‘Freedom’, a song in collaboration between Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar regarding the systemic racism and injustices faced by Africans when they were experiencing slavery in the United States. Throughout the song, Beyoncé’s message is quite clear where she is fighting for freedom and equal rights between Americans and African Americans. Obviously, this song was written after the freedom of Africans, however, she addresses the struggles they faced during the time of slavery as well as today, where many police officers unreasonably stop African  Americans, in order to make sure that they do not have weapons or illegal items.

Within the song lyrics, Beyoncé alludes to the meaningless interactions of the police with black men, where the police keep ‘askin’ [black men] what’s in [their] possesion’ because the police heard ‘seven misleadin’ statements ’bout [their] persona’. Beyoncé highlights the fact that many police officers quickly assume black people as criminals even though they have done nothing, therefore, addressing racial discrimination by the police. Although Beyoncé addresses these as if they happen in the past, but in reality, it still does happen. The whole “Black Lives Matter” protest this year was introduced after an African American was murdered by 4 police officers in police custody. This year, this song was remembered once again as an important message to everyone stating that African Americans want to live freely, without any sort of racial discrimination. Additionally, the repetition of ‘Freedom’ as well as the enthusiastic tone in which Beyoncé sings ‘Freedom’ presents her feelings and devotion to fight for freedom. Throughout the song, Beyoncé continues to sing in an enthusiastic but angry tone, and when Kendrick sings his part, he uses an angry tone to portray the African Americans are fed up by the racial discrimination present in the United States.

This song is extremely impactful because she addresses the global issue of racial discrimination and although this is regarding the racial discrimination against African American people, her message can be influential in all societies that experience racial discrimination. I cannot personally relate to these African Americans as I was born in a privileged family, however, I have been discriminated before and I believe that many have experienced the same due to cultural differences in which many are unable to understand the cultural complexities of each race. Moreover, this song has been exceptionally influential this year because of the George Floyd case which made her song more powerful towards a larger and international audience.

Playing the Englishman is the 15th chapter of M.K Gandhi’s autobiography, ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’,  in which he narrates his experiences in England as a law student. In the 15th chapter, Gandhi describes his experiences of trying to fit in and adopting a foreign identity – the identity of an Englishman. In order for Gandhi to pursue his studies of becoming a lawyer, he had traveled to England, a place that was foreign to him, in which he attempted to fit into the culture and his surroundings, however, his attempts were unsuccessful. This chapter is based around the theme of identity in which a man cannot change their identity even if they are doing it for the sake of adjusting to a new environment.

Gandhi displays his struggles with building his identity in England using various different stylistic techniques. Through the use of a sarcastic tone, Gandhi presents the absurdity of his actions trying to play the Englishman. For instance, he ‘wasted ten minutes every day before a huge mirror, watching [himself] arranging [his] tie and parting [his] hair in the correct fashion’. The use of a sarcastic tone displays that his efforts trying to look like Englishman to adjust to the ‘English Society’ was quite meaningless since he was still unable to fit in after wasting ten minutes. Additionally, ‘while in India, the mirror had been a luxury…here [he] wasted ten minutes every day before a huge mirror’. The use of the mirror allows Gandhi to reflect the cultural differences between England and India as well as the luxurious lifestyle he led as a student compared to the life he used to live in India. Gandhi also relates himself to ‘all philosophers and prophets, from Pythagoras and Jesus down to those of the present age’ because they ‘were vegetarians’.  Gandhi alludes to his future actions as a freedom fighter after leaving England through the reference of vegetarianism. These philosophers and prophets are quite well-known for their revolutionary work and just like them, Gandhi has also accomplished a lot through his work as a freedom fighter who successfully brought India to Independence.

Throughout this chapter, Gandhi describes his struggle to fit in where he went to certain extremes such as taking ‘lessons in dancing, French, elocution’ and music in order to live an English life. However, Gandhi realizes that he is living a lie and that he is not only fooling himself, but he is also denying the fact that he is an Indian and not an Englishman. Therefore, providing a life lesson that the truth of our identities cannot change and one’s identity is crucial for living an enjoyable and meaningful life.

Throughout this piece, Judy Brady convinces the audience of a man’s perspective and expectations of a wife. From the start of the piece, Brady, ‘a wife. And, not altogether incidentally… a mother’, uses ethos to convince the audience that she is knowledgable about her subject due to her experiences as a wife and a mother. Through the use of a first-person voice, Brady mimics the perspective and beliefs of men in which they want ‘a wife who will keep [their] house clean… clothes clean, ironed, mended, [and] replaced when need be’.  Brady’s use of an irritated tone presents that the female persona is fed up with their daily chores, therefore, expressing an important issue with their identity – they are powerless and bound by the expectations of men in a society where there are gender role imbalances.

Brady also evokes sympathy for wives who have multiple responsibilities at home through the use of pathos. She addresses the stress and pressure on wives that are placed by their husbands,  and finally, uses a rhetorical question, ‘My god, who wouldn’t want a wife?’ to evoke emotions and to indicate the stress a wife experiences. Brady also appeals to the audience’s intellect through the use of logos where she provides various arguments regarding the issues of a wife’s identity in which their identity is  suppressed by their husbands’ . For instance, she portrays the inequality between a husband and wife by addressing herself as a man that wants ‘to go back to school [and] become economically independent’, and that the man wants a wife ‘that will take care of [him and his] children’. Clearly, Brady argues that husbands expect way too much from their wives in order to keep themselves satisfied and not overly stressed, but she also touches on the stereotypical belief of a patriarchal society that women should stay at home and men should work, educate themselves and be the dominant one in a relationship. Additionally, Brady uses irony throughout the piece to make it seem as if a man was writing his expectations of a wife and the roles they would play in their lives. Additionally, Brady emphasizes the lack of freedom in a wife’s life where she ‘remain sexually faithful’, however, the husband may not follow ‘strict adherence to monogamy’. In a way, Brady uses a sarcastic tone to exaggerate the expectations of a wife and husband in a relationship.

Overall, many issues are highlighted such as gender inequality, lack of freedom, and the pressure on women to abide by the expectations of a wife.

Duffy’s imagery centers on colors and textures in this poem. What effect do these create?

Throughout the poem, Duffy draws parallels to the legend of King Midas through the use of monochromatic imagery of the color gold. For instance, in the second stanza, when Mr. Midas ‘plucked a pear from a branch’ it seemed ‘like a lightbulb’. Duffy describes the pear as a lightbulb to portray the pear turning gold by the touch of Mr. Midas in order to draw a parallel between King Midas and Mr. Midas, where their touch results in the object or thing turning into gold. It is quite noticeable that many insignificant objects such as ‘doorknobs’, ‘cloth’, and ‘corn’ are made significant through their monochromatic color of gold. Due to the fact that this dramatic monologue is from the perspective of Mrs. Midas, through the highlights of insignificant objects, Duffy criticizes that Mr. Midas gives importance to meaningless things such as money and wealth, therefore, presenting Mr. Midas’s actions as foolish, selfish and greedy.

The use of monochromatic imagery also displays the gender roles and power dynamics between men and women. Mr. Midas sits on a ‘chair like a king on a burnished throne’, Duffy specifically uses this simile to describe the shiny golden throne to demonstrate the power he has over Mrs. Midas where he is treated like royalty and makes the important financial decisions. Throughout the poem, Duffy highlights the power of Mr. Midas but also presents the foolish actions he takes, therefore, contradicting the stereotypical behavior of men when making financial decisions or any decisions on the behalf of their family.

In all of Duffy’s poems, she contradicts the stereotypical ideas of men and women through stories, legends, and fairy tales from the perspective of women since these stories are usually built from a man’s perspective.

Dominant Reading:

Dominant Reading is the normal way of interpreting a text for the majority of people in society. The message that is sent across is interpreted and analyzed in a similar way if not the same way. Society consists of people with conflicting perspectives in which different ideologies may influence their interpretations of a particular text.

Subversive Reading:

Subversive Reading is the exploration of strategies, used by readers/audience, to challenge authority, societal norms, interpretations of stories, etc.

Connecting this with Little Red Cap:

In the poem, Little Red Cap, Carol Ann Duffy provides an alternative perspective of Little Red Riding Hood in which she explores concepts such as society, gender, and sexuality more explicitly compared to the original story. Carol is an example of one who subversively reads and explores strategies used to challenge norms and therefore, emphasizes, and explicitly points them out in which the audience of her poem can better grasp and understand the ideas she explores.