Tupac & Hughes

1. Gospel:
Gospel - often Gospel the Proclamation of the redemption preached by Jesus and the Apostles. (2) Of the Gospel Bible, one of the first four books of the New Testament. (3) Gospel Music. (4) Something accepted as unquestionably true.

The meaning of the work Gospel relates to the theme that is portrayed in the “Ghetto Gospel” poem and video because the lyrical content expresses the truth; the truth that exist in many “ghettos” across the world. The definition of Gospel is the unquestionable truth; Tupac expresses the reality that occurs in many ghettos. I live in an area of New York City in which I can relate to the reality that happens in the ghetto. Tupac is not speaking of fictitious events or exaggerating, unfortunately, the scenario that is demonstrated in the “Ghetto Gospel” video occurs in real life. I think that is was genius of him to name the poem “Ghetto Gospel” because he is speaking of the truth that occurs in the Ghetto. The unnecessary crime, drugs, disparity, drugs, homelessness, and violence that is revealed in that short video, occurs every minute in a given area of New York City.

2. Ghetto Gospel
Well I actually read the poem several times before viewing the video. I did this because every time I read the poem, and different character or scenery took place in my mind. I feel that although you are reading the poem with no imagery, the few words that are used, are key. Such words phrases like living out a bag, in rags, loving the things she has” allow you to create a character in your mind of such a woman. From just thee few words, I can draw many conclusions, like “she lived a hard life” and/or “she is probably homeless”. In poetry it is not the amount of words that is used, but the technique in arranging them. Then when I saw the Ghetto Gospel video, it was just like adding another scenario to what I had envisioned earlier. The video just retells a story adding visual characters and plots.

3. Projects
“We out the projects and jumped into another form of slavery” meant many things to me. I feel that it could have meant, although some people are fortunate to remove themselves from the actual state of living in the “ghetto”, sometimes you still cannot escape it. When you have lived under those conditions, a piece of it always remains with you. Therefore, you may always continue to mentally feel trapped into that lifestyle. I think that this phrase could have also been describing communal issues that are occurring. For instance, although one situation can be resolved, another one arises instantaneously. For example, you could have received good news from work, but the troubles of the ghetto can still bring you down.

4. Funerals
Both of the descriptions in each poem are different. In Tupac’s Demise, he is speaking of his arrival to death. He explains how he’s coping with it, what he wants to be remembered as, and what he feels. When I read this poem I felt a sense of unsuccessfulness. I find it so difficult to think that a man who had accomplished so much in his life, felt as though he’d leave the world no mark. Tupac’s poetry, music and life touched many people in different ways. I found it really creepy that he was writing poetry as though he already knew he was going to die “...I will die before my time, because I feel the shadow’s depth…”.

In Hughes’s Night Funeral, I think he was describing a funeral that would occur in a community that is experiencing poverty. Although this poem is supposed to be about death, it is distinctively demonstrating a funeral occurring in Harlem. In the past Harlem was filled with poverty and Hughe describes this. “Insurance man he did not pay-- his insurance lapsed the other day.” and “Them flowers came from that poor boy’s friends”. Hughe is describing the struggle that occurred in Harlem during his time. He is describing a very gloomy scene that portrays the people in Harlem being very poor and probably experiencing a struggle just to bury their loved ones because of financial issues. If I had to choose just one emotion to characterize each poem it would be despair. In each poem I felt a disparity and no hope for the future. Many of the scenes in the poems describe a sense of hopelessness.

5. Blues - "Weary Blues"
When I did research on the Blues, I discovered information on the origins of Blues Music. This type of music was solo songs that gave vent to the frustrations and personal troubles of the African-American. Blues music was soulful and truthful music that provided a voice for the African-American. This music was a demonstrated the feelings of disparity that the African-American was feeling during the early 20th century. When reading “Weary Blues”, by Hughes, you can feel the frustration and distress that is occurring in the life of the African-American man. This poem describes a gloomy scene and a man expressing the solitude he feels in the world. “Aint got nobody in all this world, Ain’t got nobody but ma self”. This line of poetry expresses the frustration that his man is enduring in New York City.