Prayer of a Black Boy. (Short Summary)

Poem 'Prayer of a Black Boy' shows the ugly face of racial discrimination. Speaker is an innocent negro boy studying in a school run and dominated by white people. He is unhappy with the school environment. He doesn't want to go to that school where he feels alienated. So, He seeks the help from God.

The first line of the poem "Lord, I'm so tired. Tired I entered this world." reveals the depth of agony of the boy. He is still very young and has no experience of this world. Yet, he is fed up of his present life. This shows how deep is the impact of racial discrimination on the boy. Normally we say 'our school' to the school where we study. But here, the boy says their school. It means he doesn't belong to that school. A sense of alienation is seen here. The phrase 'road to the school is steep' shows that the boy goes to the school with heavy heart. He chooses to live the life of his father in the village and he enjoys walking on hot path barefooted. He wants to sleep under the mango tree till the evening when the siren of a sugar factory blows and scores of workers come out of it. Here,the boy is happy to enjoy his freedom.

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The little boy understands the importance of education which turns a man into a gentleman. But discrimination in the school makes him choose life of a labourer in a village. He wants to listen to the whisper of the moon, stories of Samba and Master Hare from the old man. The stories given in the school textbook do not appeal to him as they depict Western culture. The boy calls his school a sad place and compares it with City people who lead a mechanical, boring and sad life. They don't know the enjoyment of dancing freely under the open sky in the moonlight. They have no experience of walking barefooted. They don't know the stories of their ancestors.

Milan Tomic

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