Equality and White Superiority in The Little Black Boy

785 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Message of the little black boy by william blake

Equality and White Superiority in William Blake’s “The Little Black Boy” William Blake's "The Little Black Boy”, written in 1789, is about a little black boy who compares himself to a little English white boy that he and his family work for. The poem was written in recognition of slavery. The poem is written in quatrains in each stanza with a rhyme scheme of ABAB in a ballad style. The setting of the poem sounds to be during the time of slavery. This is concluded in lines 25-26, "I'll shade him from the heat till he can bear/ To lean in joy upon our father's knee". The themes of this are spirituality and equality. The black boy speaks of the dark color of his skin compared to the light skin color of the English boy. "And I am black, but O! my soul is white;" (line 2). Here the little black boy states that his “soul is white” as a symbol of purity. Slavery in the United States began in 1619 when the first slaves were brought from Africa to Jamestown, Virginia. Theses slaves were transported to help in the production of crops such as tobacco and cotton. Slavery became legal in America, Canada and Britain in the year 1763. Slaves never learned how to read or write, since it was unnecessary for the labor. Also, traders and slave owners didn’t want the slaves to understand the government or they might begin to revolt. Colored slaves were treated poorly by many of their slave owners. Many of them were hung and beaten just for the color of their skin. Though slaves were never in England, they were being traded on British territory outside of England. About 5% of profits from the slave trade and plantations in the West Indies were given to Britain during the Industrial Revolution. After the Abolition Movement, in 1807, the British... ... middle of paper ... .... She explains his dark-colored skin as God's love, which is the sun, beaming on them, causing them to be darker than others. "Look on the rising sun: there God does live, and gives his light, and gives his beam away... And we are put on earth a little space,/ That we may learn to bear the beams of love," (lines 9-10, 13-14). The entire last stanza arose a thought in my head. Why is it that when God came for both of the boys that the white boy couldn't have the skin color of the little black boy? I believe this goes back to the theme that being white was superior to any other race. The themes changes to the equality of man through God’s eyes. "And then I'll stand and stroke his silver hair,/ And be like him, and he will then love me." (lines 27-28) Bibliography 1. Blake, William. “The Little Black Boy” Poetry Foundation, 1789

Show More
Related

  • Poem Analysis: The Case By Tim Seibles

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    It can be inferred that this poem is more geared toward an audience of color, since "they" are referred to as white people. In the stanza, "I know some brothers, they see a white face and their whole bodies sneer-."(21-22) Seibles is referring to "brothers" as people of color in comparison to "a white face". People of color see themselves as family (brothers) because they must stick together to get through the age of white supremacy. On the other hand, the cold tone of the word "a white face", makes it seem as if white people are strangers and they cannot connect with them in ways that they connect with one

    Read More

  • Blake's View on Oppression of Children by Adults

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    Blake's View on Oppression of Children by Adults Blake was a poet who wrote in the Romantic period. He had idealistic views about life, and believed that the traditional country way of life was the best way to live. He despised the industry that was establishing itself in England because it was the opposite of the ideal country lifestyle that Blake idealised. The idea that Blake believed that children were oppressed is an interesting one, because, there are a number of poems which suggest different ideas about this topic.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of James Baldwin's Letter To My Nephew

    220 Words  | 1 Pages

    The author, James Baldwin, likely composed this to his nephew amid times of expanded bigotry and isolation. The author appears to be extremely knowledgeable regarding the matter of prejudice and makes this letter exceptionally individual. He tells his nephew that by being conceived colored that he is a "useless person." and that he is not anticipated to achieve greatness. This demonstrates he has some top to bottom information of the issues that African Americans looked in the public eye at the time.

    Read More

  • Evolution of Slavery

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    The slave trade into the United States began in 1620 with the sale of nineteen Africans to a colony called “Virginia”. These slaves were brought to America on a Dutch ship and were sold as indentured slaves. An Indentured slave is a person who has an agreement to serve for a specific amount of time and will no longer be a servant once that time has passed, they would be “free”. Some indentured slaves were not only Africans but poor or imprisoned whites from England. The price of their freedom did not come free.

    Read More

  • Slavery In Colonial America

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    Slavery was created in pre-revolutionary America at the start of the seventeenth century. By the time of the Revolution, slavery had undergone drastic changes and was nothing at all what it was like when it was started. In fact the beginning of slavery did not even start with the enslavement of African Americans. Not only did the people who were enslaved change, but the treatment of slaves and the culture that each generation lived in, changed as well.

    Read More

  • the development of slavery in America

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    Colonist started to import slaves from South America in hopes that they would live longer and be more manageable to control. The slaves that were imported were trained past their first year of slavery, so that they would not die as fast. The first imported slaves came to America in the early 17th century. When they received the slaves they found out some of them were baptized, and were under the Christian religion. So they could not be treat as slaves under the religion so they were turned into indentured servants. There were very few vague laws on slavery, but it was always a permanent servitude. At first slaves had limited right, and were aloud to own land, after their period of slavery was over. They were allowed to marry and have children. The slaves kids that were born while they were enslaved were not consider to be slaves, but to be free under the law.

    Read More

  • The History of Slave Music and its Impact on Modern Music

    2049 Words  | 5 Pages

    Slavery is a form of forced labor in which people are taken as property of others against their wishes and will. They are denied the right to leave or even receive wages. Evidence of slavery is seen from written records of ancient times from all cultures and continents. Some societies viewed it as a legal institution. In the United States, slavery was inevitable even after the end of American Revolution. Slavery in united states had its origins during the English colonization of north America in 1607 but the African slaves were sold in 1560s this was due to demand for cheap labor to exploit economic opportunities. Slaves engaged in composition of music in order to preserve the cultures they came with from Africa and for encouragement purposes..

    Read More

  • Slavery In America An Eyewitness History Essay

    2085 Words  | 5 Pages

    Slavery has played a major role in colonial America since European colonization. When Europe colonized America, there was a lot of work that needed to be done. With the vast land and lack of laborers, slaves were introduced to the new world. Dutch ships brought African slaves into America and started to use slaves as laborers. Slaves became the solution to the problem in hand. During the American Revolution, Slavery was an issue that was overlooked by the people and government. The people of America just wanted their independence and liberty from Great Britain. They did not see that slaves were people too and should have equal rights just like them. By the eighteenth century, America was influenced by John Locke’s theory of natural rights.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Black Like Me and Black Boy

    1592 Words  | 4 Pages

    The racism and discrimination against blacks in both Black Like Me and Black Boy show the hardships and racial injustice that blacks face in the south with their share of differences and similarities. After reading Black Like Me and Black Boy, I have gained a better perspective, about how in Black Like Me when John Howard Griffin was a “black” man he was treated unequally as all blacks are and once he went back to being a white man those people who had treated him bad were now treating him with respect. However, in the end, no matter the skin color, some things are the same for both colors. In Black Boy, I have learned that the life of a young child, a black boy, is hard during the segregated south and can harshly affect the child while growing up. As I read, I came across some similarities between both works, as well as some differences.

    Read More

  • The Real Heroes of Slavery in the United States

    1983 Words  | 4 Pages

    I want to start with the history of slavery in America. For most African Americans, the journey America began with African ancestors that were kidnapped and forced into slavery. In America, this event was first recorded in 1619. The first documented African slaves that were brought to America were through Jamestown, Virginia. This is historically considered as the Colonial America. In Colonial America, African slaves were held as indentured servants. At this time, the African slaves were released from slavery after a certain number of years of being held in captivity. This period lasted until 1776, when history records the beginning of the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage showed the increased of African slaves were bought into America. The increase demand for slaves was because of the increased production of cotton in the south. So, plantation owners demanded more African slaves for purchas...

    Read More

  • Jazz Music Essay

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery in the United States first began in 1619 when Dutch traders seized a captured Spanish slave ship and brought those aboard to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. When the North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the vast land proved to be more work than they had anticipated and there was a severe shortage of labor. Land owners needed a solution for cheap and plentiful labor to help with the production of lucrative crops such as tobacco and rice. Although many land owners already made use of indentured servants- poor youth from Britain and Germany who sought passage to America and would be contracted to work a given number of years before they were granted freedom- they soon realized that in order to continue expansion they would need to employ more labor. This meant bringing more people over from Africa against their own will, depriving the African content of its healthiest and most capable men and women. Since individuals with African origins were not English by birth, they were considered foreigners and outside English Common Law and were not granted equal rights. Many slave owners intended to make their slaves completely dependent on them and prohibited them from learning to read or write. The oppression of black slaves was on the rise and many sources estimate that nearly twelve million slaves were brought to the ...

    Read More

  • Slavery In North America

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    The development of slavery in the Americas began as early as 1500, after the arrival of the Spanish, and first centered around the Caribbean. However, a lucrative triangle trading system between England, Africa and North America greatly increased the slave trade during the 1600’s (Foner, 38). At the time, slavery was driven by market forces, and largely defined by geographical necessity. Landowners had large plantations, located in areas with small populations and did not have access to the cheap labor necessary to cultivate lucrative crops like tobacco and sugar. They needed slaves to economically survive and prosper. Later, in the American colonies of the south, the entire economic and social structure

    Read More

  • Blue Winds Dancing Poem Analysis

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    This was a trying experience the child was enduring. Thus, changing the child to be cold and bitter mainly towards the father. She is experiencing an internal battle of hating her own father. Where as in “Blue Winds Dancing,” it describes a young Indian boy away in college that doesn’t know what group of people he identifies with. He is concerned he doesn’t fit in with the whites located in the big city or with his Indian heritage back home. He feels anxiety in the white civilization because he feels like an outcast and he can’t seem to bring himself to mimic their behavior. He feels he is constantly reminded by whites that his race is less than. He expresses the frustration by quoting the

    Read More

  • Discrimination And Symbolism In The Black Ball By Ralph Ellison

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    The little’s boys white ball represents innocence compared to the Black ball which represents struggle, humiliation, and discrimination. In other parts of the story white represents the white men of the world. “Yes, son,” I said “your ball is white.” Mostly white anyway I thought.”Pg 352. When John thinks this he is saying that his son is innocent at least partially innocent, in that he has not learned what it means to be black. Being a Negro was something that you had to live with, and in the story Black Ball, John says “yes, he would play with the ball. Indeed, poor little rascal, he would play until he grew sick of playing.” What he means by this is that his son will have to continue dealing with the fact and difficulties that he is black and all the problems that come with it. There are three main color in this story, black, white, and red which represents wrath. At the end John thinks “maybe there was a color other than white on the old ball.” Pg 352 when he says this I think he is referring to the fact that maybe there is room for blacks in the world of the white people without

    Read More

  • William Blake's The Little Black Boy

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Blake's poem, it is very clear that the little black boy and his mother have a very close and affectionate relationship. The boy expresses how his mother sits with him under the shade of the tree and shares with him the love of God. The little black boy, being influenced by society during this time, believes that once his black skin passes away, then the English child will love him. In hopes of changing his view of himself and his skin color, the boy's mother tells him that there is an advantage to having black skin. The mother implies that black skin can bear more ...

    Read More

More about Equality and White Superiority in The Little Black Boy

Open Document