Lawrence 1

Jessica Lawrence

Ms. Jacobs

Freshman Comp 2

November 19, 2017

The Seven Real Cool Deadly Sins

Living a life of sin is a thrilling yet dangerous game, especially for the adolescents or

young adults. In the 1950s, Gwendolyn Brooks published a jazzy and impactful short 10-line

poem that skillfully uses the seven deadly sins to depict the rebellious attitude and typical

deviant behavior of the youth during that era, and what will eventually become of them if they

continued to live such a lifestyle. Brooks usage of the seven sins within the poem can reflect the

schema of the sins stated in The Book of Pastoral Rule, a diagnostic system that monks, priests,

and spiritual directors used to diagnose and treat troubled faithfuls. Through a readers response

critical approach, Brookss usage of the seven sins in We Real Cool and how the Sins are

described in the pastoral diagnostic system, together implement the consequences of living the

sinful lifestyle.

According to The Norton Introduction to Literature by Kelly J. Mays, a reader- response

critic ask not what a work means but what a work does to and through a reader (1369) meaning

how the reader interprets the text and then effectively performs the text into existence.(1369).

The aspect of the jazzy words of Brooks and the correlation to the seven deadly sins within, both

allude to the consequence of an immoral lifestyle. The Pool Players in the poem, are proudly

living a rebel lifestyle where skipping school, staying out late, getting into fights, drinking and
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partying is considered the cool thing despite knowing that such sinful actions and attitudes will

end with a shorten life expectancy, or a Deadly consequence.

The poem begins with seven pool player hanging out at a pool hall, then continues with -

four stanzas of two lines each- to describe their perceived coolness cleverly capturing the

overall proud celebrating tone of the players attitudes. We Real Cool, We Left School(line 3-

4), Brooks starts then boldly finishes with their eventual demise for living such a sinful life with

We/Jazz June. We/ Die Soon. (line 9-10). The same type of deviant characteristics and actions

of the pool players, can correlate to how the seven deadly sins in the Pastoral diagnostic system

describe and diagnose troubled faithfuls.

According to The Seven Deadly Sins as a Pastoral Diagnostic System, a scholarly

article by Scott Sullender, writes that these are the seven main types of problematic states of

mind (220) Pride, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Wrath/Anger, Gluttony, and Lust are the individual

names of these seven deadly sins. Considered root conditions that can led to a variety of

Deaths-literal death as in violence, death of the soul as in Greed, death of relationships as in

Lust, death of relationship with God in the case of Pride... (224). Each of these sins are

considered pervasive patterns of behavior and thinking, particularly the latter, that cause various

negative and destructive behaviors. (224). To be Slothful, is not just physical but a mental and

spiritual laziness, of mind, body and spirit. A lack of motivation.(220) To be Prideful, is to

have an overestimation of ones self, an inflated ego that blocks one from seeing ones own

failings or limitations(220), both diagnoses are comparable to the Pool Players proudly

announcing how they left school, meaning they chose not to further their education/ gain

knowledge, a sign of mental laziness.

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The Pool Players also showed signs of Greed, Wrath/Anger, and Gluttony, within the

3rd and 4th stanza. We Lurk Late, We Strike Straight, We Thin Gin,. To Lurk is to remain

hidden so as if waiting to ambush, sinister purpose. Criminals/ thieves can easily be described as

lurkers. Greed is the excessive desire to own or possess more and more(220), and Envy is the

desire to have what ones neighbor has(220), both of which are typical characteristics of

thieves. The beginning of the poem the Golden shovel can also allude to a tool used to dig

graves or perhaps, more treasure/gold. To Strike, is to hit forcibly and deliberately, a sudden

attack. Anger/Wrath is diagnosed as anger being out of control, quick, reactive, and out of

proportion to the situation. (220), the line to striking straight comes after the players lurking

late, which leds to the assumption to them also getting into deliberate fights. By thinning the gin,

they are extending the consumption of the alcohol, thus making the effects last longer as well,

which can only be described as gluttony, the overdrinking/overeating, over indulgence of

substances. (220).

In the 1950s, Jazz was a form of american music that grew out of african-american

music traditions which quickly became a form of rebel dance music. To be Lustful is having

excessive desire for sexual experiences (220), usually manifested in compulsive sexual

behaviors, treating other as objects for self-gratification, implied selfishness. Jazz was considered

rebel music because of the sensual/raunchy nature of the sound and how it caused masses to

engage such sensual illicit movements. Coupled with the lyrics of these songs that were also

becoming more and more openly sexual in context, the pool players singing sin and jazz

dancing in hot month of june, sounds like one hot lustful evening.

In conclusion, The Pool Players in the poem, are celebrating the life of sin. They

proudly praise themselves, as they partake in the overindulgence of the lifestyle of drinking,
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deviant and illicit behavior until they die sooner with the denial of their own faults. Gwendolyn

Brooks usage of the Seven deadly sins describes the attitudes and mindsets of troubled faithfuls

as well as the inevitable consequences of the adolescents , as well as the pastoral diagnostic

system and the schema of the sins, which can also be correlated to this current generations

trouble faithfuls and be used as a tool to help diagnose and guide the troubled away from the

deadly sins.
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Works Cited

Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature. W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.

Sullender, Scott. The Seven Deadly Sins as a Pastoral Diagnostic System. Pastoral

Psychology, vol. 64, no. 2, 2014, pp. 217227., doi:10.1007/s11089-014-0602-8.