Questions:
Symbols in "America" by James Monroe Whitfield
Read this poem as part of a unit on African American literature and have some questions:
1) What symbols does this piece contain? (I know that a symbol will usually appear more than once in a piece of literature and often in important moments in the piece, however, I am having difficulty determining the symbol(s) in this poem).
2) What are possible interpretations of the symbol(s) in this poem?
3) Is there a common pattern with the symbol(s)?
4) Do some of the possible interpretations fit together? (I mean do they correlate in some way and is that why the author used them?).
5) How do these symbols relate to notions about African American literature?
6) How does this symbol develop understanding and appreciation of African American literature?
7) What evidence from the poem helps me to be able to understand and realize this?