Poetry Analysis Essay on America by Tony Hoagland

Introduction

The poem "America" by Tony Hoagland begins in the scenario where a non-typical student with a blue hair who states that "America s for a maximum-security prison." (Hoagland 43). The student is seen expressing his hate for the country because of the increase in greed and corruption cases. The author used various styles, such as metaphor in the book; for instance, the student is a student; however, he is no familiar with American flag colors. The use of blue color represents a calmer and wisdom; the tongue also represents the student tongue ring symbolizes the liberal system in the country. The author used the student's appearance as a symbolizing tool in explaining the nature of American society. The student also illustrated "whose walls are made of Radio Shacks and burger kings, and MTV episodes Where you can't tell the show from the commercials." (Hoagland 43). Social media platforms play an essential role in determining the country's operational structure in the world currently. There is a great influence on the American TV impact on the general population in matters concerning their democracy and information. Hoagland stated that television has a massive addiction to most of the residents in the country to the point that most of the citizens cannot move forward with their lives.

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Hoagland also described American society to be full of greed and corrupt citizens who were only oppressed with money. The desire of money was illustrated when the students stubbed his father, and instead of blood to come out, there were green dollar bills of money that came out, this demonstrated how cash runs in the veins of the people (Hoagland 44). The scenario also was used as a metaphor illustration by the author in describing America was a land of greed and corruption where all individuals were only concerned about money and selfish gains. The author described how America is in a position to influence different countries in the world currently. The use of color, such as green, was used to represent the germs and infection that affect American society. America was described as a corrupt society by the author's descriptions derived from his book. "He gasped, "thank god those ben franklins were clogging up my heart, and so I perish happily, freed from that which kept me from my liberty." (Hoagland 45).

The author also described the leaders as opportunistic and greedy by stating that most of the leaders are not ready to participate in any meaningful activities in society. The students were used to represents the younger generation, which is corrupted by society. Hoagland used students to illustrates that corruption applied to the learning individuals in the community (Hoagland 46). The metaphor is shown in the scenario where the child has been used in describing how a teacher takes advantage of the child ignorant and confuses his or her mind on different activities in the society. The tongue piercing also was used to describe the sexual corruption that was evident in the community. The blue hair of the student heard a deeper meaning, according to the author; this illustrates the condition the country is currently undergoing.

Tony Hoagland's poem "America" experiences some of the teachings that were evident in the modern American cultural society structure in our current society. The use of metaphor has helped in hiding the precise meaning of the poetry. The metaphor was widely used by the author in describing how corruption has affected the country.

Works Cited

Hoagland, Tony. "The village troublemaker: Robert Bly and American poetry." The American Poetry Review 40.5 (2011): 43-48.Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23052657