TH HILL WE CLIMB Amanda Gorman The Hill We Climb Topic and Theme Topic: Theme Rebuilding a nation A nation needs to unify and work together to heal the wounds of the past to build a better future. The responsibility of rebuilding a nation rests on the shoulders of all citizens overcoming the past Society has to work together to heal the wounds of the past for a better future. a new beginning For a new beginning, one must focus on the future while acknowledging the gore of the past. Sometimes a nation must recognize that it must start anew to build a stronger future. The Future generation A nation must provide a unified front for the sake of its next generations. We have to act today for a better tomorrow for the future generations. Hope for a united future The strong nation has to work and stand as one, unified together as equals and not divided by unjust strife. Trying to be better than before Diversity and unity Striving for justice A nation must embrace the diversity of its people, in order to be unified. A nation’s diversity can be looked to as a source of unity and strength. Still I Rise and The Hill We Climb Similarities Differences ◦ They both speak of change for the better ◦ One is relating towards racism and second is talking about national adversities ◦ They speak of triumph ◦ Rise and heal from past wounds to assert into a bright future ◦ Speak of challenges and struggles ◦ History of past wounds ◦ Both speak about challenges that they’ve overcome ◦ both talk about overcoming defeat ◦ One is personal (the speaker is 1st person - I) ◦ The other is also personal, but collective (the speaker is 1st person – we) ◦ Different times ◦ One speaks of personal experiences and the other of general experiences Backdrop of the poem ◦ Black Lives Matter Protest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5-sAqj4X2s ◦ Global Pandemic ◦ Massive divide between the left and the right ◦ Global warming ◦ Global displacement ◦ Economic downturn ◦ Capitol Hill Riot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfP_5L8epow Very few punctuations. Makes this a continues saga. When day comes we ask ourselves, Symbol: light symbolizing good and shade symbolizing evil where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, Imagery of some one swimming/wading a sea we must wade Symbolism – sea massive/over powering racism We've braved the belly of the beast Allusion to Jonah/ the slave ships We've learned that quiet isn't always peace And the norms and notions Shattering of cliché of what just is Isn’t always just-ice Pun Hope And yet the dawn is ours Symbolizes new beginning Reptation – brings attention to “it”, what is it? before we knew it Somehow we do it Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished Alliteration Referencing her own life We the successors of a country and a time Where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one Referencing to the audience, Americans. Also, alluding to “We the people” preamble to U.S constitution. Connection between past and the present. To show how far she’s come and how far she’s yet to go. And yes we are far from polished far from pristine but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect We are striving to forge a union with purpose To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us but what stands before us Repetition and alliteration juxtaposes between and before to remove the divide between people to an issue to be solved with people We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside Repeating ideas, opposing views We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms Repetition of “our arms” juxtaposing two idioms to one another We seek harm to none and harmony for all alliteration and juxtaposition Who is the “we” here? Are the first and second “we” the same? Why or why not? Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew That even as we hurt, we hoped That even as we tired, we tried That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious Not because we will never again know defeat but because we will never again sow division Repetition Alliteration Juxtaposing positive and negative sentiment Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree And no one shall make them afraid If we’re to live up to our own time Then victory won’t lie in the blade But in all the bridges we’ve made That is the promise to glade The hill we climb If only we dare It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit, it’s the past we step into and how we repair it We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy And this effort very nearly succeeded But while democracy can be periodically delayed it can never be permanently defeated In this truth in this faith we trust For while we have our eyes on the future history has its eyes on us This is the era of just redemption We feared at its inception We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour but within it we found the power to author a new chapter To offer hope and laughter to ourselves So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Now we assert How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us Chiasmus We will not march back to what was but move to what shall be A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation Our blunders become their burdens But one thing is certain: If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birth right Theme: Unity brings hope for a better future. So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left with Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, Imagery Alliteration we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west, we will rise from the windswept northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution Imagery We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states, we will rise from the sunbaked south We will rebuild, reconcile and recover and every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it If only we’re brave enough to be it Analysis paragraph ◦ The author in these lines states that future can be better when people unify in purpose. This theme is driven home through the author’s use of imagery, symbolism and parallelism. The author uses strong imagery to represent each corner of the US. She speaks of the “gold-limbed hills of the west” and the “windswept northeast”, she also includes the “lake-rimmed cities midwestern states” and the “sunbaked south”. These lines make the readers imagine all of America, from the hills to the plains and the lakes to it’s oceans. The diversity of the land is praised, which in turn allows the intended audience, the American people, to come together with pride. The author further uses nature to symbolize hope with the use of words such as “day”, “new dawn” and “light”. These words represent hope of a new beginning that the people all over the nation can have together. She furthers this message with the use of parallelism, in the last two line. The uniformity of the sentences, “if only we’re brave enough to see it/If only we’re brave enough to be it” unifies the people with the use of the pronoun “we”. This also brings us to the beginning of the poem where the author uses the lines “we knew it… we do it” . In contrast to the first few lines the last parallelism shift to the future. The author successfully convinces the audience that unity will lead to a better future for all, through the use of imagery, symbolism and parallelism.
