Freedom Summer

The penny is the symbol of hope in the poem. It opens and closes the poem but serves the same purpose in both parts of the poem.

Early in the poem, Chaney reaches into his pocket to feel the penny that he named Hope. He does this because he knows he and his friends are about to enter this dangerous situation that is home to everything they are fighting to change. It is implied that he gives the penny to “the negro barber” (Line 3), who symbolizes the type of person Chaney has come to help register to vote. As soon as this moment happens, the poem shifts to the image of the burning church, and then the abduction and murders happen. Chaney’s first action upon entering this hellscape is to try and hold on to the hope that has brought him there in the first place.

By the time the poem ends, Chaney is dead. But the final image of him once again grasping for hope shows how important it is to not lose sight of hope. If we do, then we sacrifice the memory of those who sacrificed themselves for the cause. Lewis ends the poem on the positive image of hope to signify to the audience how the audacity of hope is stronger than the hate and despair that opposes it.