The Struggles In Tupac Shakur's Tears Of A Teenage Mother

Raquel Blackshere
Professor Adolph
English 1000
13 February 2014
Struggles of a Single Mother
Both “Forever Left Behind,” by Raquel Blackshere and “Tears of a Teenage Mother,” by Tupac Shakur address the persistent and polarizing issue of teenage pregnancy. Through her clear vocabulary and ability to simplify a complex chain of events, Blackshere successfully captures the trying misfortune of the conflicted teen mother, while Shakur struggles to convey the true emotion behind such a burdening issue. By appealing to her target audience more adequately and not dancing around the main issue by pulling in outside factors such as socioeconomic concerns, Blackshere best encompasses the struggles of any teen mother. The speaker in “Forever
Blackshere’s appropriate use of Pathos is enough to sufficiently persuade the audience. The speaker in the poem uses emotions that any person could relate to for a better understanding of the issue’s severity and to promote empathy. For example, the mother in “Forever Left Behind, ” realizes that she has “nobody to blame but her carelessness and willingness to trust” (11-12). Here, the speaker presents a common emotion on a more severe scale. Shakur fails to fully relate to his audience, presenting nearly no emotions in his poem. The speaker in “Tears of a Teenage Mother” observes that “the daddy just ran out the door” (8), but does not address the emotions that surely will come thereafter. Keeping the poem relatable, Blackshere notes that a lone “tear drips down the mother’s face” (6). Sadness proves a common theme in Blackshere’s work, and she chooses to express the emotion in something as simple, yet powerful, as a tear. Ironically, tears are mentioned in Blackshere’s poem, but not Shakur’s, which happens to include “tears” in the title. Blackshere’s ability to employ Pathos puts her at an advantage over Shakur when it comes to persuading an
Upon reading “Tears of a Teenage Mother,” one might argue that it is a deeper poem considering the many literary elements employed by Shakur. The poem contains alliteration, irony, and parallelism, among others, in order to contribute to the overall effect. However, the simplicity and straight forwardness of “Forever Left Behind,” paints a darker picture of the tribulations of being a teenage mother. Often times, a wealth of literary elements is not necessary to build an excellent poem. Overall, the depth of Shakur’s poem does not exceed that of Blackshere’s. Another argument could stem from the intended direction of the poem. One could point out that Shakur intends to focus more on the father’s negligence affecting the family, as opposed to observing the hardships faced by the mother. While this may be true, it does not explain why the focus of the title is “Tears of a Teenage Mother”. The reader observes absolutely nothing about the mother’s emotion. Blackshere, however, offers an inside and relatable track to the mother’s life. After careful evaluation, the reader will see that “Forever Left Behind” is the more relatable work. All in all, the issue of teenage pregnancy may be portrayed in different ways. Through relatable depiction of dark emotions, Blackshere puts a powerful perspective on the issue. Shakur elects to attack the issue