Not finished

INTRODUCTION

In the Poem ‘On the Pulse of Morning’ by Maya Angelou and ‘Balad of Birmingham’, by Dudley Randall both have multiple conflicts that are explained in the poems. These conflicts were between coloured people and the white society for example, slavery, racism & oppression and war. These conflicts show how horrible people can really be. It is a poem for everyone and brings hope to all.

The Past

Conflict is a recurring theme in the Poem “On the Pulse of Morning,” and is used to reference the conflict between the slaves and the white society.  ‘Ballad of Birmingham’ also references those conflicts.. The Quote “Sold, Stolen, arriving on a nightmare, praying for a dream.” When Maya Angelou said this to refer to how slaves were put on a slave ship after being captured and sold by and to the White people. These problems were huge but people wanted to make a change so when things were just starting to get better with Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement they suddenly produced the ‘Jim Crowe Laws,’ these laws reinforced racial segregation which just made everything worse. Maya Angelou referred to this because she wants to acknowledge the horrible past but then be able to move forward for the better. Another quote is from ‘Ballad of Birmingham.’ When it says “for the dogs are fierce and wild” Dudley Randall is referencing the KKK which hunted down black people and wanted to kill all of them. This group was made up of mostly white supremicists. By referencing them as wild dogs he is showing that their way of thinking isn’t as normal as other human beings, without morals and their primitive thinking style they are essentially lesser human beings. The way he used this quote in the poem constructs conflict between white supremists and other races. The year was 1963 and The Civil rights movement was charging along but had heavy opposition from the white supremacists  so when ‘Ballad of Birminham’ was released The KKK was the direct referance to that quote “For the dogs are fierce and wild!” This helps you to understand human nature by explaining how the whites used to treat the blacks because the whites thought they were the dominant race but who started that idea, well I don’t know but thats why it explains human nature because they didnt have to think like that someone just started that idea and it kept going for a long time, Dudley Randall and Maya Angelou both acknowledged this and is one of the reasons they decided to reference it.

The Present

“Each of you a bordered country, delicate and strangely made proud, yet thrusting perpetually under siege.” this quote has a very powerful meaning, the meaning behind this is that since we are all individuals and different in our own way we fight eachother because we have ideas of what people should be like. This links to racism ad oppression.

The Future

The quote “goodmorning” is a very powerful quote by Maya Angelou. What she means by this is she wants to move forward.  be better starting today, starting now. “Goodmorning” was a quote said by Maya Angelou at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, She said this then because he was the new hope for America.