Analytical Essay of "The Little Black Boy" by William Blake

My mother bore me in the southern wild,
And I am black, but O, my soul is white!
White as an angel is the English child,
But I am black, as if bereaved of light.

My mother taught me underneath a tree,
And, sitting down before the heat of day,
She took me on her lap and kissèd me,
And, pointing to the East, began to say:

'Look at the rising sun: there God does live,
And gives His light, and gives His heat away,
And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive
Comfort in morning, joy in the noonday.

'And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love;
And these black bodies and this sunburnt face
Are but a cloud, and like a shady grove.

'For when our souls have learn'd the heat to bear,
The cloud will vanish, we shall hear His voice,
Saying, "Come out from the grove, my love and care,
And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice."'

Thus did my mother say, and kissèd me,
And thus I say to little English boy.
When I from black and he from white cloud free,
And round the tent of God like lambs we joy,

I'll shade him from the heat till he can bear
To lean in joy upon our Father's knee;
And then I'll stand and stroke his silver hair,
And be like him, and he will then love me.


William Blake’s “The Little Black Boy” is a poem that is narrated by a young black boy during a period of time when slavery was still legal. Many people who read this poem seem to have a problem deciding if Blake projects a view that a stereotypical black child of this time would be thought to have, or if he actually shows readers an accurate version of the child. As for myself, I absolutely do not believe that Blake had any intention of insulting or criticizing any race. The image of the little boy that I see is of one who has been brought up to believe that he is to protect the little white boy. He has been raised believing that white represents all things that are good, which is shown when the black boy insists in the second line that his soul is white. What I am seeing here is a young boy who has lived his entire life serving people who are different from him. These people are all white. While he’s grown up physically serving white people, he has been spiritually serving God. In the third line, he compares the white English child to an angel. This further proves that in this day, white was often thought to mean pure, heavenly, and good. On the other hand, black was thought to represent death and evil. Just when I was about to believe that Blake was a bit racist, I read the fourth line. This line explains that the boy feels “bereaved of light”, which means that he has been blocked from the sun. I took this to mean that he felt that his dark colored skin would prevent God from seeing him in the same way He saw the young English boy. From the very moment I read this line, I have believed that the image Blake was attempting to portray was not one that taunted a race. Instead, I believe that Blake felt very strongly against these racial stereotypes. Since this was in a time with the slavery movements were just beginning, perhaps Blake found that the best way he could contribute to the cause would be to give everyone a new insight on what it was really like to grow up as a slave. Blake’s point in presenting this certain image was to educate white Americans in the hope that they would see how unfair slavery was. I think that the reason Blake writes about the black child questioning God is to mock Christians who were supporters of slavery being legal. It seems as if Blake believed that since God created all men, then they should all be treated as equals. By having his young narrator express the belief that God would see him as being less worthy than His white believers, Blake manages to show his readers what their actions were implying about their belief in God and His word. Blake presents a connection between God and the sun, and I find it ironic that the color black is known to absorb and retain heat from sunlight, while white is known for staying cooler and reflecting sunlight. Also, Blake implies that the black boy is not bothered by the heat, and seems to be used to it. I believe Blake was implying that the black child had been a faithful servant his entire life. Because he maintained his faith in God through all of these trials and hard times, the black boy is much closer to God than the English boy.

Blake’s description of a black boy’s thoughts shows readers an image that makes fun of the stereotypical black person while also showing how he feels about this stereotype. Many readers believe that this image is too stereotypical, which often causes them to misunderstand the rest of the poem. I find that by making the black child so eager to be seen as an equal to the white boy, Blake was trying to emphasize the ridiculous idea that an entire race of God’s people could be convinced to believe that they were made by God with the purpose to serve the white race. By using a young child, Blake is able to present an innocent point of view. If he had used an adult black man, the poem would have had an angry tone rather than an honest one. It is even possible that Blake predicted that his readers would feel more sympathy for a child, even if the child was a slave. I am also aware of many stories from the slave era that describe the black women as being comforting, caring, and dedicated mothers. However, in this poem, every verb describing an action made by the mother is in past tense. This led me to believe that she had passed away, and he was simply remembering what she’d told him at some point in the past. While this does play into the comforting mother stereotype, I do not think that Blake had any negative implications or intentions.

I do not think that Blake’s use of a stereotypical black child makes this poem any less effective. Blake uses this stereotype to show readers that no matter how white people treated black people on Earth, they would be treated as equals in Heaven. It seems as if he’s making a desperate attempt to show that the young black child seems as if he would do anything in the world for God’s love. This being said, it also seems as if Blake is implying that white people believed that they deserved to go to Heaven. Clearly, he stereotyped white people, too. I think that he did this to show that stereotypes are hurtful for everyone. Blake also stereotypes God, using the well-known description of a strong and powerful God with silver hair. Also, he describes Heaven as a “golden tent”, which goes along with the popular image of a heaven filled with streets of gold. If anything, Blake’s use of stereotypes gives significance to the entire poem. Without it, it would not prove a thing. Blake understands that as a writer, one must grab everyone’s attention in order to get his/her views out there and heard. When dealing with a controversial issue, a writer must be willing to take risks. Blake took that risk, and because he did, he showed his support for the fight to abolish slavery.

Book Review for Love by Toni Morrison

Literary Analysis Book 3

Haley L. Thomas
Title: Love
Author: Toni Morrison
Publishing Company and Location: Random House/New York, New York
Copyright Date: 2003
Literary Genre: Realism
Setting: This novel is set during the 1990’s on the East American coast country, in a small town named Silk. The place where most of the story takes place in a large house on 1 Monarch Street, which was home to the three Cosey women: Heed, May, and Christine. Each of these women are related to the late Bill Cosey, who owned a very prominent hotel. The hotel is the setting of many of the flashbacks had by different characters in the book, seeing as most of the characters either worked at the hotel, or had an experience with someone who did.

Significance of the Time Period: This time period was significant because it shows readers that no matter how much time has passed, and no matter how much people may try to claim that everything is different than when they were young, nothing ever really changes. Women in the 1990’s were no more sexually promiscuous than women in any decade. However, the women of the nineties were less inclined to hide this behavior.

Plot Type: This story and its plot are both character-driven, and the story is presented to readers in a way that a mystery story would be. Instead of the mystery being “Who did it?” as it is in many mysteries, the question lies in finding out who each person is and why he/she did the things that he/she did. While the plot seems very complex throughout the book, it ends up being quite simple.

Plot Summary: This is a book about love. However, this is not a story of two lovers who have to fight to stay together. This is a book that tells stories of paternal and maternal love, love for one’s self, romantic love, jealous love, hateful love, the love of friendship, finding love, and finding out that the love that was thought to exists never really existed at all.
This novel tells the story of six women who all had different types of love for a man who owned a prominent hotel. Bill Cosey has a different role in each character’s life. He plays the part of a father, boss, lover, friend, enemy, mystery, and husband. However, it quickly becomes obvious that he is much more than that. His character seems to be the center of the entire novel, even though he is already dead during the present time of the novel.
As I turned each page, and moved from chapter to chapter, each person’s mystery began to unfold. I understood and sympathized with each character, no matter how unusual that may seem to someone who has not read this book. I learned why May went insane. I figured out what turned Heed and Christine’s childhood friendship into a relationship that sat on the thin line that separates love and hate. I learned where Junior came from, and who she really is. I found out where Christine went during her famous disappearance, and why she even left in the first place. Slowly, but with interest, I found out who L was, even though I never even learned her real name.
This novel tells the story of a family who is quietly misunderstood. Heed and Christine are the same age, and when Heed marries Christine’s grandfather (Bill Cosey) at the age of 11, they begin to fight for his attention and affection. Since he was in his fifties during the time of this marriage, there was much confusion over his love towards a girl of such a young age. There is a strong tension between the two girls, and this tension begins to involve Christine’s mother, May, who feels the need to defend her daughter. During all of this drama, L’s character plays the part of the peacemaker. And, Morrison includes a woman named Celestial, who was Mr. Cosey’s lover. There is also a woman named Vida, who considered Mr. Cosey a saint because he gave her a job at his hotel that was much better than the one she had at a cannery.
The men in the story are also significant, and we learn quite a bit about what each of them are hiding, as well. First, of course, is Mr. Cosey. At first, he seems like a man who took advantage of his power, and could have anything that he wanted. He married a young girl and never felt the need to explain why he did this. He had a lover on the side. He spent his entire life around women who wanted nothing more than to be his favorite. Mr. Cosey displayed many different forms of love throughout this novel, although none of these forms ever seemed to be enough for the person who was receiving this love. Next, we learn about Vida’s husband, Sandler, who was a good friend of Mr. Cosey’s. Sandler and Vida have a grandson named Romen, who ends up falling for Junior, a girl who is taken in by Heed to assist her in taking care of personal business.
The actual story does not lie in the plot. The plot, in all actuality, is quite simple. However, it’s in the way that the plot unfolds. This is a story about a love that is so complex that even the characters do not immediately notice its existence. There is no mystery in the plot. Instead, the mystery lies in each of the characters. The plot is simple. However, the characters are anything but that.

Point of View: This book is written in third person, and is sometimes narrated by the character L. Readers are able to see the thoughts of each character.

Tone: Morrison uses a tone that encourages readers to find a reason to be sympathetic towards each of the characters. Although it may sound strange, in the end, it is easy to understand the motives of each character. The tone of the novel is mysterious, while also being very revealing.

Diction: The dialogue in this novel perfectly captures the way I thought each character would sound if they were speaking. Some of the characters are less educated than others, and the dialogue reflects this. Even the thoughts of each character captured the essence of who that character really was, and through this, readers are allowed to understand the difference in what these people were thought to be and who they actually were.

Organization: At first, it does not seem as if this novel is organized at all. However, the flashbacks begin to make sense and seem to come at the appropriate time. The title of each chapter also happens to be the main subject of the chapter.

Readability: This is not an easy novel to read. If even one word is missed, the meaning of the entire sentence disappears. In my opinion, anyone under the age of 16 would not have the patience and depth required to fully understand this novel.

Content: This book contains mature and adult content, and for this reason, I would be very careful in who I advised to read it. It contains graphic descriptions of sexual encounters, and the significance of these scenes would be lost on a young reader.

Significance of the Title: There absolutely could not be a more appropriate title for this book. Love is what each character in the book craves the most, and understands the least.

Unique Literary Devices: Morrison uses symbolism throughout this novel. For example, she uses the idea of a silver spoon, a serpent, a trumpet, and a set of unforgettable eyes to present ideas that are not directly written in the text.

Use of Novel in the Classroom: I would only teach this novel in a college level classroom, simply because I think that it would not be appreciated by high school students. There are many layers to this book, and it takes a willing reader to uncover each layer. There is language in this novel that is significant to the story, but would probably offend the parents of a younger child. To be honest, I have seen a teacher get in trouble for teaching this book in my high school, and I can understand why parents were upset, even though personally, I would not be.

-story of a girl-

Broken girl, damaged girl,
how are you going to change the world?
Thinking fast, walking slow,
through the wind, rain, and snow.

She's leaving town, escaping pain,
and nothing will ever be the same.
What is she doing? Where will she go?
The healing girl just does not know.

She's searching for someone to show her the way
to a new starting place where she can stay.
Her heart is aching, but she's becoming strong,
and the fear she carried is now long gone.

Growing girl, wiser girl
(as rare and valued as a pearl)
slowly re-opened the doors to her heart,
and the girl's new life could finally start.

The pretty girl believes in fate,
and through this lesson she met her mate.
Before she knew it, she began to fall,
and none of the past even mattered at all.

-Haley

PS- I wrote this in class the other day. I'm no better at poetry than I've ever been, but this one has special meaning :) So, I decided to share!

I'm terrible, I know!

I finally updated my stupid livejournal account. I'm going to do better... I promise. In case you forgot, it's asmartblonde.livejournal.com :)

xoxo
hlt