Scarrone 1 Mary Scarrone Literary Analysis (ENG 220) Dr. Ann Fox Poem Explication Paper February 17, 2016 "On my honor I have neither given nor received unauthorized information regarding this work, I have followed and will continue to observe all regulations regarding it, and I am unaware of any violation of the Honor Code by others." – Mary Scarrone Scarrone 2 Pancakes, Cream of Wheat, and Some Rice Within Clifton’s Poetry The poem “Cream of Wheat” by Lucille Clifton takes place in a supermarket. In this supermarket, the African American characters on the boxes of Uncle Ben’s Rice, Aunt Jemima’s Pancakes, and the nameless man on the Cream of Wheat box “stroll the market aisles” at night (Clifton ln. 2). Around dawn, the characters are forced to return to their boxes and shelves. We often view these images on food products as the harmless symbols of household favorites that have been around for decades. However, a close analysis of Clifton’s poem and her representation of the bodies as food products reveal the consumption of the imprisoned and “personless” black body (Clifton ln. 8). The depiction of these black bodies as food products seems to say something about how black bodies have been consumed throughout history. Clifton implies that this body has been imprisoned within their stereotype of the servile, cheerful African American and society and capitalism have exploited this body to earn a profit. The speaker of the poem, the African American man featured on the Cream of Wheat boxes recounts stories of these characters escaping their boxes at night to stroll the aisles. Clifton implies with this personification that the three are trapped within their boxes and are only permitted freedom in the dark of night. This entrapment within the boxes alludes to jail cells and the black body’s imprisonment Scarrone 3 within their stereotype. Similarly to the years of slavery, this black body was only freed to do their personal activities late at night after being consumed and exploited by white capitalism all day. The Cream of Wheat man walks behind Ben and Jemima “trying to remove” his chef’s cap to free himself of his stereotype (Clifton ln. 6). “i” suggests that he was created to be this symbol of Cream of Wheat, but her personification of the characters makes it clear to the audience that they are unhappy within their roles. Once they returned to their respective boxes, the characters were expected to “pose and smile” and were forced to appear happy (Clifton ln. 16). Although these images have adapted over the years they originally were distorted images of the black body. Aunt Jemima was first depicted as the racist “mammy” while Uncle Ben and the Cream of Wheat man were modeled after the servile, cheerful black man stereotype. The imprisonment of the black body within these roles facilitates its consumption by white America. Clifton leaves the man on the Cream of Wheat box nameless to suggest that the black body is “personless”. The nameless man is the speaker of the poem instead of Ben or Jemima to portray this idea (Clifton ln. 8). Clifton utilizes the technique of distinguishing between the use of “we” and “i” to present the black body as inhuman. Ben and Jemima both have names and are referred to as such by Clifton. She makes “i” the speaker and uses “we” when the “i” talks about Ben, Jemima, and he. Clifton leaves “i” uncapitalized to highlight the idea that the black body on the Cream of Wheat box is not even significant enough to warrant a proper noun. Similarly, “i” “lags behind” Ben and Jemima as they “walk in front Scarrone 4 remembering this and that”. This imagery of the “personless” Cream of Wheat man falling behind Ben and Jemima underscores the insecurities and feelings of worthlessness put upon the black body. “i” yearns to know what his name is, “wondering about what ever pictured me then left me “personless” he says. “i” wonders what kind of human could birth him and then leave him as nothing. Clifton suggests that the “what ever pictured me” that “i” speculates about is white capitalism. The only “name” that “i” ever has is “Rastus” (Clifton ln. 9). The term “rastus” is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States and is considered highly offensive. Unlike “i”, the name “Rastus” is capitalized. Clifton includes this racist term to imply that “rastus” was considered more representative of the African American Cream of Wheat man than a real name or the pronoun “i” would be. The Cream of Wheat man is puzzled by his “name”. When he says “but no mother ever gave that to her son”, “i” knows that Rastus would be a strange name to have. Clifton utilizes irony to convey that no mother would name her son “rastus” because a mother was expected to love her son (Clifton ln. 12). “i” read the word “rastus” to describe him in an old newspaper and wonders if this is his given name. “i” “simmers what is my name” as he grows more and more angered at his Cream of Wheat’s and his body’s consumption by white society. Clifton’s distinction between “i” and “we”, capitalization decisions, lack of name for “i”, and use of the word “Rastus” exemplify how blacks are sometimes viewed as “personless” by society and the subsequent consumption of the black body. Scarrone 5 Lucille Clifton highlights the entrapment of African Americans within the constraints of their race and their “personlessness” to highlight the consumption of the black body by white society. The images of the “mammy” and the “happy-­‐go-­‐
lucky yet servile” black man are no longer portrayed on the boxes of these products. However, the survival of the black identities on the boxes represents the stereotype of the jolly yet servile black body content with remaining subordinate to white Americans. Clifton uses the lives of these characters to symbolize the relationship between the consumption of these food products and the consumption of the black body. Clifton’s work really calls to attention the racisms of our current society that go unnoticed on a daily basis. How often do we buy Aunt Jemima’s Pancakes and think nothing of the oppressive nature of the original image of Aunt Jemima as a “mammy” and not even register that this product continues to capitalize on the black body in order to generate a profit? Clifton exposes the inherent racism in these food products and forces the audience to question where else in society this racism is present. WC: 994 Scarrone 6 Works Cited Clifton, Lucille. “Cream of Wheat.” Voices. New York: BOA Editions, 2008. Rpt. in The Norton
Introduction to Literature. Ed’. Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. Print.