Linda's Literary Home

Tag: human classifications

  • Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    Emily Dickinson’s speaker in “Color – Caste – Denomination” is demonstrating a profound truth about the flaws in human classifications that still today lead to ill-will and even violence toward members of different racial, social class, and religion groups.

    Human Classifications:  Two Views

    Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination” and Arna Bontemps’ “God Give to Men” take as their theme the issue of the classifications that humanity has through the centuries imposed upon itself.  

    While there are many ways that human beings identity themselves, three common ones are race, class (social status), and religion; thus, Dickinson has labeled the classes “color” (race), “caste” (class, social status), and “denomination” (religion).

    Arna Bontemps in his race conscious piece “God Give to Men” has concentrated primarily on the classification of color (race).  He refers to the skin color for two of the classes—”yellow” and “black”—but then uses the eye color “blue” for the third class.  The poets Emily Dickinson and Arna Bontemps have handled the issue of human classification in two quite disparate ways:  

    (1) Dickinson’s drama serves to unite all human classes, as her speaker insists that each human being is a soul without any of the outward classifications with which humanity has burdened itself.

    (2) Bontemps’ speaker remains squarely focused on the issues that he finds repugnant or venal in each color class, not his own.  As his speaker asks God to give certain gifts to men, he reveals his animosity toward two of his designated classes.  The third class receives rather short shrift in an ironic attempt at humility.

    Dickinson’s ultimate truth is based on the individuality of each human being, while Bontemps relies heavily on racial stereotypes [1], which  serve only to divide, not unify, for not all members of any so-called classification represent the concocted stereotype that attempts to define and describe that classification.

    Text of Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination” demonstrates a profound understanding regarding the futility of human classifications [2]  based on race, class, religion, and sex.

    The theme of the Dickinson poem is likely influenced by Galatians 3: 28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” [3].

    Color – Caste – Denomination

    Color – Caste – Denomination –
    These – are Time’s Affair –
    Death’s diviner Classifying
    Does not know they are –

    As in sleep – all Hue forgotten –
    Tenets – put behind –
    Death’s large – Democratic fingers
    Rub away the Brand –

    If Circassian – He is careless –
    If He put away
    Chrysalis of Blonde – or Umber –
    Equal Butterfly –

    They emerge from His Obscuring –
    What Death – knows so well –
    Our minuter intuitions –
    Deem unplausible –

    To view Emily Dickinson’s hand-written copy of this poem, please visit the Emily Dickinson Archive.

    Commentary on Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination” is demonstrating the futility of humanity’s self-classification that is still today widely and tragically misconstrued and continues to lead to unfortunate struggles and misunderstandings among the peoples of the world.

    First Stanza:  The Delusion of Classification

    Color – Caste – Denomination –
    These – are Time’s Affair –
    Death’s diviner Classifying
    Does not know they are –

    The perspicacious speaker begins with an audacious claim: the human soul possesses no ordinary identities associated with race, class (social status), or religion.  By extension, one would realize that if those common classes are null, so is the classification by sex and/or sexual orientation.

    This speaker perceives that those classifications are merely delusional imaginings, resulting from the mayic realm [4] of the operative pairs of opposites which have their being under time’s sway:  “These – are Time’s Affair.” 

    The fact that these classifications vanish after death demonstrates that they are merely delusive tools, useful only, if useful at all, to the material level of existence.  The soul is “Death’s diviner Classifying,” and Death cannot classify the living.  When Death attempts to classify the soul, it finds that the soul’s purity lacks those limiting qualities that humanity assigns itself.

    Second Stanza:   A Dreamer’s Awareness

    As in sleep – all Hue forgotten –
    Tenets – put behind –
    Death’s large – Democratic fingers
    Rub away the Brand –

    The speaker, desiring to further clarify her claim, then compares “death” to “sleep”—in sleep, the human being forgets his/her race, class, religion, and sex.  These “tenets” are abandoned, and the sleeper, if she dreams, may dream herself a different race, class, religion, or sex, but as long as she dreams those classes will seem to be reality.

    Sleep, like Death, has “large – Democratic fingers” which are capable of erasing the marks of human classifications that circumscribe the individual in ordinary, waking consciousness. The dreamer understands her images and relates to them exactly as she does while awake. 

    Third Stanza:   The Unclassifiable Soul

    If Circassian – He is careless –
    If He put away
    Chrysalis of Blonde – or Umber –
    Equal Butterfly –

    The Circassians [5] comprised a civilization in Diaspora, routed by the Russians and then by the Ottoman Empire. Their classifications would be tenuous at best; thus, their ability to classify themselves would be quite difficult, as many other civilizations have experienced.  Peoples who live in contiguity to conquering peoples have found it difficult to maintain a unified identity; such has also been the lot of the Jewish people [6]. 

    But even the “Circassian” who attempts to identity her classification would find that like a butterfly, whether it be “Blonde – or Umber,” she would still remain “Equal Butterfly.” The speaker is suggesting that the usefulness of names on the material plane can never taint the soul. The soul remains perfectly unclassifiable by mayic limitations. 

    This speaker finds solace in this awareness as do most objective, fair-minded thinkers,  but in 21st century America, those who are financially and emotionally invested in the victimhood concocted through identity politics [7] find such an idea abhorrent, as it leaves them without a favorite issue to exploit for political gain [8].

    Fourth Stanza:  Delusive Limitations of Race, Class, Religion, and Gender

    They emerge from His Obscuring –
    What Death – knows so well –
    Our minuter intuitions –
    Deem unplausible –

    The speaker ultimately is averring through suggestion that each human soul is not “obscured” by any attempt to classify it by the delusive limitations of race, class, religion, or sex.   Death knows this, the speaker again emphasizes. Even the tiniest inference that the human mind makes regarding that futile act of classifying will remain “unplausible.”

    Sources

    [1] Saul Mcleod, PhD.  “Stereotypes In Psychology: Definition & Examples.”  SimplyPsychology.  Updated onJune 16, 2023

    [2] Elizabeth Kolbert. “There’s No Scientific Basis for Race—It’s a Made-Up Label.” National Geographic. The Race Issue.

    [3]  King James Version:   Galatians 3: 28.

    [4]  Paramahansa Yogananda.  “Theory of Maya.”  The Royal Path of Kriya Yoga.  Accessed August 18, 2023.

    [5]   Kipyego Isaac Kipruto.  “Who Are the Circassian People?”  World Atlas.  Accessed May 31, 2026.

    [6] Editors.  “Ancient Jewish History: The Diaspora.” Jewish Virtual Library.  Accessed May 31, 2026.

    [7] David Azerrad, Ph.D.”The Promises and Perils of Identity Politics.” The Heritage Foundation.  January 23, 2019.

    [8] Walter Benn Michaels, Charles W. Mills, Linda Hirshman and Carla Murphy.  “What Is the Left Without Identity Politics?” The Nation.  December 16, 2016.

  • The Stifling of Spirituality

    Image:  Created by Grok

    The Stifling of Spirituality

    According to Paramahansa Yogananda, the human is a soul who has a body.  Identifying more strongly with the body than with the immortal soul cripples spiritual striving.

    Humanity Classifies Itself

    Humans classify themselves first by sex.  When a newborn arrives, the first question is, boy or girl?  Sex is the easiest classification, because only two categories exist, excluding the very rare occurrence of hermaphroditism and current fad of confusing sex with gender.

    The newborn will later realize that he belongs to a category called “race.”  Unless both parents are the result of many generations of the same “race,” the newborn may not resemble the race of either parent.  Nevertheless, race is still a fairly reliable classification even though that category is becoming less acceptable scientifically.

    Next comes nationality, an easy one:  birth country.  One is always his original nationality even though he is free to become virtually any hyphenated version.  So humans classify themselves by sex, race, and nationality; in addition to those categories are religious, political, and socio-economic classifications.

    Temporary vs Permanent Classification

    Only the first three—sex, race, and nationality—are virtually unchangeable.  However, the other three—religious, political, and socio-economic—are changeable, based on choice.  

    A new category has entered the field, one of sexual-orientation, for which there can be at least two choices:  heterosexuality, homosexuality, and possibly bisexuality.  (A problematic category because at least two sexual partners are required to complete that orientation—a situation that society does not accept.  Bigamy is illegal.  And though promiscuity is wide-spread, it is not an acceptable societal norm.) 

    And there is also a category called “transgendered,” which defeats the spiritual purpose of transcending sex identity, which is  purpose of the original, natural change of sex upon rebirth on the physical plane.

    No one would consider allowing pedophilia—despite supportive organizations such a NAMBLA—bestiality, masturbation, and celibacy as valid categories.  Pedophilia and bestiality are against the law, while masturbation and celibacy are barely tolerated.

    Behavior not Being

    The obvious problem with the new category based on sexual-orientation is that it is based on behavior or activity, not being.  At birth one can be classified using all the six categories, but one has to wait until at least puberty to classify as a hetero-, or homo-sexual.  And still the classification will be based on an act not an essence. 

    Act of Sex Always a Choice

    That choice plays the central rĂ´le is what is always overlooked when discussing this issue.  Any act of sex, with the exception of rape and peer-pressure, is always a choice.  No one is ever required to engage in sexual experience.  Of course, the sexual urge is strong, especially when abused and over-indulged, but still one can live an entire life without ever having engaged in sexual activity.  The issue with rape is that that act has little to do with sex itself and more to do with power that the perpetrator has over the victim.

    The other categories cannot be chosen this way.  As a non-self-realized human being in the prenatal state, one cannot choose sex, race, nationality, etc.  No matter how one lives or where, he will always be eligible for classification on sex, race, nationality, religion, politics, and socio-economics.  But one never has to be classified as hetero- or homo-sexual. 

    Because the sex act is a voluntary one—excluding rape and peer-pressure/societal intimidation, the latter which is responsible for most people becoming sexually active before they are really inclined to—one cannot argue that sexual-orientation is part of anyone’s character; it is behavior, but not part of the essence, character, or personality, which is essentially a soul, a spiritual being, whose existence is not dependent upon any physical attributes.

    Sexuality Misunderstood

    A great chasm separates the reality and societal notions of sexuality.  The misunderstanding is as great now as it was when homosexuality was universally considered a sin and punishable by law.  It is doubtful that the wider society will ever equate homo- and hetero-sexuality.  Celibacy is even less understood.  A sex culture permeates society, wherein sex sells everything from shampoo to shoes.

    Procreation vs Recreation

    The true purpose of the sex act is primarily procreation and possibly in moderation, the expression of genuine love and affection between two committed partners—including homophile partners.  The sex act is simply not amenable to recreation.  Doing it because it feels good is not a moral attitude, because it tends to lead to moral turpitude.  

    If parents were consistently capable of teaching their offspring that the purpose of the sex act is procreation and genuine love within a stable, loving marriage, there would be less reliance on abortions, fewer sufferers of venereal disease, no supposed need for pornography, and much less waste of energy trying to lure a fellow human being into a recreational diversion.