Fall and Rise of Humanity
Introduction
The three related sets of poems on civil rights and civil unrest that moved me the most are “On the Pulse of Morning” by Maya Angelou, “The Revolution will not be Televised” by Gill Scott Heron and the song and poem “Masters of War” as written by Bob Dylan. The three elements discussed in this essay are the influence of technology, the resilience of the human spirit, and the effects of war on people. The text that moved me the most was Maya Angelou’s poem “On the Pulse of Morning” because it brought to the fore strong feelings on the historical struggles and inequality that various Americans faced. Further, it moved me the most because it is, on the face of it, bearing a message of hope, courage, diversity, and change that most societies boast of. The central idea in the poem, “On the Pulse of Morning” is the resilience of the human spirit to adversity. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron. It moved me because it arouses feelings of dilemma as to the potential effects of technology, in this case, the television as a conduit of entertainment and its effectiveness in holding power to account exacerbated by the elusive nature of politics and complacency of masses being fed information yet they cannot interrogate it. The central ideas captured is the elusive nature of the culture of politics and the failure of the mainstream media to truly capture it. “Masters of War” moved me as it aroused the strongest feelings in me against manipulation. The central idea captured is the effect of war on people being used by ‘masters of war.”
On the resilience of the human spirit. The poem “On the Pulse of Morning” captures the human spirit to courageously move forward, filled with hope, learning lessons from the past. The poem uses personification and symbolism of the Rock, Tree, and River, which illustrated to me and reinforced in me previous beliefs on the symbiotic kind of relationship between human beings and nature in totality. The historical captions in the poem “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage, Need not be lived again” (Angelou). The poem asserts the theme of change that human beings can change for the better across all races despite or differences. There is no distinction as we are all human beings. The poem asserts that in cooperation with nature, “A Rock, A River, and A Tree” (Angelou), it can lead to the achievement of great things for persons. The Rock is symbolically used and personified, given a voice in the present in interaction with human beings. It challenges persons to have a voice, speak and be heard, and avoid lurking in the shadows “Back and face your distant reality, But seek no haven in my shadow” (Angelou). The poem is a good read for others to read it because of its value in inspiring courage and posing a challenge against lurking in the shadows. Further, it makes use of symbolism and personification of things from nature and our surroundings to communicate its themes.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised moved me the most because it captures the influence of technological innovation on socio-cultural, political, and economic issues. A majority of the metaphors, similes, and the use of symbolism to depict culture illustrated to me the hopelessness and dilemma that society may face as a result of over-reliance on technology leading to them being fed pre-packaged and sanitized information. Media is often described in terms of it being the fourth estate by acting as a platform for holding states accountable by informing the public through careful scrutiny of wide-ranging social, economic, and political issues bedeviling society. Media shapes public opinion (McMann). Human beings are a complex set of species, and one that thing that makes them stand out is the capability to think independently. However, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (Scott-Heron) points a grim picture of a society that may be unresponsive to the societal ills and wrongs surrounding them as they are unlikely to receive the same kind of media attention as the there is too much preoccupation with entertainment. To support this, the quotes to the effect that “The Revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal, The Revolution will not get rid of the nubs, The Revolution will not make you look five pounds” (Scott-Heron). Summarily, it suggests that the Revolution will not be anything like what the mainstream media streams a majority of the time. For instance, strive towards thinness or strive towards sexual appeal as a popular culture among Americans. It is critical for persons to be aware of being fed information hindering independent of thought.
On the manipulation of people by ‘Masters of War’ moved me the most because it shows how leaders may selfishly use power to harm people that they are ironically supposed to protect. Most of the language used in the text is plain, which clearly indicated to me the hostility of war to the masses while the ‘masters of war’ sat back comfortably. “You put a gun in my hand, you hide from my eyes, and you turn and run farther when the bullets fly ”(Dylan and Laing). “You fasten the triggers for the others to fire, then you set back and watch, when the death count gets higher” (Dyan and Laing). The poem conveys deep-seated feelings of anger that are potentially representative of the majority of the population whose “young people’s blood flows out of their bodies and is buried in the mud” (Dylan and Laing). The anger towards the leaders and masters of war is depicted by the wishful thinking of the poet who wishes that they are dead. And to the extent that the author will follow them down to their graveside to ensure that they are gone and buried.
Conclusion
The foregoing poems give a view of civil rights and civil unrest movement and their effects on humanity. The three themes explored in each of the three sets of poems revolve around technology and media, the resilience of the human spirit despite historical adversity, and the effects of war on people. The common thread in the three poems is the need to preserve humanity and its values of peace, beauty, life, independence, and critical thinking.
Works cited
Angelou, Maya. On the pulse of morning. Random House Incorporated, 1993.
Dylan, Bob, and Corky Laing. Masters of war. Big Rack Records, 2007.
McCann, Mac. “The Revolution Will Be Analyzed: Breaking Down Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.””
Scott-Heron, Gil. “Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” Блесок-литература и други уметности 36 (2004).