"Mr. Z" by M. Carl Holman

                “Mr. Z” by M. Carl Holman was my personal favorite poem in this unit because I believe this poem embodies the identity theme most evidently and fully. Within the four stanzas of the poem, Holman expertly applies a number of literary techniques, including connotative diction, metonymy, and metaphors, to complement the central theme of acceptance of identity. To begin with, Holman implements a great deal of connotative language to convey Mr. Z’s opinions of his own African American race as well as the Anglo-Saxon race. For example, he made use of words such as “honor,” “best,” “prudent,” and “exemplary” in reference to Anglo-Saxon culture and practices, while using harsher diction such as “error,” “disclaimed,” and “dissension” to negate the respectability of Mr. Z’s race. With the inclusion of both positive and demeaning modifiers in his poem, Holman makes the fact that Mr. Z aspires to be a part of the Anglo-Saxon culture while doing everything in his power to reject his own African American background evident. Thus, with such careful manipulation of diction, Holman successfully conveys the sense of abandonment which Mr. Z feels for his identity of which he is so profoundly ashamed.

                I also noticed by reading “Mr. Z” that Holman utilized metonymy to reveal the way in which many Anglo-Saxon individuals viewed people of minorities at the time period in which this poem was written. Holman writes, “They shunned those places where they might be barred… where hosts catered to kosher accent or exotic skin” (Holman). In this passage, Holman employs metonymy by referring to Mr. Z and his African American background as “exotic skin” and his wife of Jewish background as a “kosher accent.” By referring to Mr. and Mrs. Z in this way, Holman is providing the reader with insight as to how Anglo-Saxon waiters at the time would have viewed diners such as them: instead of seeing them as equal citizens and individuals, the waiters saw them as nothing more than a funny accent and a dark-colored skin tone. Blinded by their prejudice, the waiters could only see Mr. and Mrs. Z for their skin and voices rather than for their hearts, and Holman’s technique reinforces this notion.

                Perhaps the most potent literary technique that Holman employs in “Mr. Z,” however, is his utilization of a metaphor when he describes Mr. Z in line 22 as being “an airborne plant, flourishing without roots” (Holman). This metaphor struck me more than any other phrase in the poem, for I found the metaphor to be both brilliant in embodying the theme of the poem as well as contradictory in its nature. Initially, I felt that the purpose of this metaphor was to convey the idea that a person’s background is an inherent component of their identity which cannot be abandoned. Just as a plant cannot survive without its roots, I found the phrase to mean that a person cannot be successful without embracing his roots as well. However, I was then confused as to why Holman described the plant as flourishing without its roots. Nevertheless, I soon realized that, even if Mr. Z felt as though he was flourishing without the baggage of his African American identity, the conclusion of the poem proves that he could never truly escape his identity. Mr. Z dedicated his entire life to fleeing his roots, but after his death- when he was no longer able to run- his background became more evident than ever. Therefore, Mr. Z was always an airborne plant, but without his roots, he was never truly able to flourish.