In “Vantage” the speaker is describing the way the society is during her time. It is around the time when Kennedy was president, and racial inequality was on the rise. There is a part where the speaker says “I am 3, and I am old enough to know the word nigger; I hear it again and again— sometimes joined with lover…” followed by “In 1969, we are only two years since Loving v. Virginia struck down the laws against us, my parents’ marriage; only a year since my white father fought in a bar when other servicemen cheered at the news King had been shot.” This shows that the speaker and their family have been affected by inequality in a very negative way. The speaker wants things to be better and proves that by saying “our moon, symbol of our seeking, once seemingly unattainable—that Sea of Tranquillity—toward which we set our course, then reached.” What they are trying to say is the moon is a symbol to them and once it lands everything will be better.
2 thoughts on “Rhetorical Analysis for Vantage”
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Christopher,
I found your interpretation of vantage super fascinating! I also analyzed vantage and I really enjoyed the piece as a whole and definitely saw the opportunity for a myriad of interpretations. I did not interpret the moon landing as symbolism for the hope of better days like you did but I must say it is a really great analysis of this aspect of the piece. I definitely see that symbolism and agree when you look at it through that lens the piece can take on a whole new meaning.
I think you do a great job of explaining where the poem took place and then place a quote to rightfully prove that racial inequality played an important role in her life. I like your idea of how everything seems to be chaotic and how not everyone is being treated equally, but once we get to the metaphorical state of landing on the moon, we can all be together, like we saw in the poem during the time of the actual moon landing.