Gwendolyn Brooks “The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” is a sad poem about Emmett Till’s mother’s feelings after she says goodbye to her son, who was just 14 years old when he was killed. Emmett Till was murdered because he was a young black boy accused of whistling at a white woman. When someone is reading this poem without knowing the backstory, it is sad, however when you know the backstory it is absolutely heart breaking. For such a short poem, Brooks is able to convey many emotions- sadness for the loss of such a young boy, anger for this boy being murdered, sympathy for this mother having to bury her 14 year old son, and confusion as to why this type of tragic event seems to happen over and over again? This short poem is definitely targeted towards a more mature audience, preferably one that knows the background story of Emmett Till. I think what Gwendolyn Brooks is attempting to do by writing this poem is show the horrific event through a new point of view, the mothers.
The poem “The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” by: Gwendolyn Brooks really stuck with me because it is based on a true event, and is so sad. I had heard of Emmett Till in the past, but did not know of this poem until reading it in American Literature in college. Knowing Emmett Till’s story, this poem really made me emotional and was hard to read. I will never understand why racism is such a huge issue in this world, but it breaks my heart knowing this 14 year old boy was murdered after being accused of whistling at a lady. As a substitute teacher, I work with a diverse group of children and really get to know them and their stories. Some families face issues like this still to this day. My hope is that one day, everyone can just get along and live a happy life.
Unfortunately, the picture above is still relevant in today’s society. I thought it connected Gwendolyn Brooks’ “The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” with the truths of the modern world very accurately. In Brooks’ “The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till”, she discusses the story of Emmett Till, a 14 year old boy in 1955 that was killed after he was accused of whistling at a white woman. This was just because he was black. You still see similar things happen today, while it may not be as common. The above cartoon is a mom hugging her son tight, while the son asks “What’s wrong, mom? I’m only going to the store for snacks.” Unfortunately, we live in a world where we have to constantly worry because of our race, our sexuality, our gender, our social status, and much more. Not everyone may experience discrimination, but it is out there and it is scary. People should not have to be scared to go to the store. People should not have to be scared to go to school. People should not have to be scared to go to church. We should not be scared to live our lives. But we live in a world where we have to worry. Racism, sexism, and homophobia should not be so relevant in our modern world. We should learn from our past experiences and grow, helping each other along the way. There is no way to progress in our world if we are stuck in these scary ways.
Alli's Literature Connections 