Passive
Resistance through “The Whipping” by Robert Hayden
Going off of the title alone, a reader might expect some form of abuse. Whipping does not usually refer to a positive outcome unless it is in reference to whipping cream. Most people think of a time in their childhood when they deserved (or maybe did not deserve) a “whipping”. Usually that word alone can bring fear into somebody’s life, or send them to a memory that caused them to be fearful, frightened, scared, intimidated and even belittled. Robert Hayden paints a great illustration of a silent protest of the Civil Rights Movement through passive resistance in his poem “The Whipping”.
The poem’s speaker is a neighbor to the young boy being whipped, and the old woman is the one who is doing the whipping. “…hateful words could bring, the face that I no longer knew or loved” (Hayden 1,092) shows the reader’s that the speaker knows these two people fairly well and his perception of the old woman has completely changed. He feels as if the old woman should have an understanding of what the young boy is going through, but seems to not show any remorse during her beatings.
“She strikes and strikes the shrilly circling boy till the stick breaks in her hand. His tears are rainy weather to woundlike memories” (Hayden 1,092). As the boy tries to get free and is screaming, it seems to push her more, pushing so hard that the stick breaks in her hand. As the boy continues to cry, he cries out in his darkest storm. In that moment the speaker goes back to his own place of turmoil and pain, remembering all the storms in his past; storms of pain, angst, anguish and fear. The boy and the speaker, both, can feel hope slipping away.
The speaker’s hope begins to slip away, and he begins to seem defeated when he does something rather symbolic. “My head gripped in a bony vise” (Hayden 1,092). The speaker is holding on, squeezing his bony knees in his grasp, observing the sadness around him. The speaker’s bony vise represents how he is hoping that clenching his fists and body close will somehow take some pain away from the current situation. It not only represents the speaker’s fear of what is happening, but also his compassion and mercy for the old woman. He seems to have a Ghandi-like presence of non-violence and peace. Even through the young boy’s beating, he does not seem to want to retaliate. Before the time of the Civil Rights Movement, it was best to just keep quiet and take the beating with submission. The young boy understood the more he cooperated, the sooner the beating would be over.
This poem takes place in what sounds like a small neighborhood close to the time of the Civil Rights Movement. According to an article in the Oxford University Press passive resistance “operates through several mechanisms of change... and can involve pressure and coercion” (Oxford University Press). Pressure got to the older woman, causing her to do the exact same thing to the young boy, that she had had done to her. The speaker is a neighbor, across the street, to the two characters. The old woman is beating the young boy outside. It seems as if they start out partially outside, but then the young boy ends up lying in a bed of plants outdoors.
Abuse is portrayed in this poem. Through the young boy’s abuse and pain, the neighbor (speaker) travels through his own memories of his stormy abuse tornado that he can’t seem to hide from. The speaker just sits and passively observes this horrid situation occurring across the street reflecting on all of the times that he had to be passively resistant through a beating. It is as if the speaker is wondering if the beatings that people of his ethnicity are going through will ever end. The old woman also seems to go through a whirlwind of emotions through what happens. She seems to realize at the end how she has been through hard times as well, but that it should not excuse what she did to the young boy. She has probably gone through the same “whippings” as the young boy and yet she has seemed to have snapped and begun to be on the other side of the whippings. She seems to be going through her own issues, but can’t be passive any longer. Although, this still does not make her feel good, but she seems to be tired of being so passive about this issue. The non-violent/Ghandi approach of passive or civil resistance has left her thought process during this time.
This poem matters because it shows that those who have been abused should never give up hope. People may beat others down physically, but never let somebody take the power of hope, thoughts, and dreams. Memories will always be there, unfortunately negative storm-like memories as well, but no one should be able to remove one’s mind. The abused may have to deal with the physical and emotional anguish that have been thrust upon them, but the abuser has to deal with that decision and situation for the rest of their lives as well. That is what the old woman goes through at the end of the poem. She seems to realize what she has just done, and has come to understand that it really does not feel better being on the side of the one performing the whipping.
The stanzas in this poem compose a narrative poem that really makes the reader think about what is going on in this poem. Some things to consider in this poem are how do the old woman and the young boy relate to one another? What is their relationship? Why is the young boy being whipped? Many questions go through the readers thought process.
In conclusion, the reasoning for the whipping is unknown. Did the young boy do something to deserve the whipping? The 3rd and 4th lines refer that she was “shouting to the neighborhood her goodness and his wrongs” (Hayden 1,092). What could he have possibly done so wrongly to deserve such a brutal beating? The old woman had to have some reason behind her actions. Is the young boy completely innocent? These are many of the questions that cross the reader’s mind when reading this twisted poem. The woman is clearly working out her own issues, and seems to take out her frustrations on the young boy. The reader can see the silent resistance and strength that the young boy conveys in this poem. His passive resistance may come across as weakness to some, but it represents hope and courage to those who have been in his same situation.
Works Cited
Hayden, Robert. “The Whipping.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th Edition. 2013. 1,092.
Oxford University Press. “Civil Resistance and Power Politics-The experience of Non-Violent Action from Ghandi to the Present.” 2009.
Going off of the title alone, a reader might expect some form of abuse. Whipping does not usually refer to a positive outcome unless it is in reference to whipping cream. Most people think of a time in their childhood when they deserved (or maybe did not deserve) a “whipping”. Usually that word alone can bring fear into somebody’s life, or send them to a memory that caused them to be fearful, frightened, scared, intimidated and even belittled. Robert Hayden paints a great illustration of a silent protest of the Civil Rights Movement through passive resistance in his poem “The Whipping”.
The poem’s speaker is a neighbor to the young boy being whipped, and the old woman is the one who is doing the whipping. “…hateful words could bring, the face that I no longer knew or loved” (Hayden 1,092) shows the reader’s that the speaker knows these two people fairly well and his perception of the old woman has completely changed. He feels as if the old woman should have an understanding of what the young boy is going through, but seems to not show any remorse during her beatings.
“She strikes and strikes the shrilly circling boy till the stick breaks in her hand. His tears are rainy weather to woundlike memories” (Hayden 1,092). As the boy tries to get free and is screaming, it seems to push her more, pushing so hard that the stick breaks in her hand. As the boy continues to cry, he cries out in his darkest storm. In that moment the speaker goes back to his own place of turmoil and pain, remembering all the storms in his past; storms of pain, angst, anguish and fear. The boy and the speaker, both, can feel hope slipping away.
The speaker’s hope begins to slip away, and he begins to seem defeated when he does something rather symbolic. “My head gripped in a bony vise” (Hayden 1,092). The speaker is holding on, squeezing his bony knees in his grasp, observing the sadness around him. The speaker’s bony vise represents how he is hoping that clenching his fists and body close will somehow take some pain away from the current situation. It not only represents the speaker’s fear of what is happening, but also his compassion and mercy for the old woman. He seems to have a Ghandi-like presence of non-violence and peace. Even through the young boy’s beating, he does not seem to want to retaliate. Before the time of the Civil Rights Movement, it was best to just keep quiet and take the beating with submission. The young boy understood the more he cooperated, the sooner the beating would be over.
This poem takes place in what sounds like a small neighborhood close to the time of the Civil Rights Movement. According to an article in the Oxford University Press passive resistance “operates through several mechanisms of change... and can involve pressure and coercion” (Oxford University Press). Pressure got to the older woman, causing her to do the exact same thing to the young boy, that she had had done to her. The speaker is a neighbor, across the street, to the two characters. The old woman is beating the young boy outside. It seems as if they start out partially outside, but then the young boy ends up lying in a bed of plants outdoors.
Abuse is portrayed in this poem. Through the young boy’s abuse and pain, the neighbor (speaker) travels through his own memories of his stormy abuse tornado that he can’t seem to hide from. The speaker just sits and passively observes this horrid situation occurring across the street reflecting on all of the times that he had to be passively resistant through a beating. It is as if the speaker is wondering if the beatings that people of his ethnicity are going through will ever end. The old woman also seems to go through a whirlwind of emotions through what happens. She seems to realize at the end how she has been through hard times as well, but that it should not excuse what she did to the young boy. She has probably gone through the same “whippings” as the young boy and yet she has seemed to have snapped and begun to be on the other side of the whippings. She seems to be going through her own issues, but can’t be passive any longer. Although, this still does not make her feel good, but she seems to be tired of being so passive about this issue. The non-violent/Ghandi approach of passive or civil resistance has left her thought process during this time.
This poem matters because it shows that those who have been abused should never give up hope. People may beat others down physically, but never let somebody take the power of hope, thoughts, and dreams. Memories will always be there, unfortunately negative storm-like memories as well, but no one should be able to remove one’s mind. The abused may have to deal with the physical and emotional anguish that have been thrust upon them, but the abuser has to deal with that decision and situation for the rest of their lives as well. That is what the old woman goes through at the end of the poem. She seems to realize what she has just done, and has come to understand that it really does not feel better being on the side of the one performing the whipping.
The stanzas in this poem compose a narrative poem that really makes the reader think about what is going on in this poem. Some things to consider in this poem are how do the old woman and the young boy relate to one another? What is their relationship? Why is the young boy being whipped? Many questions go through the readers thought process.
In conclusion, the reasoning for the whipping is unknown. Did the young boy do something to deserve the whipping? The 3rd and 4th lines refer that she was “shouting to the neighborhood her goodness and his wrongs” (Hayden 1,092). What could he have possibly done so wrongly to deserve such a brutal beating? The old woman had to have some reason behind her actions. Is the young boy completely innocent? These are many of the questions that cross the reader’s mind when reading this twisted poem. The woman is clearly working out her own issues, and seems to take out her frustrations on the young boy. The reader can see the silent resistance and strength that the young boy conveys in this poem. His passive resistance may come across as weakness to some, but it represents hope and courage to those who have been in his same situation.
Works Cited
Hayden, Robert. “The Whipping.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th Edition. 2013. 1,092.
Oxford University Press. “Civil Resistance and Power Politics-The experience of Non-Violent Action from Ghandi to the Present.” 2009.