Imagery And Motifs In Susan Mitchell's Havana Birth

The poem “Havana Birth” by Susan Mitchell uses repetition and motifs, emphasizes societal roles while relating them to literal and figurative ideas, and compares personal experience to the experience of a country, to romanticize Cuba’s fight for independence and its ensuing political and social reform. “Havana Birth” by Susan Mitchell highlights important motifs and the repetition of words and phrases to idealize Cuba’s acquisition of independence and its structural reform thereafter. Throughout the poem, phrases involving singing are repeated over and over again. In one passage, the poem states, “I was about to have my hair combed into the new music everyone was singing. The dressmaker sang it, her mouth filled with pins. The butcher sang

Mother sang it and thought her body was leaving her body” (57-60). In this passage, the idea of song symbolizes the spreading of an idea. Furthermore, the dressmaker, the butcher, and even the narrator’s Mother is singing, suggests that social reform is taking place throughout the entire population. Also, this passage has many war related themes that illustrate a conflict-ridden time period of political and social unrest. “… her mouth full with pins…” and “ …her body was leaving her body” both epitomize feelings of suffering and pain. “The butcher sang it and wiped blood on his apron” communicates the idea of bloodshed and sacrifice for a cause. Just as animals are killed by butchers to provide sustenance for humans, martyrs in conflict supply the fire of a rebellion with the much needed fuel that inspires and motivates a nation’s people. Another example of repetition in “Havana Birth” is the mentioning of birds and pigeons. “The song the world sings day after day isn’t made of feathers, and the song a bird pours itself into is tough as a branch…”

The poem describes the world as “wily, and doesn’t want to be held for long, which is why as my hands reached out, workers lay down their machetes and left the fields…”(45-48). The “world being wily” is a direct comparison to the nation of Cuba under the influence of other global powers, such as the United States. “…workers lay down their machetes and left the fields…” emphasizes not only people’s literal roles, but their figurative roles as well. “Workers” indicates the general working population, a symbol of the backbone of a country. “Workers laying down their machetes and leaving the fields” idealizes the general working population fighting for their rights and instigating change. Emphasis of the general working population’s roles in a country and their role in Cuba’s movement for independence ties into Communist morals and ideals which leads into Cuba’s political reform. Therefore, the juxtaposition of the literal and figurative roles of people idealizes the political reform and independence of