Gwendolyn Brooks
Beginning of paper
Writing with uncommon strength, creates haunting images
of black America, and their struggle in escaping the scathing hatred of many
white Americans. Her stories, such as in the "Ballad of Rudolph Reed", portray
courage and perseverance. In those like "The Boy Died in My Alley" Brooks
portrays ....
Middle of paper
.... "The Ballad of Rudolph
Reed" may be her strongest work. Imbuing the poem with incredible lines and
description, Brooks transforms Rudolph Reed, who is the character the poem is
built around, into a storybook hero, or a tragic character whose only flaw was
the love he held for his family. Brooks creates a strong, solid character who
is more than another fictional martyr, but a human being. The Finesse she
imbued in this work from the first stylized Peiffer 2 stanza: "Rudolph Reed was
oaken ....
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Word count: 1101
Page count: 5 (approximately 250 words per page)
