Incident
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, 'Nigger.'
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.
source, poemhunter.com
Incident is a poem written by Countee Cullen, a black writer from the Harlem Renaissance. The poem illustrates an incident where a young black child is riding a bus in Baltimore excited at what he is seeing there. He notices a boy staring at him on the bus. The black child smiles at him because he feels they are closely similar, the only difference being their size and age. When the white boy calls him the N word, he makes the black boy aware of how different they actually are.
This slur is most likely the boys first experience of racism, and it ruins his whole trip to Baltimore. In the poem the boy seemed very eager to be friends with the white boy, but this was ultimately shattered by the other boys racism. He states "I saw the whole of Baltimore...Of all the things that happened there That's all I remember," showing he had seen it all just in that one incident and was devastated by it.
This poem uses rhyme in the ABCB format, and it allows the poem to flow more. There does not seem to be any HR theme that perfectly fits into this poem but I would say the HR theme is "Determination to fight against opression" because the boy was crushed by the white boys racist slur which probably resulted in him feeling down enough that he would want to do something about it. It's not implied in the poem, but I'm just guessing what may happen after this.
I chose this poem because it is narrated from the view point of a young child which is different from most poems I have read. Even though the poem is about a more serious issue, it's dilluted due to the fact they are children. The white boy sticking his tongue out gives it a lighter feel, but still addresses the story. I also like the rhyme pattern in this, very unique.
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, 'Nigger.'
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.
source, poemhunter.com
Incident is a poem written by Countee Cullen, a black writer from the Harlem Renaissance. The poem illustrates an incident where a young black child is riding a bus in Baltimore excited at what he is seeing there. He notices a boy staring at him on the bus. The black child smiles at him because he feels they are closely similar, the only difference being their size and age. When the white boy calls him the N word, he makes the black boy aware of how different they actually are.
This slur is most likely the boys first experience of racism, and it ruins his whole trip to Baltimore. In the poem the boy seemed very eager to be friends with the white boy, but this was ultimately shattered by the other boys racism. He states "I saw the whole of Baltimore...Of all the things that happened there That's all I remember," showing he had seen it all just in that one incident and was devastated by it.
This poem uses rhyme in the ABCB format, and it allows the poem to flow more. There does not seem to be any HR theme that perfectly fits into this poem but I would say the HR theme is "Determination to fight against opression" because the boy was crushed by the white boys racist slur which probably resulted in him feeling down enough that he would want to do something about it. It's not implied in the poem, but I'm just guessing what may happen after this.
I chose this poem because it is narrated from the view point of a young child which is different from most poems I have read. Even though the poem is about a more serious issue, it's dilluted due to the fact they are children. The white boy sticking his tongue out gives it a lighter feel, but still addresses the story. I also like the rhyme pattern in this, very unique.
Very thorough and thought-provoking analysis. I love this poem; it's heart-breaking yet so poignant. Good job!
ReplyDeleteMy Mother read this me as a child. She was raised in the South and raised her children in the North, but used work like this to help teach us that racism isn't bound by state lines if allowed to thrive in ones hearts.
ReplyDelete