Ballad Of Birmingham Analysis
The poem of “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall is about a little African American girl who wants to join the march for the civil rights movement, but her mother thinks it is too dangerous. Instead, the mother advises her daughter to go to church; however, the white terrorists kill her daughter by bombing the church. The mother is desperately searching for her daughter and she finds only her daughter’s shoes at the end instead of her body. The form, the meaning, and settling of the poem help the reader understand the poem better.
This poem is based on actual historical incident that happened in Birmingham- the bombing of the grace street Baptist church four little African-American girls were killed in the bombing. The word “Ballad” from …show more content…
First, this poem is addressing the issue of discrimination because the mother thinks that as long as her daughter does not go to march and stay in church, her daughter should be safe. Her daughter gets killed by white terrorists despite the fact that her daughter stays in church and instead of going to protest. The white terrorists are killing people of color, regardless of whether they join the march or not. Second, this poem is discussing the theme of nurture development or motherhood. For instance, “No, baby, no you may not go” (5) shows the mother seems to be concerned about the march, which may endanger her daughter's safety. She is worrying about the violence and death that her daughter may experience in the march. Therefore, she is a responsible mother who cares about her daughter’s safety. Moreover, the mother calls her daughter “baby” and this shows that the mother places her children an important position in her heart. Another example of motherhood would be when the mother takes care of her children’s physical appearance. For instance, “She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair/and bathed rose petal sweet’ (13 and 14). This shows that the mother wants her daughter to appear to well-groomed in front of others. Randal uses ironies throughout the poem. For example, “Mother dear, may I go downtown/instead of out to play/and march the streets of Birmingham” (1-4). The little girl asks her mother if she can go to
This poem is based on actual historical incident that happened in Birmingham- the bombing of the grace street Baptist church four little African-American girls were killed in the bombing. The word “Ballad” from …show more content…
First, this poem is addressing the issue of discrimination because the mother thinks that as long as her daughter does not go to march and stay in church, her daughter should be safe. Her daughter gets killed by white terrorists despite the fact that her daughter stays in church and instead of going to protest. The white terrorists are killing people of color, regardless of whether they join the march or not. Second, this poem is discussing the theme of nurture development or motherhood. For instance, “No, baby, no you may not go” (5) shows the mother seems to be concerned about the march, which may endanger her daughter's safety. She is worrying about the violence and death that her daughter may experience in the march. Therefore, she is a responsible mother who cares about her daughter’s safety. Moreover, the mother calls her daughter “baby” and this shows that the mother places her children an important position in her heart. Another example of motherhood would be when the mother takes care of her children’s physical appearance. For instance, “She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair/and bathed rose petal sweet’ (13 and 14). This shows that the mother wants her daughter to appear to well-groomed in front of others. Randal uses ironies throughout the poem. For example, “Mother dear, may I go downtown/instead of out to play/and march the streets of Birmingham” (1-4). The little girl asks her mother if she can go to