Adhari1

Adhari
130216097
ING 3102 Introduction to Literary Theory 1

Deconstructive Reading of “The Little Black Boy”

My motherbore me in thesouthernwild,
And I am black, but O, mysoul is white!
White as an angel is the English child,
But I am black, as ifbereaved of light.
 
My mothertaught me underneath a tree,
And, sittingdownbeforetheheat of day,
Shetook me on her lap andkissèd me,
And, pointingtothe East, beganto say:
 
'Look at therising sun: thereGoddoeslive,
Andgives His light, andgives His heataway,
Andflowersandtreesandbeastsand men receive
Comfort in morning, joy in thenoonday.
 
'Andweare put on earth a littlespace,
Thatwemaylearntobearthebeams of love;
Andtheseblackbodiesandthissunburntface
Are but a cloud, andlike a shadygrove.
 
'Forwhenoursoulshavelearn'dtheheattobear,
Thecloudwillvanish, weshallhear His voice,
Saying, "Comeoutfromthegrove, myloveandcare,
Androundmy golden tentlikelambsrejoice."'
 
Thusdidmymother say, andkissèd me,
Andthus I say tolittle English boy.
When I fromblackand he fromwhitecloudfree,
Androundthetent of Godlikelambswejoy,
 
I'llshadehimfromtheheattill he can bear
Tolean in joyuponourFather'sknee;
AndthenI'llstandandstroke his silverhair,
And be likehim, and he willthenlove me.

Blake's "The Little Black Boy" is a poem about a little boy who has just received an important
lesson about life from his lovely mother. His mother tells the little boy that world is just a temporary thing
deliberately created by God to test human's faith "And we are put on earth a little space / that we may
learn to bear the beam of love". Once human beings pass the test "For when our souls have learnt the
heat to bear," continues the mother, God will gather them in His "… golden tent like lambs rejoice."
 Adhari2

Golden tent here is probably metaphor for heaven. To be a good child the little black boy was, he then
spread this seemingly wise message to his surrounding namely to the little English white boy.
 
Those are the first impression one might get once he or she read Blake's "The Little Black Boy."
But since I intend to analyze this poem through poststructuralist lens or the applied form of
poststructuralism: Derrida’s deconstruction, it has to be different. What poststructuralist critics do to the
texts is: 1. they list the binary opposition and contradict its conventional purpose; 2. they try to look
deeper at the metaphor used in poem and reveal its intended and unintended meaning; 3. they try to find
ambiguous passage. By taking these three steps as guide I will try to do the deconstructive reading of
"The Little Black Boy."
 
As I said in the first paragraph that at first glance this poem might sound like a religious poem,
but when we look deeper we will find another shocking discovery to the extent that this poem might also
sound like it produces a racist connotation. It can be understood through the binaries presented in the
poem such as white/black, light/shade, English (Europe)/ the southern wild (Africa). Throughout the
poem we can get the implication that white/light/English are being privileged "White as angel is the
English Child" over black/shade/Africa "But I am black as if the bereav'd of light". Contrary to its
predecessors, structuralists, who believe that text should be analyzed in isolation, poststructuralist believe
that reality itself is text. Thus we can connect the mentality being implied in this poem to the idea of
colonization conducted by European empires to their colonies. One of the justifications often used by the
colonizers to rule foreign countries is because of the thought that they are the only people who could
bring civilization to those country.
 
 
"And these black bodies and this sun-burnt face/
Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove
 
The cloud will vanish we shall hear his voice"
 
The attempt to make white/light/English as the privilege ones continue throughout the poem such
as in the lines above when it seems to say that once people die and go to heaven, they all are going to
have white skin ". Thus it implies that white is the color of heaven. Cloud is used to create an image of
how having black skin and sun-burnt face are just temporary thing, just like the cloud that comes and
disappears anytime.
 
As for the mother who at first glance seems to look like a good, loving and caring mother, when
looked through poststructuralist lens can be the opposite. Earlier I try to prove that this poem is so far
away from delivering religious message. Therefore by being consistent to that note, I would also like it to
be applied to mother. Consequently, instead of giving religious message, the mother does the opposite.
She, through her seemingly religious lesson, makes the son adore the color of white instead of the color
that he is more related to. In addition, this message also has made the son unappreciative toward the
physical appearance God has given him. Hence it answers the reason why the little black boy shares the
massage to the English boy, because he is desperate to be liked. So the little boy is under the impression
that if he can convince the white boy that in the heaven they are all gonna be the same "And be like him"
he will treat him better "..and he will then love me."
 
But then again we have to also consider the reason how could the mother have that thoughts?
Perhaps, since religion is sometime brought to one country by the colonizers, perhaps that message the
mother have is taught to her by the priest who has been professionally trained by the colonizers to
brainwash them. The message is perhaps part of propaganda deliberately shared to the people so that the
colonized society would think of its colonizers in a positive way.
 Adhari3

 
In conclusion, Blake's "The Little Black Boy," is a very intense poem that is open to many interpretation
depending on which lens one prefers to use while looking at it. As for me, I think poststructuralism or
Derrida's deconstruction is the perfect lens to put on my eyes in order to see the very things this poem
offer. It can be looked up by examining the binaries, the metaphors, and the ambiguous words.

Works Cited

Barry, Peter.Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester

University Press, 1995, 2002. Print

Blake, William. Songs of Innocence – The Little Black Boy.