Figurative Language Lesson 1

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes.

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,I'll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare Say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed--

I too am America.

This is my fravourite poem which is about the problem of the African Americans and the 'Whites' in America. In this poem, the author uses some elements of figurative writing. The elements of figurative writing are as follows

1. 
   
   
   hyperbole - words used to express emotion (exaggerated).



2. 
   
   
   pesonification - to represent an object with human characteristics



3. 
   
   
   metaphor - is a figure of speech and or phrase that one word as being or equal to a second object in some way.A metaphor does not make use of the words 'like' or 'as'



4. 
   
   
   simile - A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as".



5. 
   
   
   symbolism - it is to use something to signify something else ( a feeling... )

In this poem, the author makes use of the elements, symbolism and metaphor.

Symbolism is used when 'darker brother' is used to describe the African Americans. The author uses this to describe them as the skin colour of the African Americans are brown which is much darker than that of the 'whites'. The writer uses this way to describe the African American to allow us to picture the looks of them and maybe to see the difference between the blacks and the whites.

Metaphor is used when the author in this part ' I too am America'. This shows that the African Americans are also part America. The writer might have wanted to express that harmony should be there between the two groups of people. Both groups of people should have been united as one since they are from the same country.

Why is this my favourite poem? I must say that it highlights the needs of unity in a country. Well I am a peace loving person. And someone like me would not like to have wars fights or any other violence around us. Well people in the same country should work together regardless of the race. Yes different people have different believes and thinking. These might not make you very happy, for example a person burning incense to pay respects to their gods. And someone else might not be very happy with that as they say that it pollutes the air, causing the problem of Global Warming to deteriorate( sounds funny but true ).

If we should not complain, what should we do? Of course we need to respect it. After all we are a country, one people.

Another reason why I like this poem is because this poem is similiar to Obama's life. Yes it does. Obama is an African American, part of the group of Americans who were not really respected by the whites in the beginning. This is just like the line ' when the crowds come, they send me to the kitchen to eat.' But when Obama became president, he was respected as he helped the people of his country and also put warmth to the coldness between the two groups of Americans. He has showed what the darker brothers of the country can do.This is just like the line ' but I laugh, I eat well and grow strong.Tomorow I'll be at the table, when company comes, nobody will dare to ask me to go to the kitchen to eat, besides they will see how beautiful I am and be ashamed'

So after reading this post, why not give your friends from other races a pat on the back and spend time with them. And also with many different races in the country, we too gain, as we are able to gain more exposure!!