Do 1

Vincent Do
26 February 2016
English 1A
Professor Adler
Life of Complicated Figurative Languages
Jimmy Santiago Baca uses a variety of descriptive poetry that defines the rhetoric used
in his strategies. He uses metaphors, detailed sentences, and vivid imagery to show his emotions
for each writing the happens throughout his life and life in prison. Having Baca use his personal
techniques, which connects his poetry Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience and Martin
Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail. When Baca was in jail he explores his deepest
fears and imaginations and being able to write them down to express what kind of a person he is.
Looking closely at Bacas poetries, he uses lots of similes and metaphors that is very
unusual and difficult to understand majority of the time. Reading it more than once, you will start
to get the idea of what he is going through in his mind which is fascinating. He states Imagine
youre sitting at home in a house you built that contains all you have. Suddenly, a sheriff breaks
through the door and hollers, You got one minute to get out (xiv). In simple words, he is
currently having many thoughts in his mind, and he is rushing to get it all out by writing them all
down before it all disappears in thin air. For any others, they would explain it how it is
paraphrased it but Baca loves to use figure of speech which makes this writing unique. It makes
him unique because whenever he uses similes and metaphor, his poetry are dramatic when he
compares to real life situations.
Looking at Henry David Thoreau article Civil Disobedience, you can feel a
sense that he expresses that he is venting by writing detailed sentences talking about how

Do 2
the government is corrupted and should do more. He uses strong (uptight) and straight
forward texts to describe how he feels, from the text, The government itself, which is
only the mode which the people has chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be
abuse and perverted before the people can act through it, he has a point that the
government does not impact or protect the citizens. You can see that he uses a little simile
towards the end of the sentence. Also, Thoreau states, Not a drum was heard, not a
funeral note, As his corse to the rampart we hurried; Not a solider discharged his farewell
shot Oer the gave where our hero we buried. He uses metaphors to describe a soldier
that died as a hero. It leads back to Baca because he only uses metaphors in all his poetry
which expresses him in a different way. Also, Thoreau uses a strong tone to stand strong
what he believes what the government should change. It gives the audience and whoever
reading that he is very serious and fight for what everyone deserves. Also, he says Let
your life be the counter-friction to stop machine, Thoreau uses a metaphor the
machine to describe the government and shouldnt pass a law if nobody agrees with it
the King wants to split the law.
Martin Luther King expresses by using metaphors, looking closely at the text are
pretty similar to Baca. I felt like since they were in jail or in prison, King and Baca had a
lot to say about society as far to what they have to say in the articles. King states But
since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and they your criticisms are sincerely
set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and
reasonable term. He wants to end it by setting a boundary and settle peace because the
city was full of craziness. King states Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is
covered up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines

Do 3
of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing
creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be
cured., life is ugly and we try to cover it up but in the end of the day it is still there for
everyone to see.
Coming from Baca, he gives us a viewpoint of how he is attached to what he says
and starting to change his past and redeem himself. He states My work with words, like
a blacksmith on his anvil, was slowly breaking the tangible attachments to my criminal
and illiterate past and creating-through writing and language and reading books-a
paradigm shift (xvi). Baca tends to use imagery to describe how he is starting to
transform into a different kind of person. Again, Baca uses slowly breaking the
tangible attachment to describe how is breaking his bad habits into a better person and
of course compares it to blacksmith on his anvil because very blacksmith needs an
anvil to continue working. It is very hard to understand and thats why Baca poetry is
very unique.
Similarly, FreeWriting by Peter Elbow sort of uses the same strategies that Baca
started writing poetry. In the authors note of Singing at the Gates, Baca says I able to
explore my deepest fears and most nave assumptions and improve not only my mind and
my imagination but also my writing., being in prison all day Baca could only think of
one thing which is write, writing all day and pouring all his thoughts out on a piece of
paper. Elbow gives a good example on how to improve on writing by giving us a chance
to sit with our thought about ten to fifteen minutes a day to express our thoughts on the
piece of paper just like Baca did while in prison. Speaking can be so much different from

Do 4
writing and only writing non-stop will let you seek your inner thoughts that you thought
you did not have. Writing more and more will guarantee to make you better.
Mary Pipher wants to give us a whole new perspective towards change writing.
She explains how people should open more and be honest to ourselves to give a more
realistic feeling in writing. She states The deeper we explore our soul, the deeper and
therefore richer will be in our writing. Everyone should be inspired to write, but if not
she encourages people to look and compare others writing and maybe inspire them
because according to Pipher its the only way to writing. Bring inspired readers and
writing will bring everyone to do the same. The only way is to keep writing and seek
people that are already motivated!
Baca, King and Thoreau uses many strategies to expose the outcome of them
venting to the world about what they are personally and society are going through. Baca
definitely explains his daily life in jail in an unusual way by using metaphors which gives
us the imagery. King believed that discrimination should finally come to an end in the
United States, he uses a strong and straight forward to stand up for himself to explain
way it is society wrong. Also, Thoreau. Each person has their own unique strategies to
tell their own stories