Found Poem

Book: Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers

Plan
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137

I really did not know what being black meant.

All in all it has been a great journey and not at all shabby for a
bad boy.
Harlem is the first place called home, that I can remember.
I was also a reader. Not just a reader, but someone hungry for
books.
What did being born black have to do with excellence?
In truth, everything in my life in 1951 that was personal and
had value was white.
I wondered where and how I would fit in to a society that
basically didnt like me.
I wanted to do just that, but I was more hurt than I was mad.
Teachers didnt seem to notice that the black kids werent
comfortable with the textbook.
Harlem was just home
It was the first time I had heard about people trying to be not
just another Negro
As having a good job versus what my dad called bull work.
If I didnt attend, no one seemed to care.
I did not want to experience the humiliation of being rejected
because I was black.
I remembered my high teachers advice: What ever you do
never stop writing.
The church became the center of my community

Found poem
What does to be black mean?
Having jobs that paid low prices
Living in a society that doesnt like me
Rejected from what the society thinks only whites can do
Was this all?
I was trying to different for all the other blacks
Trying to stand out, be different
More intellectual
Maybe not having the same jobs as other blacks
Maybe a better job
But no one seemed to cared
What if I be myself
Never stop writing
A reader that no one expects to be
Taking the church as the center of my community
That was not at all shabby for a black person
Question 1
My poem connects to the climax because it shows its ok for a black
person to read or write. Even though, at the beginning Walter thinks
that only whites could enjoy writing and reading, but blacks should
only enjoy playing sports. Also it connects to the rising action, for
example he went to work instead of going to school and think about
his education. Also it connects a lot to the theme because in the
whole poem I wrote about like a process he goes through to figures
out his identity.
Question 2
The poem shows the conflict by talking about the process of the
story getting to the climax. In the process he got into lots of
problems before deciding whether he should categorize himself as a
black person. In fact, because of this he wasnt able figure out what
to do with his life. If he categorizes himself as a white he will try to
get in good universities. However, people around him wouldnt
accept that face due to him being black. If he categorizes himself as
an intellectual person then he would have to concentrate on school
and getting good grades in class. Though he could not since when
he was in high school some math formula he didnt even recognizes
it. On the other hand, if he would consider himself as a black then
he would dropout of school; lucky enough it was because of his
writing skills that made in have hope. So the conflict was that in
different parts of time period he considers himself as different type

of people. Then he had confusion in himself, which lead to negative

actions.
Question 3
My poem shows social context because it talks about what the
society think of blacks in that time period. Like when he got rejected
to the party just because he was black. In my poem I said that being
black you could only do things that the society thinks you can do.
Also in the book Walter said that if he were writing or reading he
would be embarrassed if other kids found out. So that means at the
time period the society was scared to do anything that others thinks
is not right. People were living not according to law but to what
others think.
Question 4
My poem is about how he tries to figure out his true identity by
trying to be different types of people. Like at the beginning of the
story he consider himself more as a intellectual person than being a
black man. He thinks like that because Walter thought that whites
had more opportunity than blacks so he wanted to be one.
Question 5
I created the poem from Walterss perspective because the book
was about Walter journey on trying to figure out his true identity. By
creating it from Walters perspective you can show what are his
perspective on other things. If I wrote it in third person I would
sound more like the societies perspective and what they think he
tries to achieve.