Preview

The Little Black Boy Poem Analysis

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1587 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Little Black Boy Poem Analysis
Many writers and poets throughout history have touched on the topic of slavery and the woe of those enduring unjust discrimination and racism due to the mere color of their skin, culture or religion they follow. The journey of slavery and discrimination of the black people is a topic that is close to my heart and to many people who feel for the suffering and undeserved bias that is placed against those that are deemed different in any way. In literature, the topic has been discussed in regard to the various concepts based on the experiences and researches conducted by the authors. In this research, the paper will discuss the topic on slavery and discrimination of black people in regard to various writings that have been collected in “The Poetry …show more content…
Poets use their poetic license to express their feelings on the subject. One of the poems authored in the book is titled The Little Black Boy. This pome is about the life of black boy and his mother suffering from obvious discrimination. The boy realizes that although he has a heart just like a white boy and he possesses the same strength as the white boy, his skin is black. He therefore becomes curious to know the reason why he has a different skin. The boy sets out on a mission to find out and discover a new explanation concerning his differences in skin color versus his inner qualities. This undertaking sets him on a journey becoming the motivation in his …show more content…
He discusses the release and the plight of slaves. Harris recognizes and discusses the fact that the white man exploited the black man by enforcing rules on them and making them work in unfair conditions (Harris, 1992). The poem elaborates that after the slaves were set free the slaves were remembering their troubles were thankful for their freedom that they obtained. There were all kind of songs which expressed joy and this shows that the efforts by the antislavery movements were successful. Though the motion which advocated for the end of slavery played a great role, there was motivation and efforts which were made by movements and people who wanted the end of slave trade. The act was against the human rights and no one deserved to be a slave for other people. In these songs it is evident that the black people were so happy with just a small amount of liberation that was afforded to them, although the apparent discrimination was obvious and strong. This goes to show the dire straits that the black people endured for many years and the seemingly minor changes given to them, gladdened them so much. Although they continued to be treated poorly and unfairly, they appreciated whatever freedom they gained. As Harris correctly observed, there will always be a privileged class in a mixed community that will command

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Starting from the late 1700’s until the mid 1900’s was a difficult time for the African American community. People were dying for no specific reason, there were no jobs’ and the life conditions were very harsh. The Analyzing of two different poems A Black Man Talks of Reaping by Arna Bontemps and A Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes helps us better understand the difficulties in Harlem during the 19th century. The comparison of the similarities and differences between both creates a solid and experienced idea for the reader to understand. The fact that in one poem the author ‘speaks’ and the other one the author ‘talks’ can prove different experiences that these authors have lived trough. Both poems use specific examples and comparisons to give a global image of Harlem in the 1900’s.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Imagine the feeling of living in a Jim Crow south after the Civil War. In Richard Wright’s autobiography “Black Boy”, he illustrates his life as he tries to understand the segregated and white dictated world he lives in. Throughout the story he asks questions to others and himself to attempt at understanding the world. Since the book is an autobiography it allows the reader to take a front row seat with the story. “Black Boy” is one of the many books that were challenged for a myriad of reasons. Those reasons ranging from political to religious. Although the book was accused for multiple offenses some teachers and students think the book still holds value.…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This poem expresses the general emotion of African Americans during the early 1900's. America has known as the land of opportunity, where dreams come true. However, for African Americans during this time, this was not the case. While technically free, racism, poverty, and social injustices abound, making it difficult if not impossible to actually achieve these dreams...thus, their dreams have been "deferred". This poem addresses that frustration, and ponders possible reactions from having your opportunities robbed. Do you give up? Do you become angry? Do you become complacent? To me, the last line is very powerful, because it refers to the fact that people can only be held down so long before they revolt, or "explode". In the Poem Harlem by…

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Richard Wright, “All literature is protest. You cannot name a single literary work that is not protest.” This means that literature is usually based on a reflection on society which is protest. Literature exposes the dark side of society. I agree with this quote because literature is one of the protruding ways to understand how one thinks about an idea. The author’s opinion is a protest against what other may believe. Coherently, in the bildungsroman Black boy by Richard Wright portrays how literature is protest.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The duality in this poem creates an illustration of the poet’s struggle which refers to the rising and falling of the African American culture; Johnson wonders how the world sees African American during this period as a people or things. It shows that the poet is worried about the direction the African American culture will be moving. Men or things is the comparison which is “Do they really think that African American people are worthless than white american people?” So the poet uses the word “thing” it mean that whites do not appreciate and insult African American people that they do not value as a human. It might be a question the the poet wants to ask others if it will take a long time to change their thinking or if it will take great efforts, strides, and sacrifices.…

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The works of Child of the America’s by Aurora Levins Morales and What It’s Like to be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t) by Patricia Smith was because of the direct contrast of the statements “I am whole” in Morales poem verses “…and feeling like you’re not finished” in Smith’s poem. Both statements in these poems are strong, stating a completion of a human soul and both poems are in agreement that race is a part of the completion to the human soul. Levins Morales’ poem explains what it is really like to be of mixed race in America. Smith’s poem gives a deep, more individual approach of what it is like to be a black girl. Race is a background for both poems.…

    • 1926 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some topics are hard to talk about but as Poet Kyla Lacey said “the conversation may stop but the racism continues.” This was one of the ideas behind her most well known poem titled “White Privilege” which she performed in the UC Down Under Feb. 22 for an intimate crowd. Kyla Lacey was born in Chicago, lived in Orlando, but currently resides in Atlanta. She is a proud cat mom, had her first poem copy written at age 10, and has now performed at over 200 colleges. “I kind of have always been a writer,” said Lacey who recalled writing her poem at 10 years old saying” I just wrote it one day and it was called ‘The World’.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Speakers` experiences related to consequences of being a racial minorities, related to issues of black identity, avoidance of it, as in “Detailing the nape”, “Robert”, “Rick”, and “Family Portrait” poems. Also, Brown engages a sexism, homophobia, and misrepresentation topics, which are related to representatives of LGBT community, who are also group of minorities in our society (“Lunch”, “Family Portrait”). Troubles of being a member of abusive family, experiencing violent attitude from other family member also one of the themes in Brown`s poems (“Song for you”, “Runaway”), in that case author shows that anybody could experience consequences even by being minority in smallest unit of society, as…

    • 400 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hughes touches on the experiences in his life in many occasions when he talks about the life a Negro, slave, worker, singer, and a victim. Hughes spoke on being a slave in lines 4-6 when said, “I’ve been a slave: / Caesar told me to keep his door-steps clean. / I brushed the boots of Washington.” On lines 14-17 Hughes emphasizes the difficulties of Negros all over the world when he says, “I’ve been a victim: / The Belgians cut of my hands in Congo. /They lynch me still in Mississippi.” He illustrated the even though slavery is over in America that the African-Americans have freedom but they have to fight for their lives because of the hatred they face in the southern…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The New Jim Crow Analysis

    • 2152 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The book starts of with the use direct emotional driven language that evokes the feelings of the readers towards those who are discriminated “he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back into slavery” as a means to appeal to the audience through referencing to the reconstruction period that was ongoing in the United States Of America during the…

    • 2152 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Countee Cullen

    • 377 Words
    • 1 Page

    The last two lines of the poem complete the message in the first two lines by reassuring the reader that the slaves will not always be slaves. While they are in the dark they will survive until the time comes that they rise up, out of the darkness, and take their freedom.…

    • 377 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    American Idealism Analysis

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Privileged whites in America were still looking down at the blacks and young black poets writing reflects this. Langston Hughes “Let America Be America again”, tells us of the way the blacks wanted to be treated and how each were promised their America when the civil war ended along with slavery. In the poem the lines 31-35 speak of how black were still being treated, “I am the farmer, the bondsman to the soil, I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-Hungry yet today despite the dream”. (Hughes) This speaks of how the black person felt everybody was still being treated and how each one were continually being treated specially during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s. Unfortunately, today blacks are not treated much better and still have to face prejudice. There is a parallel how the blacks were viewed as subservient, much as the soldiers were in Catch-22. Blacks and the soldiers were both told what to do and did not have the freedom to go wherever without fear of punishment. During slavery, plantation owners’ viewed the slaves as property. The slaves that ran away and were caught were whipped. The soldiers who went AWOL were court marshaled. The treatment of blacks still needs to improve and this will not be an…

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Defending Slavery

    • 2485 Words
    • 10 Pages

    This paper will summarize the first part of book taking as a main topic racial aspects of the slavery. After the introductory summary , this paper will focus in two specific sections found in the second part of the book: “Religion and Slavery” and “Racial Theory and Slavery”.…

    • 2485 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Blueprint for Negro Writing” Richard Wright Richard Wright “Blueprint for Negro Writing” should be educational to authors and inspiring authors. Richard Wright is a great author, an inspiration. I have read majority of his books. “Black Boy” will have to be my favorite book that has been published. The book itself just speaks volumes for blacks, it gives readers insiders of the Negro dialect and how people view them.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This poem was about this young black man trying to figure out where he fits in society. He was writing a poem for a college class and he was suppose to be writing about himself. The instructor said that when they start writing about themselves then it will be known to them of where they fit in. As this kid is writing his poem he knows that knows everyone is different wether that be black or they are white either way we are Americans so their should be no difference in anyone but he finds that he does not fit in with society.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics