My Thoughts on “The Necessity to Speak.” by Sam Hamill

This essay was awesome; the first paragraph grabbed my attention with this sentence,“We don’t want to know what the world is like; we can’t bear very much reality.”(Hamill, p.546). Unfortunately, in our society this mind set is the norm, and I can’t stand this way of thinking. Most people choose to look away from reality, not me I want to know what the world is like. I’m not the norm, I’m the person who stops and buys a homeless man and his dog food, and takes five minutes to find out why he is homeless.

This essay has brought up a lot of different emotions for me, and not because I’ve been a battered wife or girlfriend. I have though, been a victim of mental and verbal abuse in previous relationships/marriages. Some say there isn’t much difference between physical and mental abuse. The abuser will go back to prison, where he may abuse other men in prison and go back to abusing when he gets out, caught up in this vicious cycle of violence. Unfortunately most women will return to abusive relationships where the same cycle of violence continues, not only are the women affected but also their children.“The battered child learns that there are two possibilities in human life: one can remain the victim, or one can seize power and become the executioner.” (Hamill, p.547). This is where the abusive cycle has to end, with the child.
As I was reading the sentence, “When James Cagney shoves half a grapefruit in a woman’s face, we all laugh and applaud.” (Hamill, p.548). I was reminded of an old show called The Honeymooner’s, for those of you who have never watched it, It’s star was Jackie Gleason who’s character always threatened his wife with the saying “ One of these days….Pow! Right in the kisser! One of these days Alice, straight to the moon!” He would tell her this while raising his fist to her. I remember watching re-runs of the show as a kid and I didn’t think that statement was funny then either.
If a child is suffering in their own private hell, poetry may serve as an outlet for his or her emotions that can get bottled up. I hope that teacher’s are encouraging all children to read and write poetry. I also hope, children are being taught to respect each other and to respect themselves. Children also need to hear that racism, sexism, and homophobia are not acceptable in our society.
As adults it is our responsibility to put an end to the cycle of violence. We need to pull our heads out of the sand and to make a promise to ourselves, that each and every one of us will not be silent anymore.

Works Cited
Hamill, Sam. The Necessity to Speak. Pages 546-553. From A Poet’s Work: The Other Side of Poetry (1990).