Question

In his poem "Unanimity Has Been Achieved, Not a Dot Less for Its Accidentalness," Bob Kaufman often starts stanzas with the word I; for example, "I ring against slate…," "I sing a mad raga…," and so on. Analyze the purpose and effectiveness of how Kaufman presents the speaker’s point of view.

Answer 1

"Unanimity Has Been Achieved, not a Dot Less for Its Accidentalness," by Bob Kaufman, represents the urban poor’s social problems. Kaufman often starts his stanzas with ‘I’ with which he wants to refer the problems of them as personal and to the readers. In need to awaken to the injustice prevailing in society, in his own words states that "extravagant moments of a shock of unrehearsed curiosity," he wants his readers to move themselves from their apathy. The use of ‘I’ refers as if he is conveying from his own personal experiences.
“I can remember four times when I was not crying & once when I was not laughing.
I am kneaded by a million black fingers & nothing about me
improves.”
Kaufman not only addresses those injustices but condemns them. He urges his readers to reject all the social norms that construct society and results in poverty.
Also through the use of the first person, he strives to call for equality in the society.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:

In his poem "Unanimity Has Been Achieved, Not a Dot Less for Its Accidentalness," Bob Kaufman addresses many social problems faced by the urban poor. By using the first person, Kaufman makes the suffering of the urban poor personal to him and to his readers.

Kaufman’s poem is meant to be genuine without any pretenses. In his own words, "extravagant moments of shock of unrehearsed curiosity," are needed to awaken the privileged to the injustice in society. Kaufman’s purpose is to give these "moments" to his readers to shake them from their apathy. His use of the first person makes it seem like the thoughts and emotions he is conveying come from personal experiences:

I can remember four times when I was not crying & once when I was  

not laughing.  

I am kneaded by a million black fingers & nothing about me  

improves.

This appearance of "reality" is important in the poem because Kaufman not only describes injustices but also condemns them. He seems to be calling for a revolution, urging readers to reject social constructs that contribute to poverty:

I sing a mad raga, I sing a mad raga, a glad raga for the ringing bell I  

sing.  

A man fishing with old clothes line, shouting bass drum

By using the first-person voice, Kaufman brings conviction and legitimacy to his call for equality to society.