“We Real Cool”
Being cool is not flamboyant, but a dead end street to destruction. The message is that seven boys roaming the streets, who are not focused on the positive things life has to offer them, will die. Their lives have no direction; nor do they care about their future. Is there prosperity in the end? Will the seven enter their final destination of destruction?
The poem starts with the part of seven youngsters at the hall near the pool known as the Golden Shovel, “the pool players, seven at the Golden Shovel” (Brooks 1638). The name, the Golden Shovel, given to the pool hall signifies the rapidity of the lifespan of a Black youth. The golden word in the title suggests that the players at the pool hall are young and need to be in school instead of being at the pool hall. The word shovel signifies that the pool players who devote their time at the pool hall or in the streets are creating their own graves by indulging themselves in businesses that are prohibited. These players have an in-flight of mystery around their daily lives that pictures them to be cool, by avoiding the importance of education.
Having all the fun in life, always leads to destruction of one’s life. Obeying the elders and taking one step at a time is what every person should desire. Observing the set codes of operation, be it at school, or at home, is essential to success in life. Engaging in fancy activities such as playing golf at the cost of studies is harmful to healthy life.
The wages of sin are death. The bible clearly illustrates this. Singing evil means one is always at the midst of making mistakes and offending others. These may include engaging in illegal activities such as, being thieves or thugs. This may lead one into prison sentence or even beaten to death. Young people sometimes fall prey to the pressure of their peers, even if it means defying the person of authority in the household. They have fear of engaging in constructive activities and opt for shortcuts in order to survive.
“We left School,” the players lose hope of acquiring an education; they anticipate they have no future (Brooks 1638). School is meaningless to these young black men; because of the color of their skin. They feel that being black you are labeled as being nothing in society, and will not gain the respect of other races. These youths has instilled in themselves they have to do what it takes to survive, in a world that is against them. Will the being black always stereotype you as a bad person? We can always separate ourselves from the group and achieve success, so others can see being black is not bad. Only you can change you to become that better person for all to see that you did make it up the ladder to the top.
Parents spend a fortune in educating their children. It is wise to respect the parent, and achieve high grades. This is the only present one can give his or her parents. Experience is always the best teacher. Most parents have gone through the education system, and they regard their success to this. Giving them an ear is a show of respect and obedience, hence prosperity and long life.
“We Real Cool” is inspiring and has a thoughtful consequence: no education, living a free from care lifestyle as a failure, put together with street life, will undoubtedly lead to death. Being cool does not call for negative practices in society but uniqueness, in the right direction. Blacks have been oppressed in the past, but we can also be an inspiration for black youths of the future generations. We can all have a dream and make it a reality.
Works Cited
Brooks, Gwendolyn. “We Real Cool.” The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W.W. Norton and company Inc., 2004. 1638.
