Power And Powerlessness In Mother In A Refugee Camp
In the poem Mother in a Refugee Camp, the themes of power and powerlessness are shown at the same time consistently throughout the poem. The powerless aspect is shown by the mother’s lack of ability to help her child, as he is described as ‘her tenderness for a son’ that she will ‘soon’ have to ‘forget...’ This foreshadows the inevitability of his death and shows the difficulty of the position his mother is in, having to helplessly watch her own son perish. This is also further foreshadowed when the poet describes the mother’s actions towards her child: he says she is ‘combing’ the ‘hair left on his skull’. The symbolism of ‘skull’ is used as a representation of death and mortality, it displays the rapidity of his hair loss and emphasises the dangers of his starvation and protein deficiency. However the word ‘combing’ is used to show the mother’s unconditional love for her child and how she will always care for him and never give up hope, this antithesis fabricates an element of power in the poem, and demonstrates the powerful effect of a mother’s love towards her child. This is also exhibited when the poet describes her as bathing her child amidst the ‘heavy odors’ of ‘diarrhea’, as she is ‘rubbing him down’ with her ‘bare palms’. The use of sensory imagery here to describe their surroundings also emphasises how the mother will always love her child unconditionally. The end of the poem contradicts this moment of hope by ending on an extremely solemn tone, with the use of
Sharon Olds On The Subway Analysis
329 Words | 2 PagesSharon olds in the passage “on the subway” is trying to write the similarities and differences between the way people are with a Caucasian and an African American. Sharon attempts this by using literary techniques like imagery, simile, and tone. Imagery is used to see the differences between a white women and a black boy, the the first part of the passage. The narrator is the white woman and the black boy is the observer; the the shoes that he is wearing are black with “white laces on them”.
Similarities Between A Barred Owl And The History Teacher
812 Words | 4 PagesThese two lines in the poem make it seem as if words were able to make children fear as well as make them relieved, so the parent had to choose words
Social Injustice In The Happiest Refugee By Anh Do
809 Words | 4 PagesThe Happiest Refugee is an autobiography written by Anh Do, that shows the challenges Anh and his family faced and how they overcame them. The autobiography expresses hardship and racism to show social injustice that people have experienced through their opportunities, and how to adjust from those experiences and situations as our identity changes over time. Anh Do reflect on his story based on his experiences and social injustice in life through the concept of racism. Anh Do uses emotive language, “I was the only Asian student in the class, and I felt terrible.
Symbolism In Trethewey's Elegy
943 Words | 4 PagesThe balance between her reminiscing the past or holding on to so much aggression that she is forced to let go. These balances of struggle hold true throughout the entire poem to highlight the subliminal metaphors equipped with items typically used to destroy rather than build, along with symbolism that alludes to fighting
A Thematic Analysis Of Richard Blanco's Poem 'Shaving'
874 Words | 4 PagesPoetry The Poem “Shaving” by Richard Blanco shows how the event of shaving causes the speaker to think about the finer details of his life, and the short but now meaningful memories he has of his father, as well as the the impact that miniscule and unseen processes have on the world. The first stanza of the poem demonstrates to the reader the thought process of the narrator whilst he shaves. The first 5 lines set a precedent for the underlying narrative of a “silent labor” that blossoms into something substantial. This epiphany of a slow, continuous effort having a substantial outcome is supported by other examples of this phenomena stated in lines 4-9; examples of this being “ocean steam rising to form clouds”(line 4), or “the fall of fresh
Diction In My Papa's Waltz
188 Words | 1 PagesTheodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” discusses a child and father’s interactions within their kitchen as the mother watches while frowning. Roethke delivers his work through the child’s perspective, an unreliable speaker, which enables an ambiguous tone. This allows the reader to interpret the child and father’s relationship in many ways. Words involved in Roethke’s diction, such as “waltzed,” “romped,” and “dizzy,” indicate enjoyment within the relationship. On the other hand, “beat,” “death,” and “battered” create a sinister picture of abuse.
Conflicts In Inside Out And Back Again
1023 Words | 5 PagesIn the poem “Mother’s Response” Mother strokes Ha’s head and chants. Even though Mother is unaware of what is happening with Ha, she still tries to comfort her. The author points out by stating, “Mother strokes my head. Chant, my child, Breathe in, peaceful mind. Breathe out, peaceful smile.
Aria Beth Sloss One North Analysis
1493 Words | 6 PagesCompared to the father’s internal craziness, the description of the mother is far more reserved and composed – a contrast of movement and stillness. While the father has a mind vibrating “like a plucked string”, the mother “lies there in the dark” and “counts the minutes as they pass” (12). While he expresses his passion with a cycle of “exhilaration, exhaustion, frustration”, she tries to suppress her disappointment and sadness by “[pressing] her forehead to the glass” (16). While the mother sincerely and dearly desires the companionship at home, the father “finds himself listless, irritable” in the face of serenity and “absence of imminent disaster” (7). The whole tone of the description for the father is vibrant, accompanied by a lot of metaphors of him, the sky, or the balloon.
Abortion In Gwendolyn Brooks Poem, The Mother
622 Words | 3 PagesGwendolyn Brooks’ poem, The Mother, portrays the feelings a mother possesses following an abortion. On a more complex level, The Mother portrays the remorse felt by taking the future from unborn children. Brooks’ juxtaposition of avoiding and accepting the reality of what the speaker, a mother, did to her unborn children portrays the remorse mothers feel following an abortion. In the first stanza, the speaker uses a second-person narrative to distance herself from her abortion. She uses “you” to put the remorse on other mothers who have also had abortions to lessen her guilt.
Summary Of Sleeping Funny By Miranda Hill
693 Words | 3 PagesThe barrier between her and the neighbours after her husband’s death forced her to become reserved and quiet. Her and her son only went into town if they had to. They preferred to stay close to the garden where they felt safe. The death of the husband is the cause of the mothers’ complete change in character. The death let the audience connect with her on a deeper level to understand her pain and suffering.
Underlying Themes In The Happiest Refugee By Anh Do
924 Words | 4 PagesComparing texts can enrich experiences for readers by allowing audiences to grasp a further understanding of underlying themes within a text, and how they have the ability to challenge reader’s perspectives. Anh Do’s autobiographical memoir, The Happiest Refugee (2010), discusses the highs and lows of growing up in Australia as a Vietnamese refugee, during a time where racial intolerance and scepticism towards foreigners was common. Do has constructed themes that through the use of various literary devices, work towards altering audience’s stereotypical perspective of refugees, instead replacing it with a less critical and more accepting viewpoint; these themes are also explored in other texts. Themes surrounding resilience, family bonds and
Analysis Of Dusting By Julia Alverez
906 Words | 4 PagesThe poem Dusting by Julia Alverez relays several ideas to the reader. It begins by describing a young child going about a house and writing their name on the furniture. The child 's mother follows behind her and, in the process of dusting, incidentally erases the writing. While this poem may seem superficial from a quick reading, it not only reflects some aspects of Alverez’s childhood, but it also reveals some thought provoking questions. In Dusting, through making an analogy to a relationship between a mother and her child, Julia Alvarez demonstrates her desire to break away from traditional or cultural expectations, express her individuality, be well-known, and, ultimately, she makes an important point about life.
Hope In Joad's The Grapes Of Wrath
158 Words | 1 PagesHer pregnancy is a beacon of hope in the constant struggle the Joad’s go through as they look for work and food; it represents new beginnings, a new life, hope for the future, just another part of Rose of Sharon’s own American Dream; However, when she gives birth to a still-born, a mummified, gruesome, dead representation of her future, that promise is broken; Rather than slipping into despair and losing all hope, the Joad’s continue forward with incredible resilience, and the novel ends on a hopeful, generous note as Rose of Sharon, in the midst of her despair and sadness, saves the life of a sick and starving man with the breast milk meant for her dead child; the way that this child is disposed of bears similarity to the tale of Moses, where
My Wicked Ways Analysis
693 Words | 3 PagesThroughout the poem, the speaker’s mother seems to be upset. The poems tone shifts when the speaker begins to talk about themselves. The speaker talks down on herself. The speakers states, “I will turn out bad”(31). From this, viewers can assume that the poems tone is unsatisfied.
Jar By Sylvia Plath Analysis
626 Words | 3 PagesIt is common knowledge that childbirth causes great suffering to the mother. But, at the same time, most people recognize it as a beautiful part of the miracle of life. Nevertheless, there is a small population that cannot find anything pleasing about delivering a newborn and, of course, Esther falls into this group. Her description of the mother as an animalistic creature making an “unhuman whooing noise” has a negative connotation,
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