Verse three of the poem starts describing how the man feels as he approaches an haute-cuisine close by. There are many phrases and words in the verse that suggest he hates this restaurant and doesn’t like it being there. For example, ‘brash with glass’ and ‘it squats, in the grass and weeds’ These suggest that he feels the restaurant is showing off to the rest of the people and shouldn’t be there. It also suggests that he feels that it is too obvious sitting there with a posh look and posh exterior. Afrika also uses phrases such as ‘guards at the gatepost’ to suggest that this restaurant is used a lot by others and therefore needs security outside. It also suggests that this restaurant is even more posh than first seems. The choice of words in this verse are good for Afrika to have used because they express the mans apparent hatred towards this restaurant. The words and phrases used also show why he doesn’t like this place and how deeply he feels about it. At the end of the poem, the phrase ‘whites only inn’ is used to express what this restaurant is actually used for. As the poem is set just after the apartheid, we begin to see why this man doesn’t like seeing posh places like this and why no black people are allowed in. This phrase suggests that no black people are allowed in and that only white people are permitted to enter. The poet’s choice to use this phrase suggests that the man is still being discriminated against even after the apartheid has ended.
After verse three, there is a little couplet of words that is separated from verse four. The poet used this little section of words so that it would stand out from the rest of the poem and raise awareness of it being there. The words used basically summarise the last sentence of verse three. ‘…but we know where we belong’ This suggests that the black people already know they’re not allowed inside so they don’t bother trying to enter. The tone of the couplet suggests that the anger inside this man is beginning to boil over and he is getting angrier as he looks at this restaurant.
The fourth verse of the poem is describing what the interior of the restaurant looks like from outside the glass, The poet uses lots of phrases to describe how the interior looks at from the mans point of view as he looks into it from outside the glass window. The poet uses descriptive words to describe the interior such as ‘crushed ice white glass’ and ‘linen falls’ to properly describe how the interior looks. The start of the verse suggests that the man knows he isn’t allowed inside but he is allowed to look from the window. The choice of words suggests that the people inside the restaurant are inferior to the black people and are allowed for that reason. The verse also suggests that he knows what to expect when looking inside the restaurant. The layout of the verse is nicely arranged so that it flows nicely and is easy for the reader to read about the interior. It is also a good choice to describe because later on in the poem, he describes the café that only black people are allowed in and so is easy to differentiate between the two.
The fifth verse of the poem is describing what the café is like that only black people are allowed into. The poet describes this café so that readers can get a clear insight into the differences between the location where whites eat and the place where black people live. There are lots of useful phrases such as ‘working mans café’ and ‘spit a little on the floor’ and ‘it’s in the bone’. The choice of these phrases suggests that the café is run by people who work hard for their money, not like the people in the restaurant who work less and earn more. The further phrases used suggests that the café is as cheap as possible and has no style. There are also suggestions that there isn’t any cutlery because people have to wipe their hands on their jeans instead of using napkins like the restaurant does. The last phrase ‘it’s in the bone’ could have more than one meaning. It could suggest that the black people know that’s what they’re expected to do or it could also mean that the people are looking for a change in the way district six is run and organized.
The final verse of the poem is describing the mans sudden expression of his anger towards this restaurant. The poet is using lots of powerful and emotive words to express this anger. These phrases include ‘I back from the glass boy again’ and ‘hands burn, for a stone, a bomb’. These suggest that the poet is actually expressing some of his own childhood memories as he was involved in the apartheid, The phrase describing how he steps back feeling like a small boy again suggest that this has been happening for a long time and nothing has changed. The phrases also suggest that the anger inside this man is boiling over and is ready to be expressed further. The poet also uses very strong emotive words such as he wants a bomb to throw into the glass. This suggests that the man is extremely angry and wants to hurt the people inside the restaurant as much as possible. The ending of the verse, and the poem, is useful because it is reflective of the title of the poem. It also summarises the poem as the fact that the man knows the apartheid was meant to have ended yet nothing has changed at all.
The overall message of this poem is to express how the apartheid was and how it made people feel. The phrases used in the poem express this and are strong enough to make people feel sorry for the people discriminated against. The title of this essay is also good because there are cultural issues within this poem and the attitudes of the poet are also reflected such as the description of the man feeling like a little boy again after stepping back from the glass window. The poet has expressed how he feels in this poem and that is reflected in many different ways throughout the poem.
The second poem I have been studying is called ‘Two scavengers in a truck, two beautiful people in a Mercedes’ by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The poem is about two garbage men that are looking into a Mercedes car that is carrying posh people and people that are more working class than the two garbage men. The poem is about the scavengers comparing themselves to the posh people and their jobs. The poet is writing about the two sets of people being compared to each other throughout the poem.
At the beginning of the poem, it is describing the jobs that the two scavengers have to do each day. The poet describes them having to get up early in the mornings and do a job that might not pay well but is pleasing enough for the people who are doing it. In the first few lines, there is a phrase that says, ‘…in red plastic blazers’. This indicates that the men have to wear cheap and horrible clothing each day when they do their job.
In the second part of the poem, the poet starts to describe the two scavengers gazing down into an open-top Mercedes holding two beautiful passengers. The poet is beginning to compare the two sets of people both in the garbage truck and in the Mercedes. For example, the poet uses a quote such as, ‘…the two scavengers up since 4 am’ and ‘…the younger of the two also with sunglasses and long hair about the same age as the Mercedes driver’. This shows that although the two sets of people may seem different in a lot of ways, there are actually similarities between them both although they may not seem obvious. The younger scavenger is almost the same age as the Mercedes driver yet they seem so far apart from each other. There are similar things in Nothings changed. For example, the little boy feels so far away from everyone else and in this poem, the two scavengers feel so far apart from the two beautiful people.
There are lots of quotes in this poem that make differences between the two scavengers and the two beautiful people obvious. These include when the poet describes the oldest scavenger having grey iron hair and the man in the Mercedes having shoulder-length blond hair. Also, the younger scavenger is described as having long hair and about the same age as the man in the Mercedes. There are lots of other differences in the poem such as the vehicle that the scavengers are driving is a garbage truck, which are grungy and horrible, whereas the vehicle that the beautiful people are driving is a Mercedes, which is posh and classy – unlike the garbage truck.
In this poem, the poet uses simple yet effective language to put his point across to the reader. This includes language that isn’t hard to read yet it puts the point and message across effectively to the reader. As well as there being simple language in the poem, the poet has also decided to layout the poem in a strange way. By doing so, you can’t differentiate where the verses are meant to be. The poet may have done this so that the reader gets both sides of the argument and doesn’t shift to one or the other. By laying out the poem in this way, the poet is possible hoping for the reader to get an insight into the differences between the two sets of people. In N.C., the poet has written the poem in first-person whereas in Two scavengers, he has decided to write it in third person. This may be because he is hoping for the reader to gain a better insight into the feelings of the two scavengers instead of getting the views of just one person.
Towards the end of the poem, the poet describes how the two scavengers look like they’re looking at an ‘odourless TV ad’. This symbolises that although being like the two beautiful people seems possible, it is actually out of reach. Also, the notion of the TV ad may mean that although when you look at a TV ad and it seems possible, you cannot touch it therefore it is out of reach.
In conclusion, in have summarised the two poems in general, looking in detail at how they are similar in different ways and how they are different in others. I have successfully looked at and analysed the styles, content and attitudes on both of the poems, comparing them where necessary. So, I have successful addressed the task set to me and explored cultural differences and attitudes in the works of these two poets.