We Real Cool Analysis

Thesis: Gwendolyn Brooks, the poet of “We Real Cool”, illustrates the essence of troubled adolescents who will eventually succumb to the ill-fated possibility that life renders a human being if they continue the lifestyle of the streets.

            The short poem is specifically worded and formatted to accentuate the ill-fated possibility adolescents may suffer in life. The repetition in “We” (Brooks 1) throughout the entire poem is deliberately used to demonstrate how teenagers abide to not caring about education. Furthermore, the constant usage of “We” indicates that these boys are proclaiming their arrival at the pool facility as if they have never been there before. The tone throughout the poem is very monotonous yet upbeat as well, and the last line “We / Die soon” (7-8) summarizes the total meaning Gwendolyn Brooks attempts to illustrate throughout the poem. Brooks deliberately shortens the poem into fragmented phrases in order to highlight the poem’s frank meaning, which is that the poem highlights the students who drop out of high school, live on the streets, and ultimately die. Brooks’ poem idealizes upon an impressive and profound implication: no education and living a carefree lifestyle as a dropout—compounded with street life—will most likely yield death.