Though not typically identified as a Harlem Renaissance author, the work of Gwen

Though not typically identified as a Harlem Renaissance author, the work of Gwendolyn Brooks nevertheless reverberates with themes important to the Renaissance movement. Analyze the poem to determine theme. Post the title of the poem you read, state the theme you interpreted from your read, and clearly discuss how this theme aligns with important considerations of the Renaissance era, using specifics (from the poem and from our lecture notes) to support general statements.
Lecture Notes; Clearly, Brooks is enlightening audiences to the plight of Harlem. The picture she paints suggests that life in this urban setting is something of a dead-end proposition: to stay in school leads nowhere (in terms of success or, even, escape) so what’s the point? Dropping out for a life in the streets, however, leads only to danger and a premature death (whether a literal death or only a death of the spirit). But the danger has even larger and more far-reaching implications for children represent new hope—those for whom a brighter future and better promise are hoped. These children, however, are doomed to the same cycle of failure as were their predecessors. Brooks is implying that nothing much has changed over the generations and, worse, that nothing much will, as, presumably, the children of these children (and those beyond) may be doomed to similar fates unless something is done—some significant change brought about. But what change, from where, and when instituted?
Poets, like other authors, don’t presume to have the answers to these kinds of problems. Indeed, writers have the same questions as do we but they give their questions life and form through their literature. Brooks informs readers of the problem and, in doing so, forces us to ask questions of ourselves: not “what can be done” but “what can I do.” This distinction is an important one because the first question is only a passive inquiry, while the second gets shoulders to the wheel of change.
In Conclusion…
As we consider the need for change and the impact the work of Brooks might have had on this particular situation (and on others in urban settings across the country), we have only to ponder our current state of affairs: what do the Harlems of America “look like” today? What has changed since “We Real Cool” was published, who stepped up to enact those changes, what work remains to be done, and, perhaps, most importantly, who will “do” it?