Poetry Analysis Essay on Chaun Ballard Poem "How I Survived"

Introduction

The most interesting fact about writing is that it has many forms. For examples, new articles and poems are two different types of item, but they associate with each other. in other words, news article can enhance poetry and vice versa. Poetry is a kind of writing which allow readers to take news which has occurred by allowing the story to have a significant meaning. For an instant a poem by Chau Ballard, which uses toe and persona to show readers the emotional importance on the murder-suicide and also the harsh reality of a person growing up I the gang and crime environment. It is a poem which grabs the reader's attention to how a person can survive in such a harsh environment. Hence the paper will analyze Chaun Ballard poem "How I Survived."

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Chaun Ballard is an author who wrote the poem "H I Survived.". The author comes from the state of San Bernado here he had experienced so many losses and hardship. The incidence that occurred at the North Park Elementary school of a murder-suicide inspired the author to write the poem as the response to what happened. It is a poem that portrays the authors walk through all the wrong things and hardship by staying far away and hiding in the dark, which seemed like an escape for the writer. In the poem, the author portrays himself as a young person who wants to succeed in life, but he is scared of letting people down, falling into social norms and hurting others. For a reader to understand the poem, one needs to infer it by picturing a young person walking through his home street while watching hate and crime taking place around him.

Not knowing what to do, the young guy had to do something to defend and protect himself in such in the environment. It is evident when the author indicated, "I shot the breeze. I learned how to clown and mean mug." (Ballard Line 27-29). If the reader just closed their eyes and listen to what the author was saying, the readers could find themselves walking, hearing, minding what they do and seeing the hate things that occur around them. Also, the text shows that the writer is hiding from evil since he knew he could be involved. For example, in the poem, he indicates, "I listen from rain. O listen for gunshots. I'd hope to God they didn't figure me out." (Ballard Line 30-32). Also, the lines show that the crime or gang-related association were looking for individuals like him, hence showing the hardship that people living in those areas are passing.

The author uses poetic techniques such as tone, and persona o engage the reader fully. For an instant, the author writes in the first person with a sad tone. The sound made the reader sympathies and fell the pain for him for what he is experiencing. Despite his sad tone, the author also has a happy moment that is within the poem. For an instant, when he indicates, "I sot late-night hoops, I perfected windmills and tomahawks" (Ballard line 2-3), ich is terms used in basketball. The author mentions these happy moments to give a sense of what he does to escape from reality, ethnicity and location. Furthermore, the author also says his family within the poem, "I honored my father and mother, I had a father and a mother" (Ballard lie 23-24), which indicates that he is very luck among many since he still he has both parents with him. The poem contains tone and persona features to make readers understand better, the author's life experience and where he grew up.

Likewise, the poem was written in response to the article, "San Bernardino School Shooting: Man kills wife then himself, 1 of 2 students wounded had died. "It is an article which explains the murder-suicide that happened at the elementary school, which when a reader reads, it brings a clear understanding of the poem. For example, an officer in the article stated," found a man and a woman dead in the classroom, as well as two injured students" (Bloom, par.7). These are direct quotes from the article that allows readers to have and understand the facts of the event. The commentaries explain a critical point in regards to the incidence and indicated that there was no security around the school, bring a clear indication that the neighborhood as not safe at all. The article also contained relevant pictures such as one of the dead men and woman, which makes the reader understand the essence of the poem and shoed that anyone within the neighborhood could be killed easily. Similarly, the article by Rebecca and Jenifer, 2017, explains the facts of what happened during that faithful day bring about a clear picture of what the poem is trying to explain to the readers.

Furthermore, the poem tends to add fundamental emotion of which the news article is saying concerning the poem. The news articles bring a clear picture to the hidden message in the poem. For example, it tells the reader the setting and the location (San Bernardino), which is hate and crime-related region. The verse further adds information concerning the people within society. For example, the author states that the people in the community are "murders of crows" and "gaggles of geese" (Ballard line 13-14). Also, the author references the point of stay to himself, telling readers that he is saying in a hate-related neighborhood. The article also indicates that the school has no security. Relating to the poem, it assists readers to understand the importance of protection, especially for individuals living around the school.

Conclusion

Overall, all the above examples show how news article and poem work together to make a particular event memorable and meaningful. In other words, poems are used to add to the events that news articles are unable to touch and express an insight that reporters cannot present to the public. The general public needs to combine both news article and poem for a better understanding of the significance and feelings of an event.

References

Ballard, Chaun. "How I Survived." Rattle. Rattle Foundation. 16 April 2018. https://www.rattle.com/how-i-survived-by-chaun-ballard/. 22 Jan. 2018.

Bloom, Tracy. Et. Al. "San Bernardino School Shooting: Man Kills Wife Then Himself; 1 of 2 Students Wounded Has Died." KTLA, Tribune Broadcast, 11 Apr. 2017, ktla.com/ 2017/04/10/multiple-gunshot-victims-at-elementary-school-in-san-bernardino-amid- report-of-active-shooter-officials-say/.

Rebecca Fairley and Jenifer Medina. San Bernardino School Shooting Leaves 3 Dead, Including Student. 2017. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/us/san-bernardino-school-shooting.html