ENGLISH B- POETRY

DREAMING BLACK BOY

INTRODUCTION

I believe that we all dream when we are asleep. Most of these dreams have very little basis in reality.
But there is another kind of dream which is based on our experiences. This is a longing, a hope or a wish
for something that is lacking. You may dream of the day when CXC is finished so that you may have long
periods of uninterrupted sleep. For those whose parents are working overseas you may dream of the
holidays when your parents will visit or be home for good. What are some of the things that you dream
of doing / being / having?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the Civil Rights movement in the U.S.A. during the 1950’s and
1960’s. He lived in an environment that was similar to that of the boy in this poem. He had a dream that
was memorialized in a famous speech. Among the things he dreamt was that his little children “will one
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their
character.” In trying to fulfil this dream Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39. Please read
the full text of I have a dream. You may find that reading about the horrific murder of the 14 year old
boy, Emmett Till in 1955, puts the fears and concerns of the persona into context.

TITLE

The title is appropriate as it prepares us for the aspirations of a boy who is black. The fact that his colour
is mentioned in the title suggests that the poem is about a boy who suffers discrimination because of his
race.

CONTENT

The poem might be seen as a wish list which draws attention to the areas in which this boy sees the
need for change. The word wish is used twelve times. (Repetition)

Stanza one places our young dreamer in his classroom. He longs for the attention of his white teacher
who is in the habit of ignoring him (his eyes go past him) even when he does something outstanding, like
scoring a goal. He knows that he probably contributes to his own lack of visibility in that even when he
knows the answer, he clams up. He feels that since he is in the process of getting an education he should
not behave like his woodchopper ancestors who were not educated. He uses this simile to show that he
needs to be more confident, assertive and self-assured.

Stanza two recognizes how important education is as a means of improving your status in society, and
so the boy wants to be educated “to the best of tune up”. Please pay attention to this metaphor. When
musicians tune up their instruments, they are ensuring that they play at the right pitch. This boy is
ambitious; he wants to be educated to the highest level possible. He knows that if you are educated,
you should not feel that you
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Have to “lick boots” (metaphor); that is to do something low, wrong, disgraceful or demeaning to
impress someone in authority because you want a job or a promotion. He wants to be free to travel all
over the world without being humiliated by being told that there are certain places that he cannot enter
because of his colour. “…no …hotel keepers would make it a waste.” The word waste implies that he
would be wasting time, effort and money if he cannot enjoy a trip that he pays for.

In stanza three, he wishes that “life wouldn’t spend [him] out opposing”. (Metaphor) We have two
choices when confronted with injustice, either to accept the unfair treatment quietly, or to oppose it.
Clearly he will not accept and so he is hoping for a life in the future where there is justice and equality
for all so that he will have no need to oppose. A person who is spent is a person who is tired. He wants
to do productive things with his life; he does not want to spend his life fighting for rights that should be
his without any effort on his part. As a human being he is made with the ability to literally stand upright,
but he wants to do more than the average human being, he will not be satisfied with mediocrity, he
wants to excel. Note the metaphorical use of “stretch”. He admires Paul Robeson as an example of an
African American who stretched metaphorically. Robeson excelled in several areas of his life. He was an
outstanding scholar, actor, singer and activist for peace, racial justice and improved labour relations –
hence the allusion to Robeson. “My inside eyes a sun” (metaphor) speaks of his desire for brilliance,
perception and understanding. If he does not have these qualities, he fears he will not be able to
influence anyone into changing the status quo (the way things are). “Nobody wants to say hello to nasty
answers.”

Stanza four begins with another important allusion. “Torch throwers of night” and the wish that
“plotters in pyjamas would pray for themselves” (alliteration) are a clear reference to the nefarious
(evil) activities of members of the Ku Klux Klan, some of whom actually claimed that in terrorizing black
people and those who sympathized with them, by arson, torture and murder, they were carrying out
God’s will. The boy wishes that Klan members would “burn lights for decent times” (metaphor). Instead
of committing acts of terror, he would like them to use their energies to let their light shine by
promoting acts of decency that would make the world a better place. (Note that light is a symbol for
Jesus and for Christian values.) He also wants them to pray for themselves. The stanza ends with his
longing to be truly integrated into the society as people treat him like an alien, “as if I dropped from
Mars”. (Simile).

Perhaps stanza five evokes our sympathy more than any of the other stanzas. Here we see a child who is
vulnerable because parents who should be protecting their children cannot fulfil this important role.
Although they put up façade pretence) of confidence (bravados) in front of their children, they too are
scared. The boy knows it and so he makes the anguished lament: “I could suffer. / I could suffer a big big
lot. / I wish nobody would want to earn / the terrible burden I can suffer.” (Repetition) His final wish
expressed in the last two lines of the poem shows that the boy has a social conscience. He is not only
concerned about himself, but he cares about all people. THEME
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The poem explores themes of Race, Freedom, Justice, Equality, Childhood, Dreams and aspirations and
Religion.

TONE

The tone is wistful as the boy repeatedly expresses a longing for the things that will make his society a
better place and make him safe and happy. He never demonstrates anger or resentment although slight
sarcasm may be detected in: “Wish plotters in pyjamas would pray for themselves.”(Lines 24 -25) There
is also the element of fear and despair in his tone in the last stanza.

MOOD

A mood of anxiety permeates the poem.

LANGUAGE

The poet’s language and style reflect convincingly the way a child’s thoughts might flow. This is done
through the use of repetition. This is not only seen in the frequency with which he uses the words “I
wish”. Please also note the repetition of and in lines 9 and 10). Note also the deliberate childish
simplicity in the expression “nasty answers”.

LITERARY DEVICES

The poetic devices include Repetition, Metaphor, Simile, Alliteration and Allusion. These have been
pointed out to you in the CONTENT section of this lesson. Please study them and say how they add to
your appreciation of the poem.

ACTIVITIES

Identify the problems experienced by the boy in this poem.

Apart from race, what are some other reasons that cause discrimination?

Have you ever been guilty of discrimination, or been the victim of discrimination?

Does discrimination occur in your home, society or school?

Research Dr. Martin Luther King Jr; Paul Robeson; Emmett Till. What are the other poems on your CXC
list that have similar themes? How are those poems different from Dreaming Black Boy?
Dreaming Black Boy -
Literature Notes

The physical structure of this poem has been altered from the original layout in the text.
1. I wish my teacher's eyes wouldn't go past me today. Wish he'd know it’s okay
to hug me when I kick a goal.1.Wish I myself wouldn't hold back when an answer
comes.
2. I'm no woodchopper now like all ancestor's.1.I wish I could be educated to the
best of tune up, and earn good money and
3. Not sink to lick boots.
1. I wish I could go on every crisscross way of the globe and no persons or powers
or hotel keepers would make it a waste.1.I wish life wouldn't spend me out
opposing.
1. Wish same way creation would have me stand it would have me stretch and
hold high, 2.my voice Paul Robeson's, my 4.inside eye a sun. Nobody wants to say
hello to nasty answers.
1. I wish torch throwers of night would burn lights for decent times.1.Wish
2.plotters in pajamas would pray for themselves. Wish people wouldn't talk as if I
dropped from Mars1.I wish only boys were scared behind bravados, for I could
suffer. I could suffer a big, big lot.1.I wish nobody would want to earn the terrible
burden I can suffer. King, H. 'Dreaming Black Boy' in a World of Prose. Edited by
Mark McWatt and Hazel Simmond - McDonald. Pearson Education Ltd, 2005.
This is the OPINION of one individual, which might not coincide with the views of others.

LITERAL MEANING
The poem is about a black boy who wishes that he could have regular things in
life. Things such as a congratulatory hug, to be educated to the highest level and
to travel without harassment. The persona yearns to stop fighting for the basic
right to be successful and to rise above societal expectations.

LITERARY DEVICES1.
REPETITION: The constant repetition of the phrase 'I wish' points to a yearning,
desperation even, for the basic things that life has to offer. The repetition gives
credence to the idea that the persona might believe that his wishes are actually
dreams that might not come true.2.
ALLUSION
Stanza 1, lines 6 and 7, alludes to slavery, the state of lacking control over one's
own life and destiny. The fact that reference is made to this hints to how the
persona feels about his life. He does not feel as if he has control over it.

Stanza 3, lines 19 to 20, alludes to Paula black intellectual, who attained success
despite difficult circumstances. The persona yearns to be like this person. He
wants room to stretch intellectually.

Stanza 4, lines 22 to 25, alludes to the Klu Klux Klan. Burning lights refers to the
burning of crosses and the pajamas allude to their white outfits that look like
pajamas. The persona wants them to leave him alone, find something else to do
other than make his life difficult by contributing to his wishes remaining in the
realm of the dreams. IMPORTANT WORDS / PHRASE3.'not sink to lick boots' this
refers to the concept of being subservient. To have no choice but to bow to
people in order to get ahead.
4. 'Inside eye a sun' this refers to the persona's mind. He wants to show how
intelligent he is without fear. He wants his mind to be a sun. Sun represents
brightness and light, that is how he wants his intelligence to shine.
TONE
The tone/mood of the poem is one of sadness. The persona is thinking about how
he is treatedand he reacts to this in a sad way. He keeps wishing that things were
different.THEMATIC CATEGORY: Racism, survival, oppression, desire/dreams.