"when I Lay My Burden Down And "Sympathy"
Uploaded by eddyghazaley on Jan 24, 2009
Main issues in life that cause many problems are racism, facing fears, and segregation. Racism is one of the main issues in life that cause people to be put in different social classes. In history, and even today, in some countries people consider the blacks to be slaves, and the whites in the upper class. This method of thinking allows many people to start hating different races, mocking each other, and also disrespecting one another. Facing fears, which is dedicated to all people, is another negative issue in life. Facing fears allows people to take a step back in life, scared to move on. People who normally have fears do not feel confident, which then results in failures. As a result of racism and facing fears, segregation arises. Segregation is the separation of different people or even animals. Racism thus causes segregation in social classes. Also, for example, in a school, students separate from one another having their own “cliques. If someone is scared of football, then they are immediately unwelcomed in the team. Similarly, the two readings “When I lay My Burden Down” and “Sympathy”, include problems about racism, facing fears, and segregation.
In the story and in the poem, racism is being mentioned, either directly or indirectly. In the story, momma, the black grandma, is being disrespected by the white kids. As the whites so arrogantly believe that they are dedicated to a higher class thinking that it is alright to mock the blacks. The children are making fun of momma who does not seem to mind, since they know that she is supposed to respect anyone who enters her store, in any situation she is put in. Therefore, we are indirectly told how self-controlled she is. Similarly, in the poem, the caged bird is not being treated equally as the rest of the birds, since it is locked up. The people are restricting the bird’s freedom in order to let the bird act like a pleasure for the other people to look at, which is a symbol of slavery. Since the bird is not going completely insane in order to be released, it also shows how self-controlled it is, just like the grandma. This poem symbolizes somebody being trapped. When a person mentally or physically feels trapped, he or she would feel as though their freedom is restricted. For example, if parents do not allow...