Robert Blake Analysis

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Joshua S. Yarbrough Blakes poem, the little black boy, is a representation of the burgeoning movement towards abolitionism and a push to end racial discrimination and segregation that had permeated the united states since the nations founding and colonization. Blake uses several key phrases to insinuate impending change not only for the literal black boy, but segregation and the nations views on race. At first glance, Blake's, "The Little Black Boy," ends on a note of subjugation. The speaker holds fast to a desire of acceptance by the white English child. While this desire remains in place, closer examination reveals a subtle position of modest authority as opposed to a submissive stance. The speaker no doubt longs for validation from the white opposition to his blackness. The exclamation "but O! my soul is white," (2) indicates a despair and genuine longing to be recognized and understood. Enough so that he colorizes his spirit in a desperate attempt to convince himself it is necessary to be something other to receive his desire. Another seemingly dire example of this primary idea is the final line, "And be like him and he will then love me." (28) This child searches out the love of the white boy so much as to acknowledge the necessity to assimilate. Thus, the "sunburnt face" that the little boy has due to his skin color is no worse than the white children, for the skin is simply an outer shell that protects the true "whiteness" (innocence) of souls until God judges them worthy. Moreover, the fact that the mother calls the little black boy's face "sunburnt" due to his complexion actually displays his early signs of devotion. In other words, because his face is already sunburnt as his young age, he has clearly absorbed the "heat" (literally) of God, and thus he is on a great road to redemption. The last two stanzas detail how the little black boy
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