Ego Tripping Essay

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“Ego Tripping” (There May Be A Reason Why) By: Nikki Giovanni Nikki Giovanni, In the poem “Ego Tripping”, Presents a poem about her thoughts of her peoples homeland, and how “All men were created from Africa” themes. Her free verse, broken rhyme and style reflect her own feelings about her people from the viewpoint of an African American Female in 1970's America. “I was born in the Congo I walked to the fertile crescent and built the sphinx” Is the opening line of this poem. Giovanni is obviously stating her beliefs that all men (Or at least her people) have origins in equatorial Africa, and that they soon spread across the continent and after thousands of years evolved into the Egyptian people. She then sums this up with “I designed a pyramid so tough that a star only glows every one hundred years falls into the center giving divine perfect light”. Obviously Nikki is saying that “Her people” then became such a great culture they built something not only that became a true wonder of the world, but that they had knowledge of the sky. She then finishes this stanza with the words “I am bad”. I find this part of the poem so interesting. It could be challenged that she is referring to her people as thinking outside the realm of what humans were thinking about in those days. I feel that she is just bringing a reference from African American culture by referring that “ There bad” is as if there superior, Bad ass, above all else, Which I feel looking back is truthful when referring to the Egyptian culture and all they did. The next few Stanza Giovanni almost is referring to her self as a deity. “ I sat on the throne drinking nectar with Allah I got hot and sent an ice age to Europe to cool my thirst, My oldest daughter is Nefertiti the tears from my birth pains created the Nile, I am a beautiful woman” Giovanni is definitely using some “strong

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