Daneza John

English B
Once upon a time

Have you ever been woken up from your sleep and being pissed about it because
there was an imaginary series of events in your mind? That right there is what you
can call a dream or it could mean something that you want happen. There is a big
difference between dreams and desires, a desires is a strong feeling of wanting to
have something or wishing for something to happen now or to the near future.

In this poem, once upon a time, dreams and desires are very present, a man (presumably a father)
addresses his son, telling him in a rather wistful manner about how things used to be. Back then,
people weren't after your money, they could look you in the eye and smile genuine smiles. But
nowadays, the smiles are all fake and they'll shake your hand while all they care about is your
financial status. The writer stated in stanza 6 “but believe me son I want to be what I used to be, I
want to unlearn all these things” emphasizing with regret, the writer wants(desire) to go back to
his old innocent ways, where he felt life was very simple and his emotions were honest. It also
describes his hope and desire to unlearn all the bad habits he has picked up over the years. Now
in the poem ‘Dreaming Black boy’ the persona also has desires and dreams. The poet dreams
about not being discriminated because he is black. He wished that his teacher’s eyes wouldn’t go
pass him because of his black melanin skin. He dreams of being wanted by his peers and to be
congratulated for his achievements when he does something good but, the teacher doesn’t
acknowledge him. "I wish I could go on every crisscross way of the globe and no persons or
powers or hotel keepers would make it a waste." He wishes to travel the globe without the
restraints of discrimination. He longs for unrestricted access to places where people and
institutions and do not be discriminated against him because his colour of his skin.

In the poet has many literary devices in this poem such as “a fixed portrait smile” (metaphor)
creates an image of a forced smile, therefore expressing emptiness or lack of warmth. The
society has influenced to ‘fix’ the expected expressions on his face. As it is a portrait, it cannot
be changed so even if the person feels other emotions, they still would have the plastered smile
on their face. However, In the poem ‘Dreaming Black Boy’, one device used to portray the
speaker’s deams and desires is repetition of the phrase ‘I Wish’. This shows how desperate the
persona wanted to be accepted for the basic things in life such as being accepted by his peers and
teachers, even to be congratulated by them. The repetition gives the idea that the persona might
believe that his wishes are actually dreams that might not come true because of the way everyone
treats him in relation to his skin color. This also shows how tired the persona are.

To conclude, u