We Real Cool

1. B. Brooks was inspired to write the poem after passing a pool hall in her Chicago community.

2. D. The speakers are a group of pool players. Although the players who inspired the poem are young Black males, they could refer to any group of rebellious youths.

3. A. The speakers reject the expectations placed upon them by society by skipping or dropping out of school and drinking underage. Although they may be oblivious in some respects, they are keenly self-aware of their behavior and where it will likely lead.

4. C. Although the “Golden Shovel” could symbolize numerous things at the start of the poem, with the final line, “We / Die soon” (Lines 9 and 10), the shovel evokes the image of a gravedigger’s task.