The poem “The Ballad of Birmingham, by Dudley Randall, is based on the historical event of the bombing in 1963 of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s church by white terrorists. It is a poem in which a daughter expresses her interest in attending a civil rights rally and the mother fearful for her daughter’s safety refuses to let her go. In the poem the daughter in fighting for the course of th people of her time / generation instead of going out to play. She is concerned with securing the freedom of her people during the civil rights era in the 1960 s.
Hence, in lines 3 and 4 she says “And marc the streets of Birmingham.”In a freedom march today. In response to her desire and request, her mother would not support her joining the freedom march, explaining to her the implications for a young girl. The mother reminds her about the dangers she could meet on th way, referring to the oppressors in line six as “The dogs are fierce and wild” and would use their dangerous weapons (in line 7) clubs, horses, guns and jails to stall her every move. Her mother even reminds her that such weapons and jail houses are not a good for a young person.
In her determination to be part of the freedom fighters, the daughter tries to win her mother’s agreement and approval for her to join others in the March. She tells her mother that other children will also be marching today to make the country free. The mother would not change her mind to let her daughter go. She has the fear of and possibility that th e weapons of destruction, could be used. So she contrived a way out for her da uther to redirect her energy to a safer direction, the church, saying that you may goo to church instead.
The Term Paper on Mother Daughter Relationships Mothers Girls Daughters
The relationship between parents and their children is one of the most basic human interactions. Mothers and daughters provide both physical and emotional care for their young sons and daughters. In the process, parents will instill children with family values and goals, while teaching them the accepted norms and values of society. This is done in hope that parents will one day see their own ...
She believed that being at church, a place of safe haven would be the better choice not knowing what would happen that day. Remembering the way her daughter dressed on her way to church the mother showed satisfaction in the belief that her daughter had adhered to her explanations and not joined the freedom march. “The mother smiled to know her child was in a sacred place” (line 21 and 22).
However the mother’s happiness would abruptly end when danger calls the way of her beloved daughter. It was evident that danger did come and the mother’s smile be ame .”.. the last mile to come upon her face.
(line 23-24).
It is noted in the pope for when she heard the explosion, her yes grew wet and wild (lines 25-26).
This trounced the feelings and emotions of the mother and led her to set out in s each for her daughter. IN desperate search other daughter, “she clawed through bits of glass and brick”, line 29. Then lifted out a shoe (line 30) is suggestive of the fact that her daughter could not be found. It could be the life of her daughter had ended and lost in the wave of the freedom movement in the streets of Birmingham.
In the end the life of the daughter was lost, thinking that church was a sacred place, but on that day it had not been. Life is to short we should cherish every moment. It does not matter where or when, we might not see our loved ones. A life can be taken from us anywhere, there are no safe havens in this world.
