Blog Entry #4

Dioranys                                                                                 Acevedo

Dr. C. Jason Smith

English 102

September 25, 2013

The Rich, The Poor

               Countee Cullen was born on May 30th 1903 and died on January 9th, 1946. It has been difficult to place where exactly Cullen was born. However, according to some scholars his birthplaces have been given as New York City or Baltimore. (Gerald Early) He began writing poetry at the age of fourteen and won several poetry competitions in high school. (Poetry.org) He was known as one the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Due to his poetry publications in 1927, “Copper Sun” and “The Ballad of the Brown Girl,” he was known as a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. He was also a noted novelist, playwright and children’s author. He wrote the poem “Saturday’s Child” in the early 1900s. (Gerald Early)

         All the symbols in “Saturday’s Child” point out the hardship of poverty in comparison to the lives of wealthy children. The poem begins alluring you with the famous saying that does born with a silver spoon, symbolizing that some children are born with the fortune of being wealthy. While other children didn’t even have the fortune to be given expensive toys either.  (1-2) The speaker had to be strong in order to survive and over come obstacles that poverty brought upon, just like a raccoon that can gnaw through wood. (3-4) Some children were born with rich clothes made out of silk where as the speaker was wrapped in to rag cloth because he was so poor. (5-8) He feels as if he was welcomed into a world of poverty and pain. As though, poverty and pain “Godfathered” or parented him for the rest of his life. (9-12) The speaker’s father feels as though it was a bad time to have a child because of the lack of finances they attributed. Therefore, the speaker feels some kind of resentment towards his father, for having such a thought of regret. (13-16) The speaker senses as if his only reward in life was his survival. Where as, death could’ve been the one bringing him to life rather than an actual doctor. (17-20)

         “Saturday’s Child” is a comparison between the life a child born into wealthiness and poverty. The title is unclear as whether what the poem is about and doesn’t really tell you anything. Many assumptions can be made from the title. For example, off the title I can assume that this poem can be about a child who loves Saturdays or about a child born on Saturday. However, the speaker of this poem makes it obvious about the resentment towards the wealthy children because he was born with too little. Referring back to the period of Cullen’s life and him being a big contributor to the Harlem Renaissance, he could have also been comparing the life of white children as wealthy and African American children’s lives in poverty. (Mattice-p3)

         The speaker’s self-loathing tone is due to the obstacles he has compared to the easy living, rich life of another child. The poem begins with a wealthy child being “teethed” into a silver spoon, while the speaker cuts his “teeth” like a black raccoon. (1, 3) Teeth are used in both of these lines in very different forms. Teeth are hard bone like structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attach and defense. In line 1, the speaker refers to this wealthy child biting into richness. However, in line 3, he refers as teeth used for attack and defending his survival as a poor child just like a black raccoon would to get through wood. He states some things wealthy children had as opposed to him self. For example, “stars strung for rattle” and “silk and down,” which both represent money and expensive things, like toys and clothes. On the other hand he would have things like a rag cloth to bare his back on a cold night. (2, 8-10) The speaker speaks about poverty and pain, which both go hand in hand when described as a symptom of hurt possibly due to the state of having little or none to feed him self at times. Death is the end of life permanently. (17) Death perhaps is what the speaker implied as it being supposed to happen. However, his only fortune in this life of poverty was life. Being able to live, although in poverty, was something that he also had as well as the fortunate children.

         The speaker in “Saturday’s Child” begins and ends in the same way. All the comparisons between the rich and poor give off a pessimistic approach towards his poor life. His bitterness tone is hard to miss when he alludes to the expression that some are born with a silver spoon, whereas he wasn’t, being that he didn’t have anything. (1) He didn’t have the expensive toys or the luxurious clothes. The speaker’s envious state of mind towards the rich, made him resent his unfortunate upbringing and the struggles he had to face due to his life of poverty.

(Word Count 831 without header and Works Cited)

Works Cited

"Countee Cullen." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

Early, Gerald. "About Countee Cullen's Life and Career." Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

"mattice-p3 - Countee Cullen." mattice-p3 - home. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

"Countee Cullen Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com." BIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

Cullen, Countee. Saturday's Child by Countee Cullen: The Poetry Foundation.' Poetry Foundation. N.p. n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171340.