Mothers
have to make decisions that affect the lives of their family members all the
time. One of these difficult decisions a mother might face is deciding to give
their own child up for adoption. This decision might be for the better of both
the mother and the child. To understand the bittersweet love given from a
mother to a child in her decision to give them a better life in “Little Green”,
Joni Mitchell uses chromatic imagery, conflicted characterization, and meaningful
personification in order to convey that although “there’ll be sorrow”, there is
no better feeling than that of knowing your child will live a better life than
the life that you could provide for them.
The
use of chromatic imagery throughout the poem helps to emphasize the love given from
the mother to the child she is putting up for adoption. The child is being
called “Little Green” which can be very symbolic for the mother’s hope for her
kid. The color green can represent both life and growth. The life is representative
of the child being brought into the world and the growth is what the mother
wants for the kid. She wants her child to grow old and live the happiest and
best life possible in the process. Mitchell writes, “call her green and the
winters cannot fade her”. She is being compared to a plant with the difference
of her living throughout the winter when plants would normally die or “fade”
from the cold, harsh weather. Green is also interpreted as luck. The color can
be seen as a symbol for the Irish four leaf clover, a legitimate symbol for
luck. The mother in the song “Little Green” wants her child to be lucky and she
wants her child’s life to be full of lucky opportunities for her to be able to take.
On the contrary, the color green can represent something totally different. Green
is the color of money. Mitchell might be trying to say that the child is “green”
because they will cost the mother money. Raising a child is definitely not a
cheap task and Joni Mitchell knows that first hand. As a poor mother with no realistic
way to raise her own child, a mother might see her kid as a way to cost her
more money or as someone that she cannot raise because of her lack of income. Whether
it is seen as a sign for a positive future or a costly one, the color green
represents the reasons for the decision of a mother to put her child up for adoption.
The
use of characterization in “Little Green” helps he listener to understand what
the characters in the poem are going through. The main character in the poem is
“Little Green”. Little Green can be characterized as innocent because they are only
talked about, do not actually talk or have their own say, and they are only a
child. The child is innocent because they are being put up for adoption by their
own mother and people may feel bad for them. As one listens to the song, they probably
feel bad for the child because they are going to grow up without their mom. A
second character that is mentioned in the song is Little Green’s father. His
characterization is sort of opposite of Little Green’s. The father of the child
can be characterized as selfish because “he went to California hearing that
everything’s warmer there”. “He” probably did not want to have to care for the
child when he found out that Joni was pregnant so he thought he would simply solve
the problem by leaving the mother and leaving the burden of raising the child
alone on her. Also, after the mother sends the father a letter telling him that
the child’s “eyes are blue” he replies with a poem saying that “she’s lost to
you”. The father is selfish and shows no interest at all in his very own child.
The final character in the song is the mother. Having a different characterization
than her child and the father, the mother has a very conflicted
characterization. Not only could she be sad, she could also be hopeful for her
child and unashamed of her decision to let them go. Being a mother, she is
obviously sad in having to decide to leave her child. It is probably every
mother’s nightmare. On the other hand, the mother is definitely positive in the
future of her kid when she says, “there’ll be icicles and birthday clothes”. She
has to be hopeful that her child will live a great life, perhaps a better life
than one that she could provide. Being happy that she is giving her kid a
better opportunity, the mother of Little Green must be unashamed in coming to
the conclusion to let her child go. She knows that she did the right thing for
her kid. The many different characterizations of the people mentioned in the
song “Little Green” help to convey what goes on with everyone involved in the
tough decision to let a child go.
Joni
Mitchell uses the personification of natural events to help stress the severity
of the situation. Mitchell personifies the season of spring and connects it to
her child, Little Green. She said the color green was “like the color when
spring is born”. Again green is being symbolic of plants. In the spring, plants
all come back to life after the cold winter months. The mother of Little Green
is saying that the color is like her child and the birth of spring is the birth
of her child and the new life they have ahead of them. In the same way, winter
is also being related to Little Green. As plants usually die in the winter,
Mitchell is saying that her child never will perish in the same way. She says “the
winters cannot fade her”. This is also calling Little Green strong and
independent. The child is strong because they can last through even the
harshest times of their life. For plants, the harshest time of their lives is
winter. The kid is also independent because even if some people might not be
able to get through these tough times, the child can. Finally, the song says, “Just
a little green like the nights when the Northern Lights perform”. The Northern
Lights are a spectacular natural occurrence and they are being compared to
Little Green. The mother of Little Green is trying to say that their child is
spectacular. Being able to live life without your very own mother is a
difficult thing. These personified natural events in the song help to magnify
the seriousness of the choice to put a child up for adoption.
Although
it may be heart wrenching, a woman might be put in a position to have to give
up her own child. Whether it is because of financial problems or not, it is
probably best for both mother and child. The love given from a mother to her
child in her decision to give their kid up for adoption is seen in the song “Little
Green” by Joni Mitchell through its meaningful personification, conflicted
characterization, and chromatic imagery.
