{"id":198,"date":"2025-08-18T12:20:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T12:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/?page_id=198"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:23:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T15:23:05","slug":"model-close-reading-essay-olivia-whittaker","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/assignments\/model-close-reading-essay-olivia-whittaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Model Close Reading Essay &#8211;Olivia Whittaker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wevideo.com\/embed\/#3842739497\" width=\"1920\" height=\"380\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At just 22 years old, Amanda Gorman was the youngest inaugural poet ever, and faced a challenge not quite shared by her five predecessors. Joe Biden\u2019s 2021 inauguration came just two weeks after violent mobs had stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the presidential election. With her poem,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/teagle\/texts\/amanda-gorman-the-hill-we-climb-2021\/\"><em>The Hill We Climb<\/em><\/a>, Gorman strove to promote national unity in the wake of an insurrection without lapsing into political neutrality or downplaying the trauma of the country. She struck this balance through her portrayal of a \u201c bruised but whole\u201d America, acknowledging its flaws while emphasizing its triumphs in a hopeful look towards the future.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_50\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-50\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Text<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The Hill We Climb<\/em>\u00a0is a 723-word poem composed of 110 lines, with stanzas varying by publication. The poem is free verse, meaning that it doesn\u2019t rely on a consistent rhyme scheme or meter, resulting in a more speech-like cadence. Its opening evokes the emergence of a new era, establishing the motif of a new \u201cdawn.\u201d Early lines allude to America\u2019s ongoing fights against racism and other forms of prejudice, and subtly reference the COVID-19 pandemic as a unifying common struggle. The middle of the poem reflects on the January 6th insurrection and the resilience of democracy. Finally, the poem concludes with a powerful call for unity, urging the nation to \u201crise\u201d together and build a brighter future for all.\u00a0<em>The Hill We Climb<\/em>\u2019s thematic structure can be read as a recurring arc: what we have been through, how we\u2019ve responded, and who we are becoming as a nation. For example, after \u201cnever ending shade,\u201d we \u201cbraved the belly of the beast,\u201d and we now strive to \u201cforge our union with purpose.\u201d Though we experienced \u201ca force that would shatter our nation,\u201d we \u201cfound the power to author a new chapter\u201d and emerge \u201ca country that is bruised but whole.\u201d This repeating pattern reflects the ongoing but often nonlinear or even cyclical nature of progress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_697\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-697\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Gorman.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-697\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Gorman-300x208.jpg\" alt=\"Gorman\" width=\"300\" height=\"208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Gorman-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Gorman-1024x708.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Gorman-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Gorman.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-697\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">January 20, 2021 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/lifestyle\/poet-amanda-gorman-22-captures-bruised-but-whole-us-at-biden-harris-inau-idUSKBN29P2K9\/\">REUTERS\/Kevin Lamarque<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gorman was born in Los Angeles and raised by a single mother alongside her two siblings. As a child, she had an auditory processing disorder and speech impediment, which she overcame through poetry and public speaking. In 2017, she became the first ever National Youth Poet Laureate at 19 years old, and toured the country reciting poetry with themes such as social justice and climate change. Jill Biden discovered Gorman at a reading in the Library of Congress during this time, three years before recommending her to the inaugural committee.<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>\u00a0<em>The Hill We Climb<\/em>\u00a0was the sixth ever inaugural poem, continuing a tradition that began in 1961 with the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, and has been sustained by nearly every democratic president since.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_699\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-699\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Jan-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-699\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Jan-6-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"Jan 6\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Jan-6-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/files\/2025\/09\/Jan-6.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-699\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">January 6, 2021 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/news-photo\/trump-supporters-near-the-u-s-capitol-on-january-06-2021-in-news-photo\/1230476983\">Shay Horse\/Getty Images<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The inauguration came at a time of great national tension. Racial conflict and political divides had been on the rise for the past four years, and the wounds of the COVID-19 pandemic were still fresh throughout the country.<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a>\u00a0Two weeks before the inauguration, while Congress convened to certify the 2020 election results, President Donald Trump claimed that the election was \u201cstolen,\u201d declaring to his supporters: \u201cWe\u2019re going to walk down to the Capitol\u2026we have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a>\u00a0During the speech, mobs of Trump supporters swarmed the U.S. capitol. Within minutes, thousands had surged past police and breached the capitol building. Staff barricaded themselves in rooms and hid under tables as the violent mob tore through.<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a>\u00a0Political conflict had always been integral to American democracy, but so too had peaceful transfer of power (at least since the Civil War), and the January 6 insurrection shook the country by defying that tradition.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Subtext<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gorman described her primary goal with\u00a0<em>The Hill We Climb\u00a0<\/em>as inspiring unity. \u201cWhat I really aspire to do in the poem is to be able to use my words to envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal,\u201d she told the New York Times. \u201cIt\u2019s doing that in a way that is not erasing or neglecting the harsh truths I think America needs to reconcile with.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Black writers throughout American history have walked a tight line between criticizing and alienating their white audiences. In 1773, Phillis Wheatley\u2019s poem,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/teagle\/texts\/phillis-wheatley-on-being-brought-from-africa-1773\/\"><em>On Being Brought from Africa<\/em>,<\/a>\u00a0carefully challenged the racist assumptions of her white Christian audience, reminding them that black people \u201cmay be refin\u2019d, and join th\u2019 angelic train.\u201d She padded her sharp anti-racist message with appeals to Christian morality, even describing her American captors as\u00a0<em>merciful<\/em>\u00a0for bringing her to a Christian land where she could seek \u201credemption.\u201d In an age of slavery, the poem\u2019s sympathetic tone was the armor it needed to promote abolition without provoking or antagonizing its audience. And while Gorman operated in a contemporary culture without slavery and where racism is condemned, her rhetorical balancing act was not so different from Wheatley\u2019s. Her most political stance was against the January 6 rioters as \u201ca force that would destroy our country,\u201d but she did not linger on the topic to criticize the insurrectionists. Instead, she focused on America\u2019s shared struggles and triumphs, unifying her audience under collective experiences and the aspiration of \u201ca country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The Hill We Climb\u00a0<\/em>garnered widespread acclaim. Democratic political figures such as Michelle and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Stacey Abrams sung its praises, as well as writer Lin Manuel Miranda, whose musical\u00a0<em>Hamilton<\/em>\u00a0Gorman referenced in the poem.<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[6]<\/a>\u00a0Conservative reactions were more mixed, though relatively mild\u2014 the work was not notably divisive upon its debut, with even right-leaning news outlets like\u00a0<em>Fox\u00a0<\/em>reporting on it favorably. But stronger pushback came in 2023, when a Florida school controversially restricted the poem after a parent claimed that it would \u201ccause confusion and indoctrinate students,\u201d that it was \u201cnot educational\u201d and that it contained indirect \u201chate messages.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[7]<\/a>\u00a0The poem was removed from the elementary school library. The 2023-2024 book ban surge saw over 10,000 instances of banned books (from 4,218 unique titles) in public schools. One organization has documented \u201cnearly 16,000 book bans in public schools nationwide since 2021, a number not seen since the Red Scare McCarthy era of the 1950s.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[8]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_52\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-52\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Trump also won a second term in the 2024 election, and has since issued an executive order titled\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling\/\"><em>Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2025)<em>,<\/em>\u00a0which, among other things, aims to cut federal funding for public schools that critically discuss systemic racism, stating that \u201cinnocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics.\u201d How Gorman\u2019s declarations of national harmony and triumph will age throughout this new era is uncertain, but one line in particular stands out as a reminder: \u201c while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[9]<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref9\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a>\u00a0Liesl Schillinger, \u201cHow Amanda Gorman Became the Voice of a New American Era,\u201d <em>The Guardian<\/em>, January 22, 2021, [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2021\/jan\/22\/how-amanda-gorman-became-the-voice-of-a-new-american-era\">WEB<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Pew Research Center, \u201cHow America Changed During Donald Trump\u2019s Presidency,\u201d Pew Research Center, January 29, 2021, [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2021\/01\/29\/how-america-changed-during-donald-trumps-presidency\/\">WEB<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a>\u00a0NPR, \u201cRead Trump\u2019s Jan. 6 Speech, A Key Part of Impeachment Trial,\u201d <em>NPR<\/em>, February 10, 2021, [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/02\/10\/966396848\/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial\">WEB<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a>\u00a0\u201cCapitol riots timeline: What happened on 6 January 2021?\u201d, <em>BBC News<\/em>, August 2,\u00a02023, [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-56004916\">WEB<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> Alexandra Alter, \u201cAmanda Gorman Captures the Moment, in Verse,\u201d <em>New York Times<\/em>, January 19, 2021, [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/01\/19\/books\/amanda-gorman-inauguration-hill-we-climb.html\">WEB<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a>\u00a0\u201cAmanda Gorman: Biden Inauguration Poet Calls for \u2018Unity and Togetherness\u2019,\u201d <em>BBC News<\/em>, January 21, 2021, [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/entertainment-arts-55738564\">WEB<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a>\u00a0Bill Chappell, \u201cAmanda Gorman\u2019s Poem Was Banned in One Florida School. Now It\u2019s a Bestseller,\u201d <em>NPR<\/em>, May 25, 2023, [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/05\/24\/1177877340\/amanda-gorman-poem-restricted-miami-school\">WEB<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\">[8]<\/a>\u00a0PEN America, Cover to Cover: An Analysis of Titles Banned in the 23-24 School Year, February 27, 2025, [<a href=\"https:\/\/pen.org\/report\/cover-to-cover\/\">WEB<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/2025teagle\/2025\/06\/18\/poetry-of-progress-examining-amanda-gormans-message-to-america\/#_ftnref9\" name=\"_ftn9\">[9]<\/a>\u00a0Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb, [<a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/teagle\/texts\/amanda-gorman-the-hill-we-climb-2021\/\">WEB<\/a>].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff Introduction At just 22 years old, Amanda Gorman was the youngest inaugural poet ever, and faced a challenge not quite shared by her five predecessors. Joe Biden\u2019s 2021 inauguration came just two weeks after violent mobs had stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":61,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-198","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/198\/revisions\/200"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/61"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/fys-pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}