Sterling Brown “Frankie and Johnny” “Remembering Nat Turner” By: Nick Kukla

Biography Born May 1st, 1901 in Washington, D.C. Best known for his writings relating to folklores and African American dialect. Brown attended Williams College in 1922 and then Harvard in 1923 Received the Graves Prize for his college essay “The Comic Spirit in Shakespeare and Moliere” Worked as a professor in several acclaimed colleges including Lincoln University in Missouri Died January 13th, 1989 in Takoma Park, MD

“Frankie and Johnny” Three T’s Theme- “Frankie and Johnny” is a poem about a girl named Frankie with a bit of a screw loose and an African American man named Johnny. Frankie was Johnny were lovers despite being different races; however, once Frankie’s father found out he beat and hung Johnny and Frankie just stood there and laughed at the sight of her former lover squirming around and dying. The Message Brown is trying to convey is that as an African American man no matter what happens, you’re screwed and you just can’t win during the time just because of the fact that you were African American. Tone- The mood of this poem is dark and depressing. The reason for this is because I get the feeling that it is sad that this man Johnny, for no other reason but being African American, gets hung for dating a white women and his former lover just laughs at his suffering like he meant nothing. Technique- Sterling Brown was known for writing in African American dialect and it is evident in this poem. This poem uses symbolism to represent the idea that African Americans and whites could not co-exist during the time. This poem also consists of strange end rhymes which is ironic because it gives the poem a more everyday childish sound to it although it is a very serious topic.

“Remembering Nat Turner” Three T’s Theme- The poem is about the death of a man named Nat Turner. Nat Turner was an African American slave who led a rebellion in 1831. The rebellion led to 55 whites being killed. As an aftermath when Nat was caught he was hung and over 200 other blacks were killed. In this story a women is talking about Nat but she is portraying him as a heinous murderer who deserved to die. The message of this poem is to show how whites have a bias opinion on what actually happened and how they aren’t telling the truth but instead they’re just portraying Nat as terribly as they could. This poem shows that whites still didn’t see African Americans as equal and wouldn’t admit the truth that Nat’s rebellion was actually behind the wrong doing of the whites. Tone- The mood of this poem is anger. When I read this poem I get the feeling that Brown is expressing his anger with the fact that whites were so narrow-minded and can’t see that Nat had a right to lead the rebellion. Additionally, I feel Brown’s hatred that Nat is being falsely portrayed as a murderer and heinous man. Technique- Sterling Brown’s technique was again to write in African American dialect. Brown does this by putting in actual dialogue in his poetry. Finally, Brown uses the women who is talking as a symbol for whites opinions on African Americans and she represents a lot more than just herself but whites as a whole and how they will do whatever they can to portray African Americans negatively.

Compare and Contrast Sterling Brown’s “Frankie and Johnny” and “Remembering Nat Turner” share a lot of similar characteristics. Both poems are about African Americans and their lack of equality. In “Frankie and Johnny” Brown expresses how no matter what as an African American during the time you’re more or less screwed no matter how the situation plays out. Now this is closely related to “Remembering Nat Turner” because Nat Turner, although being a courageous leader who led a slave rebellion, he is still portrayed as a murderer who deserved the death penalty that he got.

Sterling Brown’s Legacy Sterling Brown had a huge importance during the Harlem Renaissance. Brown showed African Americans that their race could make a change in the world and that they could create great pieces of art. Additionally, Brown fit into the Harlem Renaissance because of his immense racial pride. Brown, despite living through tough time, didn’t believe in discrimination and showed African Americans they deserved equality and they had an immense amount of talent.