White child meets black man
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She caught me outside a London
suburban shop, I like a giraffe
and she a mouse. I tried to go
but felt she stood
lovely as light on my back
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I turned with hello
and waited. Her eyes got
wider but not her lips.
Hello I smiled again and watched.
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She stepped around me
slowly, in a kind of dance,
her wide eyes searching
inch by inch up and down:
no fur no scales no feathers
no shell. Just a live silhouette,
wild and strange
and compulsive
till mother came horrified
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'Mummy is his tummy black?'
Mother grasped her and swung
toward the crowd. She tangled
mother's legs looking back at me
As I watched them birds were singing.
summary of content
The poet describes an encounter between a black man and a little white girl.
The child has obviously not come across a person of colour before. She is so frightened by his
physical features that she cannot take her eyes off him. The white girl's eyes remain transfixed on the
bkck man while she tries to fathom the nature of his origin. The black man is regarded as some
strange alien creature.Perceiving the bkck man to be a threat and danger to her child, the mother
grabs her away from him - to safety. The black man is left speechless by the response of the white girl
and her mother. We are shocked by the obvious racial barrier that exists between people.
White child meets black man by James Berry
James Berry was born in Jamaica but moved permanently to Great Brittain in 1948. He has
earned the reputation of being one of Brittains leading cultural activists. Before you read the
poem consider the title. It is expressed in general terms. This is not about one incident. It is a
typical situation. Something that happens all the time. In the opening stanza the images
suggest the differences between the little girl and the black man. She is a mouse and to her
he seems like a giraffe. The choice of giraffe emphasises the difference in their size but also
in the way she regards him. He is something unusual in her world. He belongs in another
environment yet they are in a very ordinary place, outside a London suburban shop. A place
familiar to both. The speaker somehow feels captivated by her which is why he does not
move away. He uses a simile to describe this “she stood lovely as light on my back”. The
word “caught” could suggest that she has held his jacket or coat, but it could also mean that
she has caught his eye or his attention and is simply standing there staring at him. The child
stares at him while he waits for her to respond to his greeting, which he repeats. Her silence
keeps us all in suspence. The dance she seems to be doing around him could be interpreted as
a way of avoiding him but it soon becomes obvious that she is having a very good look at
him. It is a systematic scrutiny, inch by inch and up and down. Clearly, she is fascinated. It is
almost as if she is expecting to see characteristics or features that are not entirely human such
as fur, scales, feathers and a shell. She seems to be wondering if he is a human. It now seems
evident that she has not seen a black man before and is subjecting him to a very close
examination with wild speculation about whom or what he is. When her mother interrupts
this we are told she is horrified. Why? Because her child is standing next to a black man? Or
because she is embarrassed as her child is staring rudely at the stranger. The mother’s horror
becomes real embarrassment when the child asks the question “Mommy, is his tummy
black”? The description of the mother’s swift reaction, dashing off into the crowd, is not
about humour as the child seems quite unashamed and keeps staring through her mother’s
tangled legs. The poet’s calm reaction to the child staring, the mother’s horror, and the
question is emphasised in the final lines where he refers to everyday cheerful things in nature
around him. The incident stems from the innocence of a child and has to be seen as the
reaction of a naive girl an an everyday event not something to disturb his enjoyment of life
or to make him bitter. The conversational style and the matter of fact tone also convey the
way in which the speaker dealt with a potentially awkward and insulting situation. His
understanding of why the little girl reacted in the way she did and the fact that he bore no
grudge make a powerful point.
compulsive
adjective
1 doing something a lot and unable to stop doing it:
a compulsive liar/thief/eater
compulsive gambling
a compulsive eating disorder
This seems to be a poem of racism like that in "The Grass Is Singing". Except that it reflects
on how racism really started about. The whole idea of this poem is that parents are the root of
the problem as their beliefs tend to influnece their children in a wrong way. This can be seen
when the "Mother grasped her and swung
toward the crowd." But of course, this child had no idea what was happening. In the
beginning, the black man mentions that he met her outside a suburban shop. The word
"suburban" emphasizes on the fact that black people don't really interact much with the rest
as they are being ostracized by the majority of the whites. He makes their differences known
through phrases like "I like a giraffe
and she a mouse." He tried to leave in fear of any conflict but instead, he felt a sense of
comfort with the young girl as he mentions "I tried to go
but felt she stood
lovely as light on my back." He tried to start a conversation but the girl obviously did not
understand him, so instead she decided to explore her new found friend. In the third stanza,
their "interaction" begins as the young girl pushes herself further to examine him. The words
"live silhouette" suggests how distinctive the black man was to the young girl. Thus, she
remained "compulsive till mother came horrified." At the end of the poem, the racism starts
but the young girl remained curious as ever. The birds singing might also suggest a sign of
peace and happiness. Despite the horrifying reaction of the mother upon sight of the black
man, he still felt a sense of joy in him because he was able to have an encounter with a white
without having to start a conflict and that a white actually acknowledged his presence.
this poem is kind of sad as it speaks about racism.the blacks are always deemed inferior to the
whites in their eyes.perhaps this belief is still instilled in them.
the speaker called the girl a "mouse".from this,i can tell that the girl is a young,innocent kid
who doesnt know much about everything.i think the young girl is surprised to see a black
man around in a suburban shop.perhaps not many blacks go to that particular shop.thats why
she is curious and step around the black man to observe him.but then,when her mum came
back,she was horrified to see her daughter around a black man.this shows how much the
blacks are despised by the whites.
the phrase "the birds are singing" suggests that the black man feels a sense of happiness to
know that the little girl didnt shun away from him.
The POET is presenting a CONTRAST between the characters... (1) the relationship between
the black man and white girl in this chance encounter, and (2) the white girl's childlike
innocence vs her mother's apparent fear and horror of the black race.
This poems also shows how parents can actually affect their children's conception of the
world. As you can see, the white girl was actually quite friendly towards the black in the first
place. But this was not the case when the little girl's mother came along and pulled her little
girl away, disgusted. This action would most likely cause the girl to think that talkin with
blacks is a very shameful thing. Thus, in the future, she would just look down on all the
blacks. And this thing would just go on and on, without stopping.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the incident being referred to in the poem?
2.
2.1
Identify the two figures of speech in: "I like a giraffe and she a mouse".
2.2
Why does the poet choose to use these particular figures of speech in this context ?
Give a reason (s) for your answer.
3. What does the line "lovely as light on my back" tell you about the poet's reaction to this
incident at this point in the poem?
4. Comment on "her" reaction to the man. Provide a quotation from stanza two to support your
answer.
5. What do you understand by the poet telling us that the man had "no fur no scales no feathers...
no shell"?
6. What do the words "mummy" and "tummy" clearly tell us about the onlooker?
7. Why did the mother 'grasp her and swing her toward the crowd'?
8. What do you think the lastt line of the poem tells us about the man's personal response to
this incident?
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1. An encounter between a black man and a little white girl
2.
2.1
"I like a giraffe" - simile
"she a mouse" — metaphor
2.2
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The poet used this particular simile to suggest that the man feels awkward. /
The metaphor suggests how timid the little girl is.
3. He has a warm response at first. The poet feels both delighted at and taken aback by the little
girl's interest in him.
She stares at the man in a dumbfounded and speechless way. "Her eyes got wider but not her lips".
He was not any of the following strange species: (an animal, reptile, a bird). He has no protective
covering and was exposed. He felt naked and vulnerable. The little white girl was looking at him as if
he was some strange species.
She is a child (baby language used).
The mother wanted to get her child away, from the black man as quickly as possible. She perceived him to
be a danger to her daughter.
He distracts himself / is distracted from the situation because it is a psychologically and emotionally
disturbing experience. There is a feeling of alienation on the part of the bkck man.
White child meets black man
Jam
es Berry
This poem describes vividly the racial barriers prevalent among many sections of the
population. Berry is a Jamaican, who encounters a little white girl in central London. She has
obviously never seen a black man before.
Note the conversational tone, with natural speech rhythms. There are many run-on
lines (enjambment) and the punctuation is unconventional.
1.
The title explains what the poem is about. What is this meeting like?
2.
The man feels he is "like a giraffe" (line 2) and "she a mouse" (line 3).
2.1
What figures of speech are these?
2.2
What does each suggest about the person it describes?
3.
Look at the
arrangement of "
...............Her eyes got
wider.......... "
Explain why it is so clever.
4.1 What does the little girl think the man is? Look at stanza 3.
4.2
How do we know that she is a little girl?
5.1 What is the difference between "Mummy" and "Mother" (stanza 4)?
5.2
What is Mother's reaction?
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1.
Why do you think he ends with a comment about birdsong?
Almost confrontational, frightening to little girl; not a friendly meeting. He is
uncomfortable
2.1
Simile / metaphor
2.2
Giraffe - large / tall; mouse - very small / timid
3.
Words spread out over 2 lines - widely - structure and meaning linked
4.1
Some kind of animal (fur, scales, feathers, shell)
4.2
Language usage - "mummy" / "tummy" - childish
5.1
Mother - formal / distant, authoritarian; mummy - colloquial, intimate, childish
5.2
Horrified and takes child away from "danger"
6.
Rest of the world goes on - is he perhaps trying to distance himself from unpleasant
experience / notices that natural patterns continue despite people's behaviour