Poetic Rationale-The Little Black Boy - Book Report/Review Example

? Order 613612 Topic: Poetic Rationale--The Little Black Boy I have substituted the last four lines of the poem which read as under. You’re my dearfriend, not the cherished principle, The dam separating us is mighty and strong; The prejudices must go, may peace dawn on Planet Earth, Enough of tolerances now accept us as equal partners. Time element is important for any poem and no poet can escape responsibility to the social conditions prevailing in his era, howsoever forward looking he may be. “The Little Black Boy” by William Blake was published in Songs of Innocence in 1789. The life was grim for the blacks in all areas. Slavery was legal, the mind of the white race was unmindful to the problems of the blacks, they were considered as tools for production activities, farming and domestic chores. The cry for abolition of slavery was still weak and yet to take off on a firm footing. Torture and suffering are too mild words to describe the economic and social conditions of the black families—men, women and children. The whites had absolute conviction that they were a superior race on all counts. Blake treads softly on a burning issue. Spirituality is ingrained in each and every stanza of the poem and the anguish felt by the poet as for the trials and tribulations of the black race is evident. He links spirituality and the injustice to the black race intelligently and opines how from the transcendental point of view such differentiation is untenable. In spiritual terms black denotes sin and evil; white refers to nobility, purity and innocence. The approach of William Blake to the burning issue of racism is mild and not revolutionary. I have substituted the last four lines of the poem to provide it the necessary punch on an issue that has international ramifications. The issue of friendship between a black boy and a white boy has been introduced by the poet to throw light on the issue. I am not disputing the details related to the issue as perceived by the poet, but the solution part of it needs more authenticity. To suppose that the white race will accept the concept of equality with love is to live in fool’s paradise. Their vital economic interests are involved in the issue. Christian ideals also did very little to influence their mindset and those who have read the history related to slavery in America, do well know that how majority of the white clergy took the side of the white race. The first line of my changed version, “You’re my dear friend, not the cherished principle,” indicates the definite stand on the issue taken by the black boy. As an individual, he values friendship but when it comes to principle, he will side with the black race. He has to—with no other alternative. Why it is so? The second line makes the emphatic assertion and it contains a mild warning to the white race about the plight of the black race, if one turns the pages of history. The crying question remained the crying question for a long time, with no tangible solutions in sight and with no change of heart by the white leadership and the white people. The line, “The dam separating us is mighty and strong,” has to be understood in this context. The roots of the tree of inequality and prejudice were too strong to be uprooted easily. I take it this way. Why take the issue to God, when human beings are capable of solving it? When God has provided the necessary tools of intelligence and power of discrimination to the human beings? Injustice doesn’t need any wordy interpretation, the whys and the wherefores about it. Injustice is injustice—it must be go. It must be eradicated from Planet Earth once for all, as it is the major threat to world peace. A small section of the disgruntled and dissatisfied section of the black race, if it were to take to the path of violence to redress their grievances, has the potentiality to become a major national issue, especially in a country like USA. So, it is in the interest of all to arrive at an honorable solution. The wise saying goes, ‘Meet good with good, evil with justice.’ Reacting strongly to negative and evil tendencies is a divine virtue. Surrender at the feet of God is fine; but even God will not like a weak surrender. Every soul is strong and dynamic. Weakness is a veil of illusion. Blake uses metaphors to make his opposition to the attitudes of whites as soft as possible. In the last sentence of my paragraph, the issue is clear. “Enough of tolerances now accept us as equal partners.” By bestowing equal status the whites are not doing any charitable acts for the blacks. They are just atoning for the sins—may be that of their fathers and grandfathers. This addition is in tandem with the aspirations of the younger generation of blacks. They say, “God sees the truth,” but how long is the man—the black man—to wait? The modern generation is in no mood to tolerate injustice, and racial inequality is a burning and sensitive issue. Metaphors will not provide any tangible solution for them. Blake, true to his poetic genius, has also used politically neutral colors like gold and silver but this may go well with the spiritual discussion. From the spiritual standpoint, gold and coal may be the same, but from the practical point of view and by value considerations, they are differentiated. My point is the black must get what is due to them as human beings. Legal status has been restored to them and yet they are experiencing differentiation and mal-treatment in real-life situations even in this modern age. So, the mother’s explanation (rather consolation) to the child that though its skin is black the soul is white like that of an English child, how God gives light and joy to all—whites and blacks—without discrimination and therefore submission to the will of God is essential, that his black skin is like the cloud that will dissipate when soul interacts with God in the heaven etc. may make a good, pious reading, but that will certainly not help to solve the racial tangle. It has not solved the issue until this day. The boy, in all innocence, transmits the lessons of his mother to the white boy and persuades him sincerely to believe that one day the English boy, realizing the truth about black and white, will love him. This again is too much to expect in real life situations and the gravity of the problem demands hard solutions. Finally, the attitude of Christian resignation is no solution to the issue. Gentle preaching may soften the stand but will not solve the issues permanently. Fair and equitable social conditions need to be created so that the color of the skin is not a burden to any black child. Any further pressure on the black community will definitely see the end of the tolerances and beginning of a new wave of violence to secure their just rights. Black and white is just like two arms of the scale that are needed to strike the correct balance in the society. This is the final answer to the questions that arise in the mind of a reader when he goes through the pages of history of blacks and whites in the country where William Blake wrote this poem. Works Cited Blake, William. The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake. Anchor; 1997 Read More