ipl-logo

The Lovers Of The Poor Summary

1089 Words5 Pages

Poverty has always been a part of our societies and it has affected many demographics. Many have tried to end poverty but it is a hard thing to understand due to the divide between the lives of the wealthy and poor. The poem ¨The Lovers of the Poor¨ by Gwendolyn Brooks uses contradicting imagery and metaphors to emphasize the ignorance of the wealthy to the reality of poverty and how despite their good intentions, it prevents them from being able to lend aid. One of the ways the author demonstrates this theme is through strong descriptive words and imagery to paint the picture of the contrast between the wealthy women in the poem in a slum. For example, the women are described as “full, sleek, tender hearted, fit, fiftyish, a-glow, all sweetly …show more content…

One example of a metaphor in the poem in the poem is ¨hinting at fat fruit¨ (Brooks 16). This metaphor compares fat fruit to the wealth of the women. Their appearance suggests their wealth which causes the women to stick out in the dirty slum. This is significant because everyone in the slum knows the women don 't belong as well as what they´re trying to do. However, the ladies will inevitably return to their cushy lives and the poor will continue to live in terrible conditions. Another example of a metaphor is when describing the women in the poem the author says ¨the pink paint on the innocence of fear¨(Brooks 6). This metaphor explains the women´s appearance by comparing pink paint to makeup that they use to cover up their fear. The women are afraid of what they will see and they utilize makeup to make themselves appear confident in what they are doing. The word ¨paint¨ helps emphasize that they are hiding their true feelings and the word ¨innocence¨ shows their naivete of what is basically a different world. Despite wanting to help the poor, they are afraid of what they see and will turn a blind eye to it in favor of their wealthy lives. The supposed ¨lovers of the poor¨ are ignorant to the harshness of poverty due to lack of experience which causes them to be unable to

Open Document