Poetry · Chapter
Question explained
A brief, provocative poem that questions the value of human bodies in death, contrasting a white multimillionaire with a Black cotton-picker to challenge societal hierarchies and the worth assigned to different lives.
What happens
A brief, provocative poem that questions the value of human bodies in death, contrasting a white multimillionaire with a Black cotton-picker to challenge societal hierarchies and the worth assigned to different lives.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional peak occurs in the final line, "Tell them to leave you alone!..."—a raw, defiant outburst that s…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Death and Mortality
Death is personified as a collector, prompting reflection on the ultimate equality or inequality of human worth in the afterlife.
- Racial Identity and Oppression
The poem starkly contrasts the perceived value of a white multimillionaire versus a Black cotton-picker, exposing racial hierarchies that persist even in death.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“When the old junk man Death Comes to gather up our bodies And toss them into the sack of oblivion, I wonder if he will find The corpse of a white multimillionaire Worth more pennies of eternity, Than the black torso of A Negro cotton-picker?”
When Death, like a junk collector, takes our bodies and discards them into nothingness, I question whether the body of a wealthy white man is valued more in eternity than that of a poor Black cotton-picker.
The paraphrase captures the poem's central inquiry into the unequal valuation of human lives based on race and class, even in death.
