Student Question
What emotions cause the mother's inner conflict after her daughter's death in "Ballad of Birmingham"?
Quick answer:
The mother's inner conflict in "Ballad of Birmingham" arises from her desire to protect her daughter, leading to a tragic irony. She fears the dangers of civil rights marches, opting instead to send her daughter to church, believing it to be safe. After her daughter's death, the mother experiences complex emotions such as guilt, grief, and anger towards herself, societal prejudice, and the unknown bomber. Her heartbreak culminates in discovering her daughter's shoe amidst the rubble.
What a horrible day this turns out to be for a loving mother who wants nothing more than to protect her daughter.
Her daughter, rather than just playing with her friends, asks her mother if she can join other children and march the streets of Birmingham "to make our country free." What a fine thing, yet this mother knows what her daughter does not--that civil rights marches had the potential for trouble. Specifically, she was afraid of fierce dogs "and clubs and hoses, guns and jails." She knew these things "aren't good for a little child."
Instead, the mother suggests her daughter go to church and sing in the choir. She carefully dresses her for the journey, unknowingly preparing her for burial:
"She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
And bathed rose petal sweet,
And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
And white shoes on her feet."
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how the young girl will always be remembered, as she does not return from church alive. This is a tragic example of situationalirony: what she thinks will be safe is not, and what she fears will be harmful would have been safe.
Her feelings afterward would necessarily have been complex. She would have felt guilt as well as grief. Undoubtedly she would also have been angry at a lot of things--herself, prejudice, an unknown bomber, society. Perhaps she would find motivation in her loss and march fearlessly for civil rights, as her daughter was prepared to do.
As she frantically tears through the rubble and discovers that one white shoe, her heart would be breaking for both herself and her daughter.