# Justice explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Langston Hughes.

## What happens

A brief, pointed poem that critiques the concept of Justice as a blind goddess, suggesting that for Black people, her blindness hides corruption and festering wounds rather than impartiality.

## Themes in this chapter

### Racial Identity and Oppression

The poem directly addresses the Black community's awareness of Justice's hypocrisy and the hidden wounds of racial oppression.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker, representing a collective Black voice, reflects on the flawed nature of Justice.

## Key lines

> That Justice is a blind goddess / Is a thing to which we black are wise. / Her bandage hides two festering sores / That once, perhaps, were eyes.

Black people know that Justice is not truly blind; her blindfold conceals two infected wounds that might have once been seeing eyes.

_The poem uses the metaphor of a blindfold to expose the corruption and injury behind the ideal of impartial justice._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters/justice
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters