareness amongst the working class as more than they are given credit for as a solution to their mistreatment. “And They Obey” further supports this claim by showcasing the powerful abilities of the working class to smash down entire cities and rebuild them once more, and contrasting them with the pointless and abusive demands of the government. Both poems, utilizing poetic devices to emphasize the unfair treatment of the laborers, effectively persuade the audience into understand and recognize their critical importance to the success of the

Show More
Related
269 Words | 2 Pages

In the passage from "Civil Disobedience," the author, Thoreau, utilizes rhetorical devices to support his theme. Such devices include tone and diction. The theme expressed in the text is that the government is in need of change and acceptance, not a replacement. The author conveys a serious and professional tone throughout the passage. This helps add more to the seriousness of the subject and theme created which is the government needs change and acceptance, not a replacement.

Read More
259 Words | 2 Pages

Thoreau uses extended metaphors to convey his frustration and disapproval towards the government by comparing man and the government to thoughtless machines. He states that “the mass of men serve the states thus, not as men, but as machines….(Thoreau, 941)” He uses metaphors similar to this one to better get across the loss of individuality of the people and drastic change into uniform and thoughtless machines without a moral compass, for when people become machine-like they act unjust and without acknowledgment of the consequences their actions can have, such as soldiers participating in war (mentioned in paragraph two). This idea of a lack of human individuality and integrity goes against Thoreau’s views on the world at large. Thoreau again

Read More
1571 Words | 7 Pages

This metaphor displays his uncertainty as per his crucial part in that moment in time. The soldier pictures himself as the hand on a clock, subject to the inevitable force of a clockwork motor that cannot be slowed or quickend. He realises that he does not really know why he is running and feels “statuary in mid-stride”. However, towards the end of the poem, all moral justifications for the existence of war have become meaningless- “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm”, which is extremely dismissive of all the motives people provide for joining the army, explicitly stating that those motives do not justify and do not withstand the war. Disorientation is also highlighted in the line “Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge That dazzled with rifle fire” where the confusion between the natural world and man-made world is expressed.

Read More
281 Words | 2 Pages

To comfort her friend into obediently listening to Montag’s book of poetry, Mrs. Phelps remarks that “‘if we listen nice, Mr. Montag will be happy and then maybe we can go on and do something else’” (95). Even though Mrs. Phelps isn’t agreeing to follow the majority in this circumstance, she still is promoting submission through conformity to a person in a position of power. She attempts to make listening to literature, a highly illegal crime in their society, seem like no big deal by using positive language like “nice” and “happy.” Those words put a positive spin on submission of self, all in hopes that “Mr. Montag will be happy.”

Read More
671 Words | 3 Pages

Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” and everyone is as identical as possible (Vonnegut 1). This creates the citizens to cower from this oppression and to rebel to neutralize their power. In the world of

Read More
699 Words | 3 Pages

Both Emily Dickinson in her poem “A Man may make a Remark” and Ray Bradbury in his novel Fahrenheit 451 develop the theme that a movement can start from the smallest remark. It reminds us that everyone has the ability to make a change in society, but they must have a thought-out plan and an open mind to do so. Dickinson opens her poem with the lines “A Man may make Remark-/In itself- a quiet thing” (1-2). The remark symbolizes the start of a movement and she personifies it because doing this the remark sounds more powerful, and it can take on a life of its own.

Read More
633 Words | 3 Pages

Through Literature, writers hope to shed light of the corruption, crime, destruction, and injustice of individuals in America to the audience. Poetry can

Read More
1415 Words | 6 Pages

An unemployed millennial joins his fellow comrades, creating an army whose mission is to march to Wall Street, the pit of corporate greed. The army is equipped with picket fences and posters, and is ready to fight in order to seize what is rightfully theirs. They fight, and as the war they wage is continuing strong, those on the sidelines observe that the eternal struggle, the one marked with social media activism that has created an entire movement to Occupy Wall Street has changed absolutely nothing. Occupy Wall Street was an example of social media activism that demonstrates social media alone cannot change challenging problems, and confirms Malcolm Gladwell’s argument about the ineffectiveness of social media activism in affecting legitimate

Read More
953 Words | 4 Pages

Civil Disobedience directly targets the feelings of Americans and human beings alike. Thoreau continually compliments the American people, and puts America's success into their hands as opposed to the government's hands. He questions the legitimacy of the government in a way that persuades the reader to do so as well. Most of all, he appeals to the want for a successful country and freedom to be an individual which America had come so far to attain. In one of the most powerful statements of this piece, Thoreau states, "The character inherent of the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way."

Read More
1375 Words | 6 Pages

“Civil Disobedience” is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau about people needing to put their conscience ahead of the government rulings by criticizing American policies and beliefs. He expresses his opinion of a “government is best which governs least” (Thoreau 305) by heavily supporting his topic and by using rhetorical techniques. Rhetorical devices are used in papers for the writer to better persuade the audience or to better understand the topic they are writing about; they can also be used to play with the reader’s emotions. The rhetorical devices that have the most impact on the reader in Thoreau’s essay are allusions, rhetorical questions, pathos, imagery, and chronological narrative.

Read More
805 Words | 4 Pages

Another time when the lack of individualism is used in the novel Anthem is when Equality and Liberty reach the house in the Uncharted Forest and began to understand the word “I”. Ayn Rand displays the negative

Read More
626 Words | 3 Pages

In this act, Miller discovers the power of individual and the effect of rebellion. People who had oppositions often consider useless, since they’re incapable to deliver their message to majority due to the fact that they had no strength compare with community. Therefore, rebellion consider as outcast, and a challenge to

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harriet Beecher Stowe and John Greenleaf Whittier were authors that challenged the norms of their societies. All challenged a specific existing “establishment”. Stowe and Whittier wished to change the establishment of slavery while Emerson opposed state of organized religion.

Read More
715 Words | 3 Pages

Henry David Thoreau wrote the famous letter “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” while doing his time in jail for not paying his poll tax in protest against slavery and the Mexican War. Thoreau was an outspoken critic against social issues he didn’t believe in. His letter has made a big influence on many other civil rights activists. In his letter, Thoreau used many different rhetorical strategies including pathos, as well as usages of logos and diction in order to achieve his purpose in persuading his audience that the government shouldn’t intervene. Thoreau’s use of pathos was seen greatly throughout his writing.

Read More
1995 Words | 8 Pages

Should there or should there not be a social class system? That is the question at hand in George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, even though Shaw does not directly state this question nor the answer to this question in the play’s five acts. It is blatantly made clear, though, that one of Shaw’s prime goals was to influence society to question itself for what it had built for a society. Shaw himself states: I am, and have always been, and shall now always be, a revolutionary writer, because our laws make law impossible; our liberties destroy all freedom; our property is organized robbery; our morality is an impudent hypocrisy; our wisdom is administered by inexperienced or malexperienced dupes, our power wielded by cowards and weaklings, and

Read More

More about Literary Analysis Of Carl Sandburg's 'And They Obey'

Related Topics

Open Document