Alice Walker Poem Be Nobody S Darling Essay

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Nobody's Darling," Alice Walker dramatizes the conflict between the comfort of conformity and the courage it takes to be different. The speaker offers advice to the reader, in a didactic tone but one that confers wisdom. "Be nobody's darling, be an outcast," means standing up for truth and justice even if it means martyrdom (1,2). The speaker refers to the "thousands perished / for brave hurt words / they said," (23-25). It is preferable to walk alone, and even die, than it is to remain silent in the midst of injustice.

Using second person point-of-view throughout the poem, the speaker is invisible and anonymous. The reader is to take her at her word as a person in a position of authority, one who has presumably witnessed the benefits of being the "outcast." Part of her rhetorical strategy is to engender trust through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos: the authority of the speaker, the emotional content of the message, and the diction used to convey that message.

The speaker contrasts the position of the outcast with that of the "impetuous fools" that form the bulk of society (19-20). It is not that the speaker is misanthropic, but that she is actually optimistic that each person has the strength and ability to "walk alone" to promote justice (14). Yet the speaker admits that walking alone is "uncool," and that it is also painful. One unique element of "Be Nobody's Darling" is the use of parentheses around the word "uncool" to draw attention to that word and also to the concept it represents.

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Here, the speaker betrays the fact that she is reaching out to a younger audience by using a vernacular term. The speaker also wants the reader to know that he or she will be labeled as "uncool" and as an "outcast" by standing up for truth, justice, or personal beliefs.

The speaker wants to encourage the reader to be confident and courageous by pointing out that it is not easy to be the outcast or one who is willing to stand apart from the crowd. The vocabulary and diction used in "Be Nobody's Darling" emphasizes the "contradictions" between the sense of being an "outcast" and the knowledge that it is necessary to be an outcast when everyone else around is a "fool."

The only notable instance in which Walker employs internal rhyming is through the connection between "fool" and "uncool." Interestingly, the juxtaposition of these two rhyming words highlights the central conflict of the poem. The fool is the one who is ultimately "uncool," but it is the courageous individual who is ironically labeled as being "uncool" by the foolish society. Imagery of death also permeates the Walker poem, as the speaker stresses the great risks involved in taking a political stance with other "brave" people (24). Alice Walker's "Be Nobody's Darling" is a politically-charged poem that centers on the psychological, social, and physical repercussions of activism. "Be an outcast / Qualified to live / Among your dead" refers to the glory that one attains when sacrificing the comforts of conformity for the rewards of personal integrity, courage,.....

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