Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Besides creating a setting, how does the title (and, hint hint, the context surrounding it) affect your reading of the poem?
- Why do you think Brooks wrote the poem from the first-person plural perspective ("we"), rather than the more common first-person perspective ("I")? What is the effect on the poem?
- Is there a poem that could take place today that could parallel this poem? What might its title be?
- Based on this poem, do race and socio-economic status have anything to do with whether or not you can fulfill your dreams? How would the speaker answer that question? What examples from the poem support your answer?
- Do you think the poem ends on a positive or negative note? Why do you think so?