The Rose That Grew From Concrete (by Tupac Shakur)

Did you hear about the rose that grew

from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature's law is wrong it

learned to walk without having feet.

Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,

it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else ever cared.

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A few words about the author:

Tupac Shakur was born in 1971 in a poor neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York.

His father left home when Tupac and his brother were little kids.

The boys lived with their mother in a shantytown or slum. The family was very poor.

They had no money, no home.

The mother became a drug addict and later Tupac became a drug dealer. He did some

jail time.
Despite all these awful conditions, Tupac became a famous rapper and actor. Much of

his work shows contemporary social problems such as

poverty. He is considered a symbol of resistance

and activism against inequality.

He died in 1996, at the age of 25, victim of gunshot

wounds. The gunman was never captured.

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Literary Devices:

So, you like to read. Good for you. Reading is great, and the more you do it, the more

you'll encounter new ideas. That makes you smarter. If we want to be smart readers,

however, we need to understand not only reading, but writing as well. Authors use a lot

of tools to communicate their ideas, and if we know what those are, then we can

understand the information much more effectively. These tools are called literary

devices.

There are many different literary devices but for the time being I would like you to focus

on the following ones:

1) A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or an action in a way

that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea. Is used as a symbol of something

else.

 A metaphor says that one thing is another thing (for example: “You are the

sunshine of my life” – this can’t be true, no one can be “the sun”. In this sentence,

the author is telling someone that “he/she” is very important (vital) in his life, as

vital as “the sun”. In this sentence, the word “sunshine” is used to symbolize “all

that’s necessary to live”.

 Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants to add

some colour to their language.

2) A Simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things.

The simile is usually in a phrase that has the words "as" or "like." For example:

“Walk like an Egyptian” - “ Solid as a rock”

3) An idiom is a fixed phrase that has a particular meaning which is different from its

literary meaning.

 Usually, idioms are very well known to the people belonging to the same culture.

(For example “Stubborn as a mule” is an English idiom that English people know

well (it is also a SIMILE since it is directly comparing two things using the word

“as”). Its equivalent in Spanish says “Terco como una mula” which is a very well
 know phrase among people that speak Spanish – The English idiom “A blessing in

disguise” is very different to its Spanish equivalent “No hay mal que por bien no

venga”.)

METAPHOR – SIMILE & IDIOM WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

 A Metaphor says that something IS something else. Or takes something as a

symbol of something else.

 A simile is a comparison and takes the word “LIKE” or “AS”

 An idiom is a fixed phrase with a different meaning than its literal meaning. It is

understood and repeated by the people belonging to the same culture.

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ACTIVITY:

Tupac Shakur poem has many metaphors / symbols

In this poem he is talking about his own life experience (this is known as a biographical

poem). He is telling people that despite his poor background, he persisted in his dreams

and he succeeded.

 Mach the symbols in the poem with what you think their real meanings are.
 EXAMPLE: 1 - ROSE = C- DREAMS THAT CAME TRUE (OR HE WHO ACHIEVED HIS

DREAMS WITHOUT ANY HELP)

SYMBOLS / METAPHORS:

1) ROSE

2) CRACK IN THE CONCRETE

3) CONCRETE

4) LEARNED TO WALK WITHOUT HAVING FEET

5) IT LEARNED TO BREATH FRESH AIR

REAL MEANING

a- Dreams that come true – (He who achieved his dreams without any help)

b- .He managed to succeed without a good education, and without any help.

c- He learned from experience. He transformed every bad experiences into a life

lesson

d- The hardships of his difficult life

e- An opportunity