Summary Of Hips By Lucille Clifton

My first response made me be aware that domestic violence is not rare as people make it. I personally liked it because she added stats, concern, and knowledge to this poem. When she added statistics, I was alarmed that it happened so frequently. I wasn’t aware that females were being attacked every three minutes, that every five minutes a woman is raped, and every ten minutes a little girl is molested. It made me feel for them, feel their pain and suffering. This was a very effective method because it made people be aware that these things to happen. Some media use have been made to aware people and to stop abuse and rape. Some celebrities feel that they should step up and create a campaign towards domestic violence and rape. I feel some of

As mentioned in her introduction, Clifton is renowned for alluding to both African American and women’s resilience to oppression both socially and politically. For this poem, the latter is obviously more pertinent. The reader must first notice the focal point of the poem being the hips; however, these “hips” symbolize much more. They symbolize all the strength that all women possess and could use to further their influence in the world. Although Clifton does allude to them being her “hips”, she is merely speaking on behalf of all

In the opening lines of the poem, Clifton writes: “these hips are big hips, they need space to move around in. they don’t fit into petty places. these are free hips” (1-6). What is being said here is that women need just as much opportunity to thrive as men rather than being thrown into a corner. Clifton then goes on to write, “these hips have never been enslaved, they go where they want to go they do what they want to do” (8-10). These lines symbolize an unrestrained freedom from guidance and censorship that enable women to lead their own lives. Finally to close out the poem, Clifton mentions the influence (or manipulation) that women can use over their male counterparts: “I have known them to put a spell on a man and spin him like a top” (13-15). Clifton realizes that the male may always be the head, but women can always manipulate him into getting or doing whatever they want. However light, Clifton’s strong use of imagery of words in this poem display to the reader (regardless of gender) the empowerment of woman with the use of something as simple as