Be Nobody's Darling

Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Take the contradictions
Of your life
And wrap around
You like a shawl,
To parry stones
To keep you warm.
Watch the people succumb
To madness
With ample cheer;
Let them look askance at you
And you askance reply.
Be an outcast;
Be pleased to walk alone
(Uncool)
Or line the crowded
River beds
With other impetuous
Fools.

Make a merry gathering
On the bank
Where thousands perished
For brave hurt words
They said.

But be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Qualified to live
Among your dead. 

Alice Walker

              

Analysis: 

My interpretation of the Poem:

This poem by Alice Walker talks about a woman believing in herself and having confidence in what she does. The first stanza explains how nobody is perfect. We all have little contradictions in our lives and we have to learn to take them and wrap them around us because that is what makes us who we are. We are all individuals and that separates us from other people. Be ready to live with individuality and “to walk alone” or “line the crowded/ River beds/ With other impetuous/ Fools”. The last stanza is what the poem is about. It summarizes the poet’s point. Individuality comes at the price of isolation making it hard to truly achieve. Breaking from societal reigns upon ideas comes difficultly, but to just fall into what society says can come back and haunt you. Possibly making you regret not following your own beliefs.

                      

Literacy Devices:

Alice Walker's poem "Be Nobody's Darling" is an order directed towards the individual to break free of societal captivity, but only by its use of extensive imagery and an assertive tone is her poem able to convey its meaning to its full extent. The assertive tone allows us to understand that the poet is telling the reader to not strive to fit in, and be like everyone else. Be different, and strive to stand out from the crowd. The simile "Take the contradictions of your life and wrap around you like a shawl" is telling us to embrace the faults and mistakes in our life and make them become a part of who we are. Let them shape and mold us into a stronger person.

Personal Points and Views:

I like this poem because unlike the media and the societal views, this poet is telling us to embrace who we are and not worry about what expectations others have for us. We are individuals who know what we are capable of. It is very easy now days to fall into the societal concepts of wanting to be accepted by other people, friends, lovers, and families. Unfortunately, with all of this going on, we don’t realize how easy it is to have our own identities ruled by trends and popularity. Our voices are drowned out by the large mass of people who all believe in the same things…things opposite from what you believe in. Many people who “care” tend to change who we are so that we can fit in with the ideal view, but what they don’t realize is that we don’t want to be someone different. We are who we are, and if we, ourselves don’t accept that, then anyone can persuade us to be someone we are not.

Theme:

Walker does an amazing job at describing how a person should go about their insecurities. The simile she used in lines 3-6 help us understand the idea of us being comfortable with our faults. I agree with the idea of us being our own selves and separating us from what others want us to be. One of the key things in life is to be able to accept yourself in order to enjoy your experiences and Walker does an amazing job at describing this without actually stating the theme. This poem is very inspiring and influential as it makes me want to believe in myself more too. 

Personal Connections:

This reminds me of a time when my parents advised me to always be myself even in the worst times. Forgetting who we are and becoming someone different can cause a split personality. We need to learn to embrace who we are and learn to love ourselves. If we accept who we are, then no one can influence us to change. We have to know that life goes on and the problems only make us stronger. We should take them as a step up the ladder to becoming more mature and discovering our true identity.