Question

How does Amanda Gorman explore the themes of the good life in her poem “The Hill We Climb?”

Answer 1

Amanda Gorman wrote and performed "The Hill We Climb" to celebrate the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th President of the United States. The poem celebrates the U.S. not as a "perfect union," but as a country that has the grit to struggle with its all-too-real problems. Progress, the poem argues, doesn't happen all at once: it's a slow and sometimes painful "climb" up the "hill" of justice, a climb that takes patience and humility. To this poem's speaker, change is hard work, but it's always possible: dedicated Americans can see—and be!—the "light" of a better future.