Intense Themes in

            "Wop, nigger, jew- "numerous races exist in the world that create vast diversity among people and offers them the choice to be accepting and open. The poem, "Blues-, by Derek Walcott illustrates the close-mindedness of people: they cannot accept others unlike themselves. Through the poet's inventive and monosyllabic word choice, the poem's intense themes regarding the appalling truths of racism, the struggle of inner peace, and the innocence of youth emerge. .
             Because racists deny complete humanity to others, because they fail the humanity in themselves, racism degrades both the hated and the hater. In "Blues-, the poet frequently uses words dealing with colors in an attempt to help the reader understand the extreme inner conflicts of ignorance and insecurity involved in racial conflicts. Because colors represent universal symbols, many color-related words "dark, yellow, nigger "stress main themes, so the poet can easily convey them to the reader. As the narrator walks home, he observes that he looks "not to bright for a nigger, and not to dark-; this quote illustrates the inferiority of "niggers- and clarifies that discrimination concentrates on the race and appearance of people, and disregards their personality. In the poem the closest we come to knowing the race of the individual occurs when he labels himself as a "yellow nigger-. By calling himself this, he suggests that he posses many races "African, American, Caribbean. The intense conflict of racism in this poem reveals a startling truth about humanity: we see things not as they are, but as we are. .
             Acceptance of others, their appearance, their beliefs, and their behaviors, bestows upon a person inner tranquility. The narrator's "olive-green, just-bought sports coat-, which he cherishes so much that he "[hangs] on a fire plug- preceding the fight, to keep it out of harm symbolizes his inner peace.