Poetry Analysis
Olivia Bartley
Ms. Negin
AP Literature, Period 3
27 March 2020
Poetry Analysis #2:
"Rifle" by Rudy Francisco
The poem "Rifle" by Rudy Francisco is about masculinity and violence. In the poem, Francisco begins with explaining an article on how the Mexican government is allowing for a man to transform confiscated illegal firearms into musical instruments. This style was used in some of Francisco's other poems like "Adrenaline Rush". He then goes on to explain that violence is not always necessary to solving conflicts. The issues of boys being taught that violence is necessary and how they learn to fight at a young age is also discussed. Finally, he gives his personal experience of his first fight. Now that he is older, he realizes that being a "man" or "masculine" is just being violent or aggressive in order to mask feelings. The poem is a commentary on the expectations of men to use violence in order to solve their problems.
The literary devices that stood out to me in this poem is the personification and a metaphor used. Francisco describes that the illegal guns which were used for killing people now were instruments that "puts life back into people's body"(Francisco 23). The instruments are not able to put life back into someone but the joy of their sounds can. This metaphor foreshadows Francisco's point of the poem. People can change, creating violence does not have to be one of the functions of men. Another literary element used is using one word that can be interpreted with multiple meanings. For example, Francisco uses the word "battle"(Francisco 30) in the poem to mean both a dance battle and battle within a war. The guns were used for a gang battles and can now be used for a dance battle. Francisco does this again with the word "move"(Francisco 34). Move is used in a way to show that a gun firing can make people physically move but a instrument can make people emotionally move.Both use the same word but one is brings joy and the other fear. Being able to take one use so it has multiple meanings is something that can be done with people. People can change. Francisco makes it personal when he explains his first fight, how he is re purposing himself to something that during joy, and learning to think not swing. I think that the stories used to convey his point intertwine perfectly. There is a smooth transition from the content of the article to Francisco's personal experience and opinion.
The reason I picked this poem was because of the order of it's events. The fact that Francisco starts the poem explaining the content of the article, how its connect to himself, and finally his initial response to the article, all reminded me of Frankenstein. In Frankenstein, Shelley begins the novel with Frankenstein explaining to Walton why is story is important. Francisco also does this with explaining how the article relates to his own personal experiences. Then at the end of both the novel and poem, the reader is aware of how each part of the story, out of order, is more impactful that way. Frankenstein realizing that his exploration ruined his life and preventing Walton from doing the same is the important part told first. In this poem, Francisco's first reaction to the article and it's reflection on his ability to change himself is told last. He builds to his point. Frankenstein explains his point and then its backstory.
Olivia Bartley
Ms. Negin
AP Literature, Period 3
12 November 2019
Poem Analysis #1:
"Adrenaline Rush" by Ruby Francisco
The poem "Adrenaline Rush" by Rudy Francisco is about police brutality and racism in America. Francisco talks about extreme sports and how he felt when he was first pulled over. The poem beginnings with an extreme sport, volcano surfing and then it's definition. Next Francisco goes into what his person thoughts are on this sport. He then explains what an adrenaline rush is. Finally, he explains his personal experience of being pulled over for the first time. The whole poem is an explanation to why being black in America is it's own extreme sport, how past racial problems are stilling affecting people now, and the issue of police brutality in America.
Francisco explains in his anecdote how the police officer that pulled him over handled the situation, aggressively. He explains by sharing this experience, that black people are afraid of the police because of past and present racism in America. For example he states " Jim Crow may have left the nest but our streets are still covered in his feather (Francisco 57)." This statement references the Jim Crow laws that force blacks and whites to live separate but equal. These laws were eventually abolished but the affect of this racial segregation is still felt in today's society. Francisco plays off the name of law, Jim Crow, when saying the it has left the nest but our streets are still covered in its feathers. The feathers are the people and practices that have been pasted down through generations, and still keep different races treated differently in today's society. Francisco ends the poem with explaining how he does not have to be a part of an extreme sport to feel danger. He gets an adrenaline rush when a police officer does not pull him over. I can relate to this feeling. I have never been pulled over but just the thought of it makes me nervous. There are so many stories of black people getting killed even if they did everything the officer told them. I know that if I was pulled over I would do everything the officer told me; I just don't want to be put into that situation.
This poem is powerful to me because it explains why a lot of black people are afraid of the police. Francisco does this in an amazing way by explain an extreme sport, what an adrenaline rush is, and how being black in America has become an extreme sport. He starts with definition and then goes into more personal connects to these definitions. I believe that this poem does an amazing job of keeping the reader engaged as well makes them understand Francisco's point. For example Francisco states " I can tell he's the kind of man who brings a gun to a food fight..."(Francisco 30-31). Describing the officer like this allows the reader to understand why Francisco is scared of this police officer. Most people already have their own opinions of the police based on their own experience, this description allows the reader to understand his view point. It shows how unnecessary the police officer's aggression is in this situation. Statements like this really make the writing powerful. It allows the reader to sympathize with people in a situation like this. The writing also shows how it can be translated into other racial situations. Experiences like this lead to minorities not trusting the police, government, and other authority figures. "Adrenaline Rush" does a great job of illustrating this.
