Blog #10: Poem #6: Response to _On Being Brought To America_ by Phillis Wheatley

       The next poem I decided to read was On Being Brought To America by Phillis Wheatley. I had chosen it partly because it was one of the shorter poems to read, but as I discussed previously, the shorter poems are more difficult to decipher sometimes. Originally after reading the title, I predicted obviously that it was going to discuss about people who journeyed to America, but after reading I honed in on the word "Brought" within the title. After analyzing this poem, I think the word "Brought" is used to distinguish the fact that Americans are trying to take control and "fix" the people in this world who specifically in this poem's case, are not Christian. It was interesting to break down shifts in dialect between the beginning, middle, and end of the poem. It seemed that in the beginning, the same dialect was used that may represent a "lower class" was of speaking using words such  as "'Twas" and "refin'd". While interpreting this poem, I came to an understanding that afraid or "Pagan" people to be more specific, immigrated to America whereupon the Americans try to teach and enforce in them Christian values like the fact "That there's a God". I could tell the voice of the speaker was starting to appreciate these teachings less and less and became more weary and creeped out by these ideals especially emphasized in the alliteration, "Their colour is a diabolic die". In this line, the speaker is referring to the "scornful eye" that criticizes the Pagan culture. By deeming the eye that represents the Americans, the become painted as evil and ill-willed towards the Pagans because they are trying to bend them to their Christian wills. Although in some aspects in the poem, the speaker learns their values and even shifts to a "higher class" dialect of English using words spelled so properly like "colour" and "redemption", the speaker ultimately takes control of his or her own personal cultural identification. It is ironic when the speaker shifted back to their original dialect that he or she said "refin'd" instead of refined due to the fact that to be refined, is to be extremely proper and by misspelling the word, the speaker has purposefully sent a message that his or her culture will not be ignored or deleted just because he or she moved to America. America advertises that we are a "salad bowl' of cultures, but do we really hold true to that fact? Hmmm....

'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,

Taught my benighted soul to understand

That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:

Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.

Some view our sable race with scornful eye,

"Their colour is a diabolic die."

Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,

May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.