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Value Beyond Death's Sack
The poem imagines Death as an "old junk man" who gathers bodies and questions whether worth in eternity reflects earthly race and wealth. It contrasts a white multi-millionaire with a Black cotton-picker, asking if the rich white corpse will be valued more than the Black laborer’s. The speaker’s rhetorical questioning exposes social inequality and challenges assumptions about moral or spiritual worth tied to social status and race.
Read Complete AnalysesWhen 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 multi-millionaire Worth more pennies of eternity, Than the black torso of A Negro cotton-picker.
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