Annotation: Blackberries By Yusef Komunyakaa Essay Samples

Innocence reeked from the first stanzas of Blackberries, a poem written by Yusef Komunyakaa. The central character, a young boy picking blackberries, seem to be enjoying life in its purity. Filled with self-content, the young boy seemed to be enjoying eating some of the blackberries he has picked while placing most of them inside a “half-gallon” container, presumably a jar or basket. Basking in the senses of the grove where the blackberries grew, the young boy is accompanied with his dog named Spot, which was busy chasing certain birds, specifically “blue jays and thrashers.” Yet, as Blackberries reach the third stanza, it is apparent that the theme has started to get darker. Calling the blackberries a “mythology,” the young boy spoke as if he has never eaten blackberry pies and cobbler, both of which are typically made in bakeshops or kitchens of well-to-do families. From here, it is possible to identify the young boy as a poor fellow who makes a living out of selling berries, indicated by how he clutched a “gleaming can” with at least a dollar inside. Towards the end, the young boy sees seeing an air-conditioned car with two children, which he presumed to be the same age as his, looking at him in contempt as he sells his berries. Given the background of Komunyakaa, who wrote much about life prior to the Civil Rights Movement, it is possible that the young boy, portrayed in an unfortunate manner, is an African-American living a disadvantaged life selling berries, compared to the convenience experienced by the two children with the same age as his, presumably white, inside the air-conditioned car. From youthfulness to gradual misery, the diction of Blackberries somewhat depicts how African-American children prior to the Civil Rights Movement have lost their innocence at an early age, given the misfortune attached to their identities as part of a heavily-marginalized group.