GCSE: Grace Nichols: Hurricane Hits England
- Peer Reviewed essays 1
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Compare how a persons culture is shown to be important in Hurricane Hits England and in one other poem.
5 star(s)She also wonders why her "heart unchained?" This could show the freedom because the hurricane showed her that French Guyana is not that far away from England for an event like a hurricane to happen. It could also mean that she was a slave but has now been set free to live a normal life. In addition, Nichols personifies the storm by calling it her "sweeping, back-home cousin"; this shows that understands the storm and sees it as a usual event when she is at home, this shows that her memories from being back home have come back to comfort her.
- Word count: 1013
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Describe and analyse differences between the responses to the hurricane which struck England 1987 in Hurricane hits England by Grace Nichols and the article from The Times by John Young.
However, a poem is something that will penetrate you and have a long lasting affect for a lasting period and is designed to be read slowly, allowing the reader to absorb every word and try to find the meaning behind each line. A characteristic, which is essential in every newspaper, is the title. In an article, a title is one of the focal points to draw in the reader, as its duty is to provide information on what the editorial is concerning.
- Word count: 1508
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Poetry Comparison - Blessing & Hurricane
In the second stanza the poet talks to the tropical gods of weather. She uses the Jamaican language of patois when she says "talk to me huracan, talk to me Oya and Hattie". She also uses repetition in this stanza to emphasise that she is talking to the Caribbean gods. On the fifth line of the 2nd stanza she says "My sweeping, back home cousin". She uses personification in this line because she is trying to say it has become part of her family due to her having experienced it that many time in her childhood.
- Word count: 1886
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Comparing two poems identitiy
In the poem nothing's changed the structure is written in a 48 lined stanza. This poem starts immediately with the poet telling you about where he lives and how it has been neglected "seeding grasses". In vultures the structure is written in a 51 lines stanza. This poem starts immediately with words related to misery and darkness that sets the tone of the poem "greyness, drizzle". The language in nothing's changed is modern "small round hard stones click" and is written in the present tense "I back from the glass".
- Word count: 789
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Hurricane hits england
The first stanza is linked to the Caribbean and the theme of ancestral heritage as the poet describes the effect the hurricane has on her and on her surroundings: "It took a hurricane, to bring her closer To the landscape" Here the poet is telling you that she feels more at home in England because of the hurricane, because she had witnessed many Hurricanes as a child in the Caribbean. This helps me to understand where the poet is really from and also how she used to feel isolated in England: "Like some dark ancestral spectre" The spectre relates to
- Word count: 756
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How is the subject of love explained
'Even Thou' makes me feel really good because Grace Nichols gets across the point to the reader that sex is positive. As a teenager this is a wonderful thing because sex is always being portrayed as something bad. 'Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day' also makes me feel good. But in my opinion the poem is too metaphorical. The first poem has 7 stanzas. 7 is said to be the lucky number so is Grace Nichols showing us yet another way in that sex is positive?
- Word count: 893
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English Language Assignment A: Response to Poetry from Other Cultures and Traditions
Heaney writes about an incident on an Irish island when a storm hits a house. Both explore and ideas brought on by the storm for example loneliness In Nichols case she thinks the storm has set her free and this helps her recognize her cultural identity. "It took the hurricane to bring her closer to the landscape." Nichols used to live in the Caribbean were Hurricanes weren't as unusual. Heaney is from rural Ireland and his father was a farmer, he talks about how much effort he has put into his house. Heaney uses military metaphors to describe the storm, this may be because he was writing through the height of the troubles.
- Word count: 1038
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English Journey
The language and the imagery describes both the hurricane and her emotions. The messy structure of 'Presents from my aunts in Pakistan' reflects her emotions. The stanzas and lines look uncontrolled just like her emotions. Also the lines are pulled in to two different directions on the page, just like her emotions are being pulled from one culture to another. 'Hurricane hits England' appears to be more organised at first sight, however it is similar to 'Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan' because it also is arranged in stanzas all different lengths and follows no set rhyme or rhythm.
- Word count: 761
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Comparison of Grace Nichols
In both examples, Grace Nichols has used repetition because these are oral poems written in Creole dialect. The repeated phrase in 'Up My Spine is more violent than 'The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping' where it is more social. Grace Nichols has used rhyme in parts of each poem, in 'Up My Spine', the first two lines on the third paragraph rhyme. 'I see her missing tow her jut-out hipbone from way back time when she had a fall'. In 'The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping' she has placed the rhyme at the end of the poem.
- Word count: 994
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Compare the way the poets explore Journeys and Places in
"limbo, limbo like me, limbo, limbo like me". This creates a musical beat in the poem which suggests maybe an African/Jamaican culture. The structure of the poem is done in the way in which a person would travel under the limbo stick and then rise up again. "Long dark night is the silence infront of me", this suggests the fear of going under the stick and the silence from the audience. Yet again, "limbo, limbo like me, limbo, limbo like me" is repeated. This suggests this is a continual theme throughout the poem and that the poet has made it almost like a chorus supporting my point that it is a musical poem with a continuous rhythmic pattern.
- Word count: 959
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Poems from other cultures
This changes to the first person after the first verse, which could mean she is closer to herself and being pretty reflective. Furthermore, the third and fourth stanzas start out asking rhetorical questions. These are asking in affect, "Why am I thinking about my past". These are direct questions in the first person which again shows she's being personal, this proves she is a rather emotional person. The fourth stanza is the centre of the poem. This means it is a key area in the structure of the poem, and in affect is telling herself there is "light at the end of the tunnel".
- Word count: 1237
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Huricane Katerina
The Mississippi river runs through the middle of town, and Lake Pontchartrain is to its north. Because the city is on ground which is below sea level, these things combine to put it in a dangerous position for flooding. The Economy of New Orleans: New Orleans is poor by American standards. Median household income is $27,133 compared to a national figure for the USA of $41,994. Effects of the Hurricane: * At least 1,836 people lost their lives in Hurricane Katrina and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.
- Word count: 575
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Show how the poets sense of cultural identity have been explored in the poems
She just couldn't adjust to the culturally and naturally different environment. Although it is an autobiographical poem the 'Island Mans' feelings represent the feeling of Grace Nichols. In an interview she said ''when I'm in England I'm always looking back''. At the start of the poem it starts off positive because 'Island Man' is at home in Guyana. When he immigrates to London there is a sudden sign of negativity is shown. At the beginning words such as 'blue surf', and the phrases 'the sun surfacing defiantly', are used.
- Word count: 1449
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Many towns and cities left in ruins after Hurricane Katrina struck the southern coast of America.
This caused thousands of people to be left homeless. The force winds of the hurricane were recorded along a 200km stretch of coastline, with scenes of similar destruction and flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Hundreds of people have been stranded and compete for the attention of the emergency services, although many have already been airlifted to safety. 1st September 2005 Fortunately some people left before Hurricane Katrina hit the city. Others were caught out by the intensity of the hurricane, as 140mph winds blew out windows and left a trail of wreckage.
- Word count: 849
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I have chosen to compare and contrast two poems that appealed to me the most. The two poems are 'Night of the scorpion' by Nissim Ezekiel and 'Hurricane hits England' by Grace Nicholas.
In 'hurricane hits England' the poem is set in the poet's new place of living. In 'night of the scorpion' there are two stanzas. The first stanza is a long, single block consisting of forty five lines unlike the second stanza which only consists of three lines. In the first stanza the poet is telling the story where as in the second stanza the poet's mother is speaking. When the poet tells the story in the first stanza he tells us that he feels detached from the surroundings as his home is full with all types of people who are all doing different things and all he can do is observe.
- Word count: 1804
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Many poets write about the power of nature using "Hurricane Hits England" by Grace Nichols and "Storm on The Island" by Seamus Heaney-Discuss which poet in your opinion portrays the storm more vividly
The islanders are prepared. Their houses are strongly built, low hugging the ground. The earth on the island is barren. There are no trees and when the storm blows full blast they have little protection. The earth is described as wizened or infertile and therefore unsuitable for growing crops. Heaney seems initially to address this issue with regret but later acknowledges the practicality of this deficiency, "there are no stacks or stooks that can be lost". Heaney quickly dispels any romantic notions the reader may entertain and exposes us to the dangerous reality the island dwellers frequently experience, allowing us to envisage the storm with a degree of empathy.
- Word count: 1998
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There was no news that a hurricane was coming our way, and also where we live hurricanes
I began to be frightened and scared.The pictures that are being shown on TV are horrendous and horrific. Men and women are laid on the floor covered in blood, helplessly. Trees have been battered to the ground. Cars have been toppled over. House windows and doors has been smashed open. Buildings have been left completely damaged. The cry of men and women could be heard on TV. Ambulance and police vehicles were helping the people who are injured at the crime seen. 'There was no news that a hurricane was coming our way, and also where we live hurricanes have never come in Britain' I thought to myself in despair.
- Word count: 1008
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Hurricane Katrina: Perception. Prediction, Prevention
Although on the 26th of August it grew it to a category 2 hurricane. It became clear the storm was headed for Mississippi and Louisiana. The next day the hurricane grew to category 3 and again the day after, the storm grew in intensity and on August the 28th it became category 5 with winds up 214mph. Katrina made land fall near Louisiana/Mississippi on the 29th as a category 4 hurricane. It was perceived to hit the New Orleans area 4 days before it actually did.
- Word count: 691
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One of the aim of this text from a narrative essay is to describe the hurricane. He firstly does this when he describes the hurricane as,
I turned my head again towards the window, the death trap was seemingly getting even more closer. After many efforts of trying to start the car, the car would still now move. 'What a time for the car not to work I thought to myself'. I got out of the car and looked ahead. The treacherous whirlwind was closer than ever, people now started to notice and started fearing. At this point I was thinking only one thing, 'Those damn weather reporters never told us that a hurricane was coming our way!' I stood outside in the thundering rain waiting for transport but the hurricane was only few metres away.
- Word count: 867
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Hurricane Katrina is one of the most destructive tropical storms ever to hit the United States
This lead to flooding in the city, where many bodies still lie beneath the dirty waters filled with debris. Hurricane Katrina is one of the biggest disasters in the history of the United States.
- Word count: 270
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Hurricane Mitch
On October 22, the clusters became confined into a tropical depression. Tropical Storm Mitch had come into existence before the day was out. The Storm continued to climax on the 23rd and 24th, but by the 25th there was a sudden change; Mitch's central pressure fell from 1.77 inches to 26.73 inches in a matter of 34 hours. As chart B illustrates, Hurricane Mitch had tied Hurricane Camille (1969) for the fourth lowest pressure ever recorded in an Atlantic hurricane. Hurricane Mitch was named a Category 5 hurricane for maintaining it's low pressure for a duration of 33 hours compared to Hurricane Camille's(1969)
- Word count: 572
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Different Cultures: Cluster 2 Essay.
The poem echoes, in its four parts, a statement by Pastor Martin Niem�ller, who opposed the Nazis. Speaking later to many audiences he would conclude with these words, more or less: "First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
- Word count: 1604
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Describe the impact of hurricanes on the physical and human environment.
Most hurricanes originate on the west coast of Africa, in the form of thunderstorms. As these thunderstorms move westwards over the ocean, they become low-pressure systems; first in the form of tropical depressions, then tropical storm and then finally hurricanes. Hurricanes usually take a matter of days to develop from a depression to a hurricane, but this time period can vary. For hurricane formation to take place, warm waters of temperatures higher than 27 degrees Celsius must be present. From these warm waters, evaporation takes place at a high rate. Warm, moist air above the ocean surfaces rises via convection currents.
- Word count: 1207
