We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks Analysis

The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel.
We real cool. We
Left School. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing Sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks was written in 1959 during a time where black civil rights were just starting to progress and the racial tension was palpable. The poem shows a group of young black kids who hang around in a pool hall and doing illegal activities instead of going to school. The group of boys are  unsure about where they fit in in society and so hide behind a tough facade by talking big. White people have stereotyped them into being criminals and instead of fighting to be above their stereotype they give into the lazy black stereotype. Throughout the poem many things are represented. The poem begins with seven boys who are playing pool at the Golden Shovel. The golden part of the title represents how the boys are young and should be in school. Seven is considered to be a lucky number and they can be considered a gang of sorts who constantly need luck to get by. A shovel is a tool which is used to dig in the ground. A shovel is used to dig graves which shows how the boys are playing a dangerous game and are gambling with their lives. The boys believe that part of the reason that they are cool is because they are rebellious and do not go to school. The way the poem goes promotes the idea that the boys are quite uneducated and are dropouts. They are only hurting themselves by not going to school and getting an education. Instead of becoming great they are further enforcing the stereotype of the lazy black man who has nothing to contribute. They feel that there is no point in pursuing an education in a society that refuses to accept them and actively tries to keep them down. They feel that they would not be able to do anything worthwhile with their education. Not having an education severely limits what a person can do to support themselves or their family. This causes them to lead lives of crime. The line "We lurk late" represents how they do their deeds at night after the darkness has fallen. In the dark a person can become whoever they want. The darkness has the ability to conceal and change someone's appearance and can lead to them being construed as evil and menacing. The line "We sing sin" represents how they brag about their misdeeds and crimes. They believe they are something to be proud of and in a sense a way into manhood. The last part shows how the lives of people who live like this generally turn out. Jazz is a very rebellious type of music because it defied the preconceived notions of what music actually was. The boys are free in the sense that they don't know or care what is right or wrong and will ultimately be responsible for their actions. The line "We die soon" shows how they know the outcome of the life they are leading. Their way of life is very dangerous and in the end very unsustainable. They know that the path they take will result in them leading a much shorter life but they take it in stride. They seem to be indifferent of the fact that their life path will almost definitely lead to a much shorter life span overall.