The+Creation

Brenda

Excerpt from [|"The Creation"] by [|James Weldon Johnson]

Up from the bed of the river God scooped the clay; And by the [|bank of the river] He kneeled Him down; And there the great God Almighty Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky, Who flung the stars to the to the most far corner of the night, Who rounded the earth in the middle of His hand; This Great God, Like a mammy bending over her baby, Kneeled down in the dust [|Toiling] over a lump of clay Till He shaped it in His own image;

God's Beautiful Creation


The Creation was written in 1920 by James Weldon Johnson, a man who wrote several well-know poems, essays, and collections of [|folklore]. It is part of a book titled __[|The Book Of American Negro Poetry]__ which is a recompilation of poems that Johnson gather from [|African American authors] of the [|Harlem Renaissance] time period. According to Bartleby.com this poem is a negro [|sermon]. This probably means that when Johnson was writting this poem he was trying to teach the African Americans a valuable lesson. What was it?
 * Introduction**

I believe the lesson Johnson wants us to understand is narrowed down in this stanza. The lesson is that when God created the man to His image he did not specify what race he was so, therefore, we humans should not care either. We should all treat each other equally just like God did at the beginning of his creation. Johnson wanted people to understand this message. He wanted to make it clear that even though there was a lot of racism going on at this time period, for God it did not matter. When God created the earth and then the man he just wanted to get rid of the feeling of loneliness he felt in his heart because only until he created the man he was truly satisfied with himself. This also shows how important we are to him. He values us so much and demonstrates this to us every single day by making the sun come up every morning, and by at night giving us the moon and stars so we can still have a bit of light. God Loves each and every one of Us.
 * Analysis**

Then God reached out and took the light in His hands, And God rolled the light around in His hands Until He made the sun;

"James Weldon Johnson." __Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia__. 12 May 2009. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 14 May 2009 .
 * Bibliography**

"Harlem Renaissance." __Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia__. 20 May 2009. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 May 2009. 

"The Creation." __Bartleby__. 2009. 13 May 2009 .

"The Creation." __Poetry Archive__. 19 May 2009 .