# The Ordeal explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Georgia Douglas Johnson.

## What happens

The speaker addresses a brother, asking not to be scorned for the heavy burden of living as a Black person. Despite the weight that bends them, they maintain a smile, refuse to cry or hate, and bear their handicap intrepidly, seeking only their own destiny.

## Themes in this chapter

### Racial Identity and Oppression

The speaker explicitly frames their ordeal as 'this living of being black,' highlighting the racial burden.

### Suffering and Resilience

The speaker bears a heavy load without crying or hating, showing resilience in the face of suffering.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who endures the ordeal of being Black with resilience and dignity.

### Life

The burden of living as a Black person, personified as a heavy load.

## Key lines

> Ho: my brother, Pass me not by so scornfully I’m doing this living of being black, Perhaps I bear your own life-pack, And heavy, heavy is the load That bends my body to the road.

Brother, don't dismiss me with contempt; I am living as a Black person, possibly carrying the same burden you do, a weight so heavy it bends me toward the ground.

_The speaker appeals for empathy, suggesting shared experience of racial oppression._

> But I have kept a smile for fate, I neither cry, nor cringe, nor hate, Intrepidly, I strive to bear This handicap: The planets wear The Maker’s imprint, and with mine I swing into their rhythmic line; I ask⁠—only for destiny, Mine, not thine.

Yet I face fate with a smile, without tears, fear, or hatred, bravely enduring this handicap. Like the planets bearing the Creator's mark, I align with the cosmic order, asking only for my own destiny, not yours.

_The speaker asserts dignity and autonomy, refusing to hate and claiming their place in the universe._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_9_se/chapters/the-ordeal
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_9_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_9_se/chapters