This essay compares two poems that address racial prejudice: Wole Soyinka's "Telephone Conversation" (1963) and Sharon Olds's "On the Subway" (1987). The analysis examines how each poet portrays racism from distinct perspectives — Soyinka responding to discrimination as its target, using wit and irony to challenge a racist landlady, and Olds confessing her own internalized fear and stereotyping of a young Black man on a New York subway. Together, the poems illustrate how racism operates both institutionally and psychologically, and how color symbolism — particularly the use of red and black — functions as an emotional and political device in both works.
"Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka and "On the Subway" by Sharon Olds are two poems that analyze racism and racist perspectives between white and Black people across the last five decades. Racism is depicted in these poems from several different perspectives — through the viewpoints of both Black and white people. The poems demonstrate how widespread racism is, and how intolerant individuals can be of those with different skin colors, while also showing the different ways in which people attempt to reckon with racial prejudice. The issue of racism is explored in two ways: first, through the way ordinary people perceive it, and second, through how social and political forces shape those perceptions. An analysis of both poems reveals how a biased viewpoint can not only distort thinking but also become the basis for authoritative judgment of others.
"Telephone Conversation" by Nigerian poet Wole Soyinka is based on the author's experience of the stereotypes that exist about African and Black people, set in a scenario where such a person is seeking respectable accommodation. When Soyinka recounts telling the house owner that he is African, he uses terms such as "I warned" and "self-confession," since experience has taught him precisely how the landlady will respond. The landlady asks him how dark his skin is, which angers Soyinka; he responds wittily, invoking images such as "Red pillar-box" and "Red booth." This use of wit suggests a possible counter to excessive stereotyping in the modern world. The color red here not only gestures toward his complexion but also depicts his shame, anger, and embarrassment at being asked such a question.
Despite his anger, Soyinka maintains his moral high ground through a combination of wit and humor. He rhetorically asks the woman whether she means his skin is as pale as "milk chocolate," then describes his color as "West African sepia" — a phrase that further astonishes the landlady. He then sarcastically invites her to examine not only his exterior skin but also the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands, which share the same color as hers, hoping to draw her attention to the fundamental similarities that make both of them human. The implication is that if wit alone cannot counter discrimination, then perhaps the acknowledgment of shared humanity will (Gupta, 2015).
"On the Subway" by Sharon Olds is set in the United States, unlike Soyinka's poem, which is set in England. The poem depicts Olds stereotyping a young Black man as a potential mugger. In her description, she writes that the boy had the "casual cold look of a mugger." It is her fear of being mugged, and her fear of people of color more broadly, that convinces her of the stereotype. She describes the boy as wearing black sneakers with white laces that form a complex pattern against the dark shoes — almost like scars — and notes that he was wearing red.
The boy's red clothing could be interpreted as an expression of his anger at a world that stereotypes him, in much the same way Soyinka uses the word red to convey anger. Alternatively, it may simply reflect personal taste — perhaps he liked the color or the style of the shirt. This latter possibility, however, would only occur to an unbiased mind. For Olds, the red intensifies her panic: she begins imagining what harm the boy could inflict, the scars he might leave, her blood exposed on her body like the red shirt he is wearing. She fears the boy solely because of his skin color, despite knowing nothing about him as an individual.
Olds is also remarkably direct in her depiction of racism. At one point she acknowledges that she is white and he is Black, and that she therefore benefits, without particularly trying, from his disadvantage. She further writes that the boy, by virtue of his Black skin, absorbs the murderous impulses of America's heart in the same way that black cotton absorbs and holds the heat of the sun — comparing Black people to black cotton and white people to the sun. Yet she is also sympathetic to the plight of Black people, remarking on how easily her white skin makes her life, at their expense, and noting that the boy could snap her life across his knee like a stick, in the same way that his back is being broken by white society.
"Red and black imagery convey anger and prejudice"
Both poems illustrate how easily people jump to conclusions and resort to stereotypes rather than viewing each individual as a unique human being. "Telephone Conversation" shows how a Black man can respond to racism with dignity, wit, and an appeal to shared humanity, while "On the Subway" offers a white speaker's honest confession of her own internalized racial fear. Together, the poems warn that we should not stereotype, be intolerant of, or be unjust toward other people simply because of the color of their skin or any other superficial difference from the majority.
Gupta, K. (2015, September 11). Compare and contrast the following poems: Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka, In a Brixtan Markit by James Berry, On the Subway by Sharon Olds and On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria by James Berry. Retrieved from Marked by Teachers:
Olds, S. (1987). On the Subway.
Soyinka, W. (1963). Telephone Conversation.
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