Sakamoto 1

Lauren Sakamoto

Dr. Malashewski

IB ENGLISH

21 August 2023

Reflection

This poem originally represented social conflict and unease due to a war breakout in

the 1960s. As we know, time moves on and societies change. This poem's meaning is no less

than it was in the 1960’s. This poem may have changed in the sense it's no longer about war,

rather other social problems in our society. But ultimately this poem speaks out on the

problems in societies that are never ending, this goes for our society today. For example

inequality, poverty, climate change, etc. These are all never ending social issues we were born

into. We may bypass the times of war in the 1960s but the meaning of this poem is still

carried on. The meaning of this poem changes and shifts with time. For instance, this poem

has evolved into a bigger idea than war. An expansion of social problems that we choose not

to change. If we were thoroughly motivated as a society to change social issues that have

been present for centuries. They would’ve been gone by now. As humans we blame “fate” or

“time” for the traumatic events that have taken place throughout history. The tones

established throughout this poem made the social issues more recognizable. For example, in

the beginning the main character was innocent but as the poem progressed we see the main

character's innocence stripped away. In result we are left with the understanding of what the

main character had been blindsided by. Social media is now seen as a very controversial

subject. Due to the evolution of technology social media takes up a big portion of how people
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view certain social issues. Some may say social media is brainwashing, others may say it's

influential and educational. In my opinion social media has allowed us as people to join

together and protest for what we believe in. Social media may have its cons but it also has its

pros like reminding people that they’re not alone.