Gwendolyn Brooks We Real Cool Analysis

Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "We Real Cool" identifies the struggle that Black American youths went through to define themselves in the late fifties and early sixties, in a society that was predominately trying to keep them oppressed. The poem portrays a group of young Black boys who hang out in a pool hall and conduct illegal activity instead of going to school with the rest of their peers. The boys are insecure about their role in society; they talk big so that they can hide behind their facade of being a tough guy or a thug. These boys feel as though they do not have a place in society outside of being a criminal, but instead of fighting the stereotype of the lazy Black man they give in and become what they are expected to become by White, upper-class society.
The poem opens with the scene of seven boys at a pool hall named the Golden Shovel. Seven
The narrator states that they "Jazz June;" Jazz is a very rebellious kind of music, because it is based on not conforming to what is traditionally thought of as music. June is the beginning of summer; it connotes a feeling of freedom from the everyday drudgeries of life. It is a chance for exploration and discovery. June is prime tourist season, so they could be saying that they have a whole new crop of people to swindle in June, thanks to vacationers who do not know any better. In the last line of the poem the narrator admits that their life style leads to an early death, but he does not seem to care. They have existential freedom, which is characterized by not knowing or caring what is right or wrong; they will have to ultimately assume the responsibility of their actions and in this case the end result is death. The life of these boys may be clouded with excitement and danger, but the lives they are leading are not sustainable; they are extremely likely to die as a result of the path they chose to