Thematic Analysis Literature & Language Essay Paper (Essay Sample)

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THEMATIC ANALYSIS
“Strange Fruit”
The poem "Strange Fruit" was written in 1937 by Abel Meeropol. Meeropol was a Jewish schoolteacher at the time. "Strange Fruit" gained popularity in 1939 when Billie Holiday publicly performed it as a song. The poem explores the theme of inhumanity and horror of American racism. The lines demonstrate people's capacity for violence and hatred. It is specifically concerned with the horrors and trauma of lynching in the Southern parts of America. Lynching was directed towards African Americans and perpetrated by white supremacists. This vice reached its peak towards the end of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. Lynching was an extrajudicial treatment that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of African American citizens as a result of brutal torture by white mobs (Holiday 2). The perpetrators would often leave their victims hanging from tree branches as a sign of their perceived inferiority and insignificance.