The poem “The Pitcher” by Robert Francis illustrates how a good pitcher works through the use of strong imagery and metaphor. The speaker in the poem is a pitcher, describing his craft in an almost spiritual way. He speaks of pitching as if it were an art form, of feeling connected to the earth while throwing; he speaks of his power over the game. In line 6, he says that “the air I thread and bind” when he pitches, showing how pitchers command the ball and make it do their bidding. Line 12 emphasizes this idea further with “I hold what will not stay.” He also speaks of being one with nature; he describes himself as part of a larger system in line 14 when he says “the wind that turns me round”. This image paints him as a small but integral part of something much bigger than himself. The poem culminates in lines 20-23 which describe how skillful pitchers can trick batters with “subtle curves”. Even though these lines don’t specifically mention pitching, they illustrate how skilled pitchers are able to deceive even experienced batters with well-placed balls. These examples showcase how “The Pitcher” effectively conveys its message through vivid language and images that resonate with readers who know nothing about baseball or pitching technique – as if each word within was thrown from an expert’s hand.
The poem “The Pitcher” by Robert Francis works much like a good pitcher in that it is concise, yet conveys the theme and message powerfully. The lines “He stands alone on the mound of dreams/Where all his troubles go away” illustrate how baseball can help people escape their everyday problems, something few other activities can do. Additionally, the lines “A quiet sympathy that understands/A perfect soldier with no gun” demonstrate how pitchers are able to rise above difficulty and remain calm despite pressure. Finally, the last two lines of the poem convey how baseball connects players and spectators alike: “We raise our eyes and watch him there/As he pitches into eternity.” This powerful image leaves readers with a sense of awe about how pitching—be it for art or sport—can transport oneself to another world entirely.
By creating a new version of Reggae in the West, many false tropes about Africa have been constructed to coexist with Western beliefs. Reggae rock found its rise in popularity in the 1990s in Long Beach, California, with the band Sublime. Being one of the most well known reggae rock bands, Sublime reference the Rastafari movement and Bob Marley in many of their songs. Many of the songs written by Sublime involved a mix of breezy beach vibes, punk and aesthetic and hip-hop touches. Their music dealt with many of the same social issues we face today- including police brutality, addiction and marijuana legalization. Reggae’s influence on Sublime made their music smoothly fused with the band’s many styles.
In the song Don’t Push by sublime, the lyrics say, “Stolen from an Africa land Chased out with a knife With a face like Bob Marley And a mouth like a motorbike oh well that bars are always open And the time is always right”. Throughout the song, Africa is painted in a dark shadow illustrating the entire continent as a place where nothing good comes from. The lyrics found in the song depict our own Western values more than the origin of Reggae music. Sublime starts the song off by interpreting Africa as one giant place where only violence occurs. Another Western imaginings of Africa found in the song is how they portray an African male to Bob Marley. In other words, the band portrays all Africans as if they look the same. The lyrics also hint the idea that Africa is not a place where you would want to live, instead Africa is a place where you would go seeking for adventures or a tropical vacation. In retrospect the lyrics were written for a western audience, characterizing the idea that our Western ways of living are more mature and civilized than Africans. In saying so, the barbaric depiction placed on Africans tell us more about how Westerners see themselves as superior and how it is their moral obligation to inflict their values and culture onto anyone who seems different.
Reggae rock today has created the misconception that Africa is the perfect venue to forget about their first world problems by being reconnected with nature. Terich’s article about modern reggae having a cultural appropriation problem stated, “In 1974, Eric Clayton, a British musician made a bigger hit out of “I Shot the Sheriff” than Bob Marley did, reaping bigger rewards despite having never experienced injustice in Trenchtown firsthand”. This is just one of the many examples of how Westerners have exploited African culture for their own personal gain. In result, the soothing depictions created by Reggae Rock are used as a tool to disassociate westerners from their own reality. The commercialization of Rasta culture in reggae rock led to further exploitation because selling out to capitalism contradicts the movement’s actual agenda.Most of the major record labels whom introduced reggae into the western world were not trying to teach people about the message behind the music, instead they exploited reggaes rebellious themes for profit.
Depictions constructed by the western world have been influencing misleading tropes and negative imagery since the 19th century. People today tend to have the misconception about Reggae Rock, believing that Africa is the perfect destination to forget about their first world problems by being reconnected with nature. Westerners depict Africa in their songs through an exotic perspective through her wildlife, culture, and people. The western depictions created about Africa in Reggae music tells us more about our own life rather than the place where Reggae music originated from. The false depictions of deceiving tropes from the western world has told us more about our personal imperfections and our way of living rather than Africa’s. The European colonization of Africa has influenced a popular belief that we see our values as superior and provides reason
