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Dreaming Black Boy - Literature Notes

Please note that the information given on this poem is not meant to replace any material given in the classroom setting. It is a very BASIC giude to enable a literal understanding of the poem. Metaphorical interpretations should be sought in the classroom. 

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 2.torch throwers of night
would burn lights for decent times.
1.Wish 2.plotters in pyjamas would pray
for themselves. Wish people wouldn't 
talk as if I dropped from Mars  

1.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.

Berry. J 'Dreaming Black Boy' in A World of Poetry. 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 DEVICES 
1. REPETITION: 
The constant repetition of the phrase 'I wish' points to a yearning, a 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 Paul Robeson, a 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 pyjamas alludes to their white outfits that look like pyjamas. 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 / PHRASE
3.'not sink to lick boots' 
This refers to the concept of being subservient.  To have no choice but to kowtow 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 treated and he reacts to this in a sad way. He keeps wishing that things were different.

THEMATIC CATEGORY: 
Racism, survival, oppression, desire/dreams. 


Contributor: Leisa Samuels‐Thomas  

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