The poem of Ballad of Birmingham is about a child wanting to protest for her rights but her mother trying to protect her from “The dogs that are fierce and wild” referring to the police and society who will try to hurt her. The girl decides to do the right thing and goes to church as her mother said. While she is there it gets bombed and her including three other girls are killed. This shows that even though she chose to go to church and avoid the protest she cannot escape the violence. Even if she chooses the right thing she still gets bombed proving that the only thing society cares about is punishing her for who she is. The only thing they see is her race, not her morals and beliefs, it doesn’t matter if she is a good person or even a child. The poem also explains the effects this tragedy has on her mother saying she will never smile again. She lost her daughter even after trying to protect her from the violence. Dudley Randall wrote this poem in the style of ballad because of how popular they were during that time. He did this so it would be more appealing to the public and they would share around the message to open people’s eyes and make them release how society treats innocent people based on how they look.
The effects of having two different narratives throughout the poem shows the reader how the death of the small girl not only affects her but also her mother who was only trying to protect her child. It shows the pain through her perspective. When the poem switches from dialogue to narration it describes the mother’s sadness through more of a story that displays emotion more effectively. The quote “But that smile was the last smile to come upon her face” shows that this tragedy of her daughter’s death will forever haunt her.
The way the young girl speaks to her mother shows the reader that she is a young innocent girl who would never hurt anyone. For example “Mother dear, may I go downtown instead of out to play?” The poem also says she combs and brushes her night-dark hair and bathes rose petal sweet. She is obviously very kind and sweet but her urge to go to the march proves that she has strong opinions and believes everyone should have equal rights. In stanza 7 the quote “Her eyes grew wet and wild” represents the instant fear and desperation her mother would feel. It displays the urgency of finding her daughter and the fear that she will be too late to save her.
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