Till It's Blood Is Red On The Cruel Bars Analysis

The author uses imagery to illustrate and give the reader a clear understanding of his thoughts about injustice. Dunbar uses imagery by stating, “ Till it’s blood is red on the cruel bars” (line 9). This shows the bird’s relentless efforts to escape. The author includes this to relate the bird’s struggles and hardships to his own dealing with injustice. Another way Dunbar uses imagery to relate to injustice is by stating, “ When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer he sends from his heart’s deep core”( lines 16-19). Here the author uses imagery to show the reader that even when the bird is in pain he still fights for freedom and justice. The author uses this piece of imagery to relate himself to the bird in the sense of that like the bird, the author fights for his freedom, but along the way is
For example, Dunbar uses imagery when stating, “And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars, And they pulse again with a keener sting--I know why he beats his wing!”(lines 13-15). Here the author is stating that even when scars from past experiences are long over, they are never forgotten, and they can prohibit a person from fighting injustice because of the trauma that itt can bring. The use of imagery in this quote shows the reader just how damaging unjust actions towards a person can be. Dunbar also uses imagery when stating, “I know why the caged bird sings”(line 21). The author expresses in this quote that he understands why the caged bird sings because he has felt caged or trapped for a long time. The author is trying to get the reader to understand that he knows why the bird sings and the reasons for his unrelentless actions for freedom because he himself has felt the exact same way. He wrote about this bird as if he was putting himself into another’s point of view, but in all reality he wrote the bird as