“THE HILL WE CLIMB”

1. Write a summary of the poem in your own words. The poem celebrates the U.S. not as a
"perfect union," but as a country that has the grit to struggle with it's all-too-real problems.
Progress, the poem argues, doesn't happen all at once: it's a slow and sometimes painful "climb"
up the "hill" of justice, a climb that takes patience and humility.

2. Identify the major theme of the poem, and provide evidence to support your choice. A
major theme in the poem is inheritance and what it means to take on the problems of the past.
These challenges are passed on generation after generation, which means that the responsibility
to create solutions also lies in the present. ( In the poem the narrator states “ That is the promise
to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare.” )

3. Identify your favorite line or phrase from the poem, and explain why you chose it as
your favorite. My favorite line in the poem is “ That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if
only we dare.” The reason I like/ chose this line is because it is the best line that best describes
the major theme of the poem metaphorically. ( The Major theme of the poem is the problems of
the past. These challenges are passed on generation after generation, which means that the
responsibility to create solutions also lies in the present. )

4. List uses of figurative language. A figurative language used in this poem is a metaphor of
climbing a hill, and compares the challenges of our country as being lost in a forest, while
anticipating moving from the forest to an open area sometimes called a glade. Example: “That is
the promise to glade, the hill we climb if only we dare it.