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Richard Blanco's Poem 'One Today'

503 Words3 Pages

America Poems In his poem, “One Today”, Richard Blanco uses repetition and collective pronouns to convey the idea that unity strengthens a diverse society. Blanco uses repetition to appeal to various different groups of people. For instance “Hear the doors we open / for each other all day, saying: hello, shalom, / boon giorno, howdy, namaste, or buenos días” (Blanco, stanza 6). Blanco’s repetition of the same phrase in 6 different languages emphasizes his desire to unify different groups of people. By acknowledging a variety of cultures, he is confronting the fact that America is made up of a diverse population. This being said, Blanco’s use of repetition in this context brings attention to the unity and commonality among people …show more content…

In her poem, “The Hill We Climb”, Gorman writes “That even as we grieved, we grew / That even as we hurt, we hoped / That even as we tired, we tried” (Gorman, stanza 2). Amanda Gorman’s incorporation of anaphora stresses the collective action and determination of the people she is addressing, suggesting they are all working together. Within the anaphora, Gorman includes the collective pronoun “we”, creating a sense of inclusivity and shared responsibility. Overall, her use of anaphora reinforces the idea that we are all part of a larger community and can create positive change to build a more inclusive society. Much like Gorman’s use of anaphora in “The Hill We Climb”, Walt Whitman’s uses anaphora to convey a sense of unity and shared purpose. In his poem, “I hear America Singing”, Whitman describes workers as they go about daily tasks, singing while they work, “The carpenter singing[…] / The mason singing[…] / The boatman singing[…] / The shoemaker singing” (Whitman, lines 3-6). He uses anaphora to emphasize that despite their different jobs and backgrounds, the workers are part of a larger community. This pattern of repetition highlights the interconnectedness of these workers, along with their collective contribution to American society. Whitman is suggesting that America is made up of a diverse group of people, all of whom contribute to society

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Specifically, Sotomayor shares two metaphors and the tension they create, being the “ Melting Pot and the Salad Bowl.” This metaphor depicts the difference between a homogeneous society and heterogeneous society and begs the question of which one exists in America. Sotomayor implies that stereo typically, it is viewed that America is a homogeneous society, however this isn't always true. Sotomayor furthers this claim when defining her identity As a Latina in the way her family, “showed me [her] by their example of how wonderful and vibrant life is, and how wonderful and magical it is to have a Latina soul.” This definition of Sotomayor's culture provides her audience with the idea that different cultures don't match their stereotypical images created by America.

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The Power of Hope Gary Soto brings the impoverished, crime filled streets of the Mexican-American communities where he grew up to life by “evoking the harsh forces that often shape the life for Chicanos” (“‘Gary Soto’: Poetry Foundation” p. 1). He combines an archetypal young love poem with the concept of poverty to create the powerful poem: “Oranges” (1985). Soto also works with the notion of old age and the importance of life in his somber poem: “The Seventieth Year” (1986).

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In the poem, “ I hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman he defines an American as someone who gets the job of their choice. To Whitman an American is,” The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing.” This quotes helps my understanding of what it means to be an American because the people are singing in joy because they have the right to pick their own job and they don’t have someone choosing for them. Along with the job of their choice immigrants can come here for a better life and more opportunities.

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The poems “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman and “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg share similar themes and poetic devices. The theme of pride is very evident in both works of literature. In both, people are proud of their home, America in the “I Hear America Singing” and Chicago in “Chicago.” The two poems were written during the time of the Industrial Revolution, which you can tell through the word choice and descriptions. Singing is also a parallel between the poems, as in both the people are described as singing.

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The poems also have different points of views. Whitman's refers to I Hear America singing as a varied carol with nine different workers. He talks about in line three a carpenter then in line four a mason and the boatman. Whitman also talks about a shoe maker and a hatter. Whitman identifies people as his or her talking.

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"I Hear America Singing" focuses on the glories of America, showcasing the happiness and joy that is present on a daily basis. This is clearly evidenced in one of the lines from Whitman's poem: "Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs." However, "I, Too, Sing America highlights the darker side of American life during this era. Unlike Whitman, Hughes' poem takes a much more serious tone, that forces the reader to consider the other side of the coin. This is poignately illustrated in the line, "And be ashamed -" which points to the "they" that will be ashamed in the future for how "they" treated the African American

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In Walt Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing” the speaker of the poem refers to the freedom of expression and the acceptance of diversity in the United States. But above all, it shows that no matter how different people with their “varied carols,” they all are connected with a feeling of national pride. This poem would obviously not work for the world because the United States’ viewpoints on topics such as government and religion conflict with many other countries’ around the world. It seems as though the world would be much more peaceful if the United States let other countries be the way they are, with “Each person (country) singing what belongs to him or her and none else.” But, that is not the case, the United States imposes itself to

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The unity and connection between us can be broken by nothing or no one, not even the great expanse of space, “We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight/ of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always—home,/ always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon/ like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop/ and every window, of one country—all of us—/facing the stars/ hope—a new constellation/ waiting for us to map it,/ waiting for us to name it—together” (Blanco, Lines 61-69). Blanco specifically uses the wordage of “we”, “our”, and “us” to further build the sense of unity he started at the beginning of the poem. Also, the beginning and end of the poem are set up in a parallel structure. The beginning of the poem starts with the sun rising and the different aspects of the continental USA; The Great Lakes, Smokies, and Rockies.

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In the two poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too,” there are many similarities and differences that show us that know matter what is happening you have to stand up for yourself and do what you love. We see this in the two poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too” when the authors, Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes, both talk about what America was a like in the 1900s, and how people were doing jobs that they had liked to do. We can see how a African American man would stand up for himself and we see this in the poem “I, Too” because we are able to see how he was able to stand up to everyone else and prove he was able to be treated like anyone else.

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The poems “I hear America singing” and “I To” are a lot like the “The New Colossus” and “Refugee in America.” They both contradict each other. For example, in the “I hear America Singing” it talks about America singing about their happiness no matter what they are doing or how hard they are working, they love the U.S. For example “The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam” meaning he is so happy to have an job and to live in a free country and to be living “The American Dream” he can't help but to sing.” However, the poem says “the varied carols I hear” so it is saying that all people of different varieties of carols is singing that America is so good you have to sing about.

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Near the end of the speech Obama repeats the line “are we a nation,” to question what kind of country is America when the situation calls for it. The two possible action Obama provide are to either callously turn their back on the illegal immigrant or to do what is right for both the immigrants and themselves. America’s responsibility for it following generation that their future will not be jeopardized due to the decision made now. These decisions, will determine whether or not America will act on fabled fear and make a grave mistake. Obama again uses repetition as he repeats the line “we are” this time to unify and give a sense of comradely between the citizens and the illegal immigrants.

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By stressing that he is equal in society and it is something that people will start to realize is reinforced in the last stanza. The last stanza “I, too, am America,”(18) where the word ‘sing’ from the first stanza is changed to ‘am.’ This is a powerful way to close the poem, reinforces the greater notion that not only is he a voice in society, but he is the very essence that is part of

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Throughout his poem, he constantly talks about the importance of coming together and merging. Whitman says, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Whitman 1). On the surface, this quote may appear to illustrate that Whitman thinks highly of himself, but it is more than this. The last part of this quote emphasizes that we are all connected and even though we are all individuals, we should not forget that we are connected to one another. Whitman also says, “Urge and urge and urge, Always the procreant urge of the world.

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In this grand poem, Whitman glorifies the unity of all people and life. He embraces the geographical diversity as well as the diversity of culture, work, as well as sexuality or beliefs. Whitman’s influence sets American dreams of freedom, independence, and self-fulfillment, and changes them for larger spiritual meaning. Whitman appreciates hard work as well as being simple and non-egotistical. His major ideas are things such as soul, good health, as well as the love of nature.

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