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An Unknown Girl Analysis

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Compare and contrast how memorable experiences are conveyed in ‘An Unknown Girl’ and ‘Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom.’ In both poems alike, the authors successfully manage to communicate an instant sense of memorability as they comment about events which have a significant impact on both their lives. In ‘An Unknown Girl,’ Moniza Alvi writes about an unforgettable tip to India, where she receives intricate henna. While doing so, she is encompassed within the ordeal of a frenzied market place, adorned with decorative crafts and a plethora of market stalls. This creates for an exciting moment for Alvi which gave her a new perspective on life. On the contrary, in ‘Electricity Come to Cocoa Bottom,’ Marcia Douglas explores the reactions of a poor town when electricity comes to Cocoa Bottom in Jamaica. However, the moment is short-lived as the power is relinquished before anyone could record it. Douglas and the people of Cocoa Bottom, witness something extraordinary, creating illustrious memories. In ‘An Unknown Girl,’ Alvi convinces us of her inevitable euphoria as she undergoes meaningful experiences by her use of vivid description. The poem commences as she is decorated with henna in a bazaar ‘studded with neon.’ Alvi carefully chooses to illustrate the lights as …show more content…

This metaphor shows that she feels like the henna has become a part of her blood, meaning without the eccentric culture of the country, she will no longer be able to live, demonstrating inevitable her pride for the country. By using ‘veins,’ the reader associates the metaphor with the roots of a plant; the region responsible for providing the plant with the necessities to live. This is echoed in her poem as she fails to let go of the ‘roots’ of her origin which provide her with the culture she longs for from her ‘unique and intriguing’

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