Natasha Trethewey often writes about the relationship we have with the past, a shared history that many wish to remember and forget at the same time. This internal conflict of memory presents itself throughout “Pilgrimage” in the form of unexpected contrasts, mournful images and stark reminders that the powerful in society have the privilege of choosing which version of history the nation recalls publicly. Throughout the poem, Trethewey uses heavy and often uncomfortable feelings of immortality, entrapment and burial as well as personal inclusion in the "pilgrimage" to emphasize that the way people commemorate Southern history will beyond a question of personal choice and appreciation; for those who have less say in the national narrative, this memory extends to their ability to recover the valuable experiences of their ancestors whom historical events regularly negatively affected. This tactic of morbidity advances the authors' goal of emphasizing the need to reexamine how people remember the past. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayAlmost instantly, Trethewey takes iconic images and juxtaposes them in a way that evokes a creeping sense of unexpected grief and death. The Mississippi River, often invoked in poetry and literature as a symbol of energy, industry, and tradition, becomes a "graveyard / for the skeletons of sunken riverboats" (2-3). In truth, many riverboats rest at the bottom of the gargantuan river. However, by forcing recognition of this atypical aspect of Mississippi rather than imagining it in the manner of Mark Twain, Trethewey highlights how facets of the South that are often spoken of with admiration can also hide destruction beneath their surfaces. Consistent with striking comparisons, the poet speaks of "old mansions...draped / with flowers" (30-31), which conjures up an image of grand plantation houses, then surprisingly inserts "-funeral-" (31). Trethewey evokes this lovely, picturesque and pastoral scene which she then shifts into an alternative but realistic reality. The most striking aspect of this pairing is how evident it is when the imagery is reversed; When we read about flowers, we don't usually immediately connect them to funerals, but if we read about funerals, flowers will probably come to mind. On a broader scope and in connection with the themes of “Pilgrimage” and other Trethewey poems like “Elegy for the Native Guard” and “Enlightenment,” this reversal also functions in a similar way with the South and slavery. If "the South" is presented first, slavery is not necessarily the primary association one would make, but if "slavery" comes first, one will most likely initially associate it with the South. So the context in which we talk about history influences the way we think about history. The most obvious contrast Trethewey makes appears in the middle of the poem when she associates the season of spring with “mingling/with the dead” (20, 22). Spring traditionally brings new life. Plants flower, animals are born, and the weather gets warmer. Yet according to her, in Vicksburg at least, we mingle with the dead. Even though it seems that the circumstances surrounding how we interact with history are improving and progressing, there is a side in which many maintain an affinity for these deaths and what they represent, enough that they do willingly make a pilgrimage to meet them. Andbenefiting from these interactions and memories, “Pilgrimage” also alludes to the weight felt by those who do not have as much say as others in how the past is remembered. The poet speaks of this feeling when she describes sleeping in the old Confederate mansion and dreaming that "the ghost of history lies beside me, // turns, pins me under a heavy arm" (36-37) . As a woman of mixed heritage, Trethewey identifies and identifies the uncomfortable, even violent, feelings that come with being forced to accept a history that often leaves very little room for the experiences of those from whom she is descended. The author's personalization of the poem through the use of "me" and "I" statements requires the reader to recognize the reality of his or her position. We cannot separate Trethewey, as the author and individual of the poem, from the rectification with history it demands, for she herself must reconcile the differences in her writing and in her life. Without its place in the poem, “Pilgrimage” would simply reflect race and history. With the me and the I, Trethewey explains to the world that the trap at the intersection of memory and rejection is her story and that she will not allow others to deny the place of this story. The pressure of being surrounded by a shared history that the group often does not participate in defining would likely make us feel trapped. The “heavy arm” of Southern history looms large not only because of the historical events themselves, but also because of the way people are supposed to remember them. Accounts of the Civil War, slavery, Reconstruction, and the civil rights movement often emphasize Southern perspectives because of the efforts of Southern states and organizations like the United Daughters of the South. Confederation to pass off their versions as the true course of events. “Pilgrimage” is a reminder that people often fail to recognize this bias in the “facts” or to remember that every story has more than one side. In addition to drawing attention to the discomfort that revisiting a painful history can bring, the poem sheds light on burial. of certain aspects of history in favor of others when he speaks of “a network of caves; // [it] must have resembled catacombs” and the “woman sitting… // underground” (12-15). During the Battle of Vicksburg, the city's residents literally dug and hid in underground caves to protect themselves from the Union advance and bombardment. Reading about this event, people often wonder what it must have been like for the illegal immigrants who feared for their lives without considering that the institution of slavery supported by most Vicksburg residents had created terror in the lives of many Blacks. Trethewey could have set the poem in a multitude of Southern cities or towns, but the choice of Vicksburg and the inclusion of this specific event in the city's history compels recognition of this inconsistency of empathy when examining different stories. This notion has emerged recently with the controversy surrounding the removal of Confederate monuments. People will defend them in the name of the “virtuous traits” of the men they commemorate or the “historical value” of the events they remember, while leaving “under the ground” the unjust acts they committed or the shameful reasons for which the events occurred. Like icebergs, some of the true story lies above the water, but the majority of truths, often the most important and dangerous, lie beneath the surface. If we fail to recognize that the iceberg extends beyond what we can easily see, we.