Robert E. Lee Statue

The statue of Robert E. Lee described in “All the Way Live” is a symbol of the oppression black people in the United States, specifically the speaker and his friend Hieronymus, have faced due to institutionalized racism. As the leader of the Confederate Army during the Civil War, many consider Robert E. Lee to represent the racist interests of the south during that era by fighting to preserve slavery in the southern states. The speaker and Hieronymus attempt to subvert this symbol of oppression by vandalizing it and thus acting out their right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression as United States citizens, however both social and political forces punish them for doing so, keeping the symbolic power of the statue in tact.

Jazz

Jazz in the poem “The Golden Shovel” symbolizes the constructive utilization of negative energies or impulses. As...