Essay Questions

Explain the ending lines in the poem "Lessons from a Mirror".

The poem ends with the lines "When you look at me,/ know that more than white is missing." the narrator using them to conclude a poem in which she discusses racism and how it affects society and more importantly, how it affected her on a personal level. The main difference she points out is her skin color, something which makes her stand out from the rest of the white population. Because of her skin, the narrator feels different and even pushed to the side by society. But as the poem progresses, she admits her skin is not the only element which sets her apart and point out other exiting differences. All these elements make her feel as if she is not whole, makes her feel incomplete when compared with other people. The last two lines of the poem are used to summarize this idea and to show how racism can change the perspective a person have on themselves.

How is pregnancy and the act of bringing a new life into the world described in "The Continent of Reena and Marcus' Marriage"?

The main characters in the poem are a couple who, after years of being married, decide to have a baby. The period in their marriage when they are not thinking about a possible child is describes as being carefree, a time when everything is alright and nothing can go wrong. The pregnancy is presented both from the perspective of the father and the mother, people who have completely different experiences. For the father, the pregnancy continues to be a relatively stress-free period but fro the mother it is described as the beginning of a difficult period which will never end. The action of giving birth is seen by the father as a brush with death, the expecting father fearing both for the life of the mother and for the life of the baby. This stage, as well as the stage following the birth is not presented from the perspective of the mother, the narrator implying it is much too complex to be described in a single poem. The life after the birth of the child is, because of this, presented once more only through the eyes of the father who sees the wife as a person surrounded by light, almost a religious figure capable of performing miracles while the child is transformed into the burden of responsibility.

How is imprisonment described in "The Subculture of the Wrongfully Accused"?

The narrator describes another character in the poem who was imprisoned for an extended period of time. Through this poem, the narrator describes both the state of the prison and the state of the person locked up from a long period of time. The prison is seen as a fortress, far away from civilization and any other form of positive feelings and emotions which may provide hope. The prisoner on the other hand is described as being in a state of perpetual loneliness without any light filtering through the bars of his cell. Both are described as being almost hellish in nature but doing nothing to help the prisoner to go back into the world as a functional member of society.