I had a difficult time picking a poem for my poetry reading because I'm very indecisive and liked so many of the ones I read, but I ultimately went with "Beverly Hills, Chicago" because I liked the vivid imagery (like what someone said in class, I really got the sense that I was in the car with them) and I thought that the tone/overall idea would work well for discussion. And it did so that's cool.
This poem isn't particularly ambiguous to me. Gwendolyn Brooks tells a story about a group of people driving by a rich neighborhood in a car. However, I think there's a lot going on that adds to the overall idea of the poem. Like Kavi said in class today, the way the poem is recited has an impact on how it's interpreted. I considered reading it more sarcastically because I'm quite a sarcastic person so it wouldn't have been all that difficult, but I chose to read it in a more subdued way because I took the second half of the poem as conveying more longing and slight jealousy rather than pure anger. The last stanza especially gives me a sense that the feelings of those in the car is more All the people in this neighborhood still have problems, their trash is trash, they're all still people, but at the same time, by the end of the poem, the mood changes in the car and there is the sense that something is not quite right. But, I definitely see how reading it slightly differently can completely change the meaning. This is something that I like about the poem. Despite being pretty straightforward (at least in my opinion), it can still be interpreted in so many ways, and I like this versatility.
The story itself is also something I found kind of interesting. I think all the emotions evoked just from driving by a nice neighborhood really emphasizes economic tension, though it's not quite as pronounced. This could relate back to the idea about the slightly jealous tone of the poem, but again, it depends on how the poem is actually read.
Overall, I just really like this poem. Brooks did a great job of giving a lot to think about and analyze but not making it so there are too many things to take in.
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The tone can definitely affect the feel of the poem, though I like how you made it more subdued and meaningful. One thing I found interesting that I'm not sure I covered in class was the stark contrast between the rich and poor aspects of the poem. On numerous occasions, we see Brooks use contrasting adjectives to represent the contrasts of the neighborhood. As someone mentioned in class, the world "golden" was brought up several times, but was often closely followed by rougher, not-as-golden words. I think this represents the diverse environment you said this city is supposed to be--and not just along racial lines. As it was discussed in class, this poem also brought in the aspect of social classes. Additionally, the last stanza really struck me in the sense that it showed how accepting yet subdued Beverly Hills, Chicago is. However, the tension is apparent, and I think the poem did a good job of conveying that.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this poem too. One thing I found really interesting was the theme of decay that went along with the author's description of this beautiful neighborhood. It's fall and the plants are dying, and she goes on for a while about how the rich people die/age more gracefully. It's odd that she defines the beauty of the rich area so much by how it rots, and it reinforces that darker, jealous sort of undertone that the author tries to suppress in her mind. I feel like there also might be something more, especially behind the early lines. It's almost as if the rotting/aging represents that they have too much; their food is over ripe, they're living too old, something like that. I'm not really sure, but I certainly liked the poem.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the poem can be interpreted many different ways. I actually read it as the more sarcastic, jealous version. In the end when their voices were 'gruff', it just suggested to me that everyone in that car really did want the golden lifestyle of the people living in the richer neighborhoods and, like Natalie, I sensed some darkness (almost wanting death...) in this poem. But when I heard you read it in class, I realized that you could take the meaning in a completely different direction, which was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteThe line at the end--about the voices inside the car turning "gruff" with each other, even though no one mentions the house they've just passed or says anything about any of the stuff the poem articulates--is key to my reading of the poem. There's no overt jealousy, or hostility, or a desire to wish harm on the people whose lives seem so easy from the vantage of the passing car. But it's as if they all have these unspoken private thoughts and feelings, and the atmosphere in the car subtly changes, everyone feels a little more badly about themselves and their lives. It's not a revolutionary political poem; it's more of a meditation on the subtle psychological effects of dramatic class inequalities.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that one could strongly argue for either a sincere or sarcastic voice of the poem really makes it compelling. I first interpreted it as a series of harmless observations but the more we discussed the potential satirical side, the more I realized how the meaning of the poem changes entirely. Brooks is able to illustrate the social/racial tensions of her time and it's important that it isn't disregarded when reading this poem.
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