X Flashcards
(6 cards)
“Weathered”
- means: worn down, eroded by time/nature
- Symbolises: damage, long-lasting trauma
- Links to: her mother and herself – both emotionally scarred
“Some” (determiner)
- Vague, non-specific
- Highlights exclusion of Black soldiers (Native Guards)
- Critique of how history erases or overlooks certain people
a weathered monument to some of the dead
Elegy for the Native Guards
Internal Rhyme (carved + guard)
- Emphasises: disappointment and anger
- Harsh “-d” sound reflects frustration
Critique of how the Native Guards were disregarded
Symbolises: discrimination, neglect, exclusion
no names carved for the Native Guards
Elegy for the Native Guards
Her Poetry as Monument:
- Elegy: Trethewey memorializes the Native Guards and others who were forgotten by society.
- Monument to Legacy: Her poetry serves as a memorial where official monuments fail.
Rhetorical Question:
- Frustration: Challenges the reader, asking questions that provoke reflection.
- Thinking Point: Makes the reader reconsider who is remembered and why.
Link to First Quote:
- She’s asserting who the dead are—they’re not the Native Guards, but their legacy matters.
- Memory and Neglect: Ties the neglect of these soldiers to the broader neglect of Black people in America.
Personal Connection: Echoes the feeling of being forgotten, connecting to her mother’s death and the lack of recognition for her trauma.
What is the monument to their legacy?
Elegy for the Native Guards
Graves Lost:
- Literal: Native Guards’ graves are physically lost, neglected.
- Metaphor: Represents forgotten soldiers, ignored by history.
Split in Half:
- Civil War metaphor: country divided.
- Racial Division in America: white vs. black, north vs. south.
- Personal Split: Trethewey’s split identity as a mixed-race woman.
- “half” is repeated three times, reinforces division and identity.
Gulf:
- Gulf of Mexico: Geographical and symbolic separation.
- Loss: Represents the loss of her mother, the NG, and the South.
graves lost in the Gulf, the island split / in half
Elegy for the Native Guards
SUMMARY
ELEGY:
- Poem about the dead: Focuses on remembering the dead and often read at funerals.
Trip to a Museum:
- Journey through understanding her mother’s death and her own identity.
- Realization of injustice and the lasting memory of the Civil War.
- Childhood trip
Gulfport:
- Birthplace of Trethewey (beachside city in Mississippi).
Ship Island:
- Civil War Era Fort: Was used to protect the state, owned by the Union (the side the Native Guards fought for).
- she also uses ship island as the location for the Native Guards poem (a native guard who is stationed there)
Poem’s Message:
- Her Childhood Realization: Visiting a Civil War monument, Trethewey discovers that none of the Native Guards are memorialized.
- Lack of Recognition: This moment represents her understanding that Black people and their contributions are not valued or acknowledged in the same way as others.
- Learning: She learns that Black people aren’t viewed as important by society as a child, underscoring themes of injustice and racial inequality
Elegy for the Native Guards
THEMES
American South, American Civil War, Injustice, Identity (childhood)
Elegy for the Native Guards
