In certain cases, I feel that the author’s race does not matter when dealing with racial issues, but you must do it in a way that avoids fostering bias. I believe the trick is to solicit feedback from genuine members of the culture you wish to write about. Putting their opinions ahead of your own, and never second-guessing them. People are more likely to believe a person and listen to what they have to say when they can relate to them. Chopin’s criticism just served to draw the attention of those who resembled her, something black people in that era were likely to find problematic.
All posts by Legden Dorjee
Feminism in Ichiyo
Ichiyo was born during the Meiji era, when women were permitted to attend school just to learn how to read and write. Only a few women had the same opportunities for further study as Ichiyo. Women did not have rights at the time. They were the property of their dads or husbands. Women were obliged to marry at an early age in order to please their families and cultures, have children, and stay at home to cook for their husbands, clean the house, and care for the children. Ichigo was well aware that women were more than that. She told true stories through her writing. She was a strong woman who supported her family following the loss of his father. Giving your daughter’s hand to other families at a young age has been practiced for centuries and continues to be practiced in many areas of the world.
Writing as Activism
Toni Cade Bambara, born Toni Cade, was an American writer, civil-rights activist, and teacher who wrote on African-American issues. In the 1970s she was active in both the black liberation and the women’s movements. While textual activism had a significant influence in 1971, I feel that in today’s culture, social media is extensively implemented as a kind of media activism because to its interactive characteristics and widespread adoption, and how the interconnectivity disseminates information and rallies supporters in volumes. With that kind of influence, textual activism does not have the same impact on BIPOC. I also feel that demonstrative forms of activism, such as peaceful protests, rallies, and marches, are effective strategies to effect change for BIPOC.
Poem Analysis
Legden Dorjee
Professor Perry
ENG 201
Sep. 12 2022
Poem Analysis
The poem “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglican Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Reservation” by Natalie Diaz is about the history of Native American and how they were treated and forced into reservations to take on the ways of the white men. What grasped my attention in this poem is how Diaz uses vivid imagery and words that evoke a range of emotions. The poem shows how the Native Americans felt when white men came to take their lands, thus evoking feelings of inferiority.
This poem shows the injustices experienced by Native Americans. Diaz uses symbolism to refer to white men as angels “Angels don’t come to the reservation” (Diaz, “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation” line 1). Angels are usually regarded as helpful deities, and Native Americans thought white men came to save them. However, in this poem, the white men were responsible for the suffering and death of Native Americans. Diaz ties angels with death and warns against desiring the presence of angels in reservations.
This is an Abecedarian poem because it has twenty-six lines, and each line follows sequentially through the alphabet from A to Z. Acrostic poem are poems in which the first letter in each line spell out a word (Agarwal and Kann 1). This is a form of acrostic poetry because the first letter of the poem is A, Angel, and the first letter in the last line is Z, Zion, thus spelling out the entire alphabet in a rhyming way.
Diaz’s poem’s structure has important rhetoric and imagery elements that give the poem its meaning. Being an Abecedarian poem, Diaz used the style as a cunning way to point out injustices that Native Americans experience. Abecedarian poetry is generally regarded as playful poems, especially for children. Therefore, Diaz makes a joke that society cannot see how injustices are experienced by Native Americans even though it is as easy as reciting the alphabet ABC.
Another poem by Natalie Diaz is “American Arithmetic,” which portrays the effect of police brutality and racism in America. I selected this poem because of its structure and relevance in today’s society. Diaz uses anaphora “less than” (Diaz, “American Arithmetic” line 29-30). This emphasizes the theme of the unfair treatment of Native Americans. Through her word, she evokes feelings of frustration with racism.
Diaz uses the element of irony and forms poems that shine a light on those who are oppressed by society. she uses “angels “as an ironic symbol for white men (Diaz, “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation” line 1 ) and “efficient country” to portray a county that does not treat everyone equally (Diaz, “American Arithmetic” line 4). Also, the poems are written in the first-person point of view, supporting her perspective of Native America. This is significant for social and political purposes since the native perspective is rarely heard and marginalized in American society (Jackson).
Diaz focuses her writing on the lives of Native Americans. Her poems are her ways of exploring social injustices and why she worries about these issues. Diaz crafts her poem from a personal narrative, thus allowing the readers to understand her thoughts and feelings about the issues pointed out. Although she focuses her writing on social issues, she stated in Pen Ten interview that her writings are not activism but just a practice field for her life.
I am a person who is passionate about listening and understanding the problem that people experience and usually try to help ways to help them. People daily go through hardships that make their life stressful and challenging. Through reading Diaz’s poems, I have understood the problems that affect Native Americans and how society contributes to their hardships. I believe that understanding society is the first step to solving social injustices.
Works Cited
Agarwal, Rajat, and Katharina Kann. “Acrostic Poem Generation.” ArXiv:2010.02239 [Cs], 5 Oct. 2020, arxiv.org/abs/2010.02239. Accessed 11 Sept. 2022.
Diaz, Natalie. “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglican Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Reservation.” Poetry Foundation, 17 Apr. 2021, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56353/abecedarian-requiring-further-examination-of-Anglican-seraphim-subjugation-of-a-wild-Indian-reservation.
Diaz, Natalie. “American Arithmetic.” Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2018, lithub.com/american- arithmetic/.
Jackson, Jared. “The PEN Ten: An Interview with Natalie Diaz.” PEN America, 5 Mar. 2020, pen.org/the-pen-ten-an-interview-with-Natalie-Diaz/.
When My Brother Was an Aztec. Natalie Diaz
I am From
I am from Saṃsāra,
from ignorance and desire.
I am from one of the 6 realms
I am from the human realm that offers an opportunity to attain nirvana and end the Saṃsāra cycle.
the only samsaric domain from which one can directly attain enlightenment.
I am from the foothills of the land of gods
and a place of snow and glaciers,
from the Himalayan
and Hyolmo and Kyirong.
I am from the place with a land meets the sky.
and where the gods sleep.
From where we worship our creator.
I’m from the country that is known for its biodiversity
also for its amazing cuisine, my favorite being Thali and Mo:Mo:
I am from Ne Muni.
