The Main Idea & Literary Devices
The main idea between these three poems are how much racism and civil rights, or lack of thereof affects lives negatively/positively.
Strange Fruit
This idea is apparent in the first poem “Strange Fruit” because of one of the lines in the song. This line is, “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze.” By adding black in front of bodies he used the overstatement literary device. If he simply left that line as, “bodies swinging in the southern breeze” there wouldn’t have been any hint of racism. But by adding simply adding the word black in front of the word he succinctly sent and emphasized he was talking about racism. Moreover, "Strange Fruit" demonstrates how terrible racism can be as two African-American men were punished much more severely than they should have been because of their race.
The House I Live In
In "The House I Live In" Meeropol paints race diversity in a wonderful light by talking about America without racism; while in "Strange Fruit" he was talking about America with racism. One line in "The House I Live In" remarks, "The faces that I see, All races and religions, That's America to me." Meeropol is talking about how different races and religions make up America the way it is today. This poem uses the literary device foreshadowing as he is purposely implying that different races make America a better place. This relates to the main idea (lack of racism) by explaining the benefits of race diversity; the exact opposite of racism.
Lady Sings The Blues
To find what "Lady Sings The Blues" is about you have to dig a little deeper into the history of the song. "Lady Sings The Blues" was not only a poem, but also made a film and a book. The film and the book were both a biography (less so with the film) of the famous 1900s singer Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday was an African American and had to deal with the struggles of being black in a white community in an age where racism was still strong. The film, book and poem (the latter in a vague sense) talk about how it was like being an African American in a white society before the Civil Rights Movement that ensured equality for everyone of any race. This poem shows the importance of the Civil Rights Movement and how terrible life was for immigrants before this declaration.
Strange Fruit
This idea is apparent in the first poem “Strange Fruit” because of one of the lines in the song. This line is, “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze.” By adding black in front of bodies he used the overstatement literary device. If he simply left that line as, “bodies swinging in the southern breeze” there wouldn’t have been any hint of racism. But by adding simply adding the word black in front of the word he succinctly sent and emphasized he was talking about racism. Moreover, "Strange Fruit" demonstrates how terrible racism can be as two African-American men were punished much more severely than they should have been because of their race.
The House I Live In
In "The House I Live In" Meeropol paints race diversity in a wonderful light by talking about America without racism; while in "Strange Fruit" he was talking about America with racism. One line in "The House I Live In" remarks, "The faces that I see, All races and religions, That's America to me." Meeropol is talking about how different races and religions make up America the way it is today. This poem uses the literary device foreshadowing as he is purposely implying that different races make America a better place. This relates to the main idea (lack of racism) by explaining the benefits of race diversity; the exact opposite of racism.
Lady Sings The Blues
To find what "Lady Sings The Blues" is about you have to dig a little deeper into the history of the song. "Lady Sings The Blues" was not only a poem, but also made a film and a book. The film and the book were both a biography (less so with the film) of the famous 1900s singer Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday was an African American and had to deal with the struggles of being black in a white community in an age where racism was still strong. The film, book and poem (the latter in a vague sense) talk about how it was like being an African American in a white society before the Civil Rights Movement that ensured equality for everyone of any race. This poem shows the importance of the Civil Rights Movement and how terrible life was for immigrants before this declaration.