Nothing’s changed makes you aware of the current society there by making the reader feel jealous of the white people and sorry for the non whites. I get the impression that the society has made the non whites feel aware of the culture difference and they know their place. Also words like ‘incipient port Jackson trees’; which shows that the whites don’t belong and ‘bunny chows’, compare the two segregated groups in the society as one being poor and the other more wealthy.
Where as ‘Blessing’ makes the reader aware that the entire society is poor and desperate for water. I can tell this by sentences as such as ‘the skin cracks like a pod’, which may symbolise the cracks that form on very dry ground. Also the sudden rush of fortune which leads to the thought of water leaking out. Where ‘every man, women, child around butts in, with pots and frantic hands.
From reading ‘nothings changed’, I learn that the society and the way it is been described makes you feel guilty that there is still Racism. This is the motive behind the poem. There is a lot of hater between this separated society and jealousy. The picture that has become painted is obvious, ‘we have protested but still there is racism in this community’. Why can’t this change?
The words and language used in ‘Blessing’ describes the land as being dry and also the ground cracking with the dryness from the drought. This society is poor and in desperation. The picture painted is a community in a hot and droughty area praying for some sort of water. Also it has become a blessing and they are thankful that a pipe has burst, leaving them dancing around and collecting the water.
The language used for effect in ‘Nothings changed’ highlights the writers feelings. This is done by using aggressive words like ‘hot, white inwards turning anger of my eyes’. The short sharp words at the start of that sentence gives off aggression. He also feels upset about the blood shed in South Africa over the segregation. I can tell this from looking at two lines, ‘linen falls, the single rose’. This would be symbolism being used to describe the blood shed and death. Tatamkhulu’a emotions really come out in this poem. ‘hands burn for a stone, a bomb, to shiver down the glass’. This sentence uses all symbolism, emotive and imagery to show his feelings. He’s trying to swap the stone for a bomb to break what’s separating the two groups, which is the glass.
From examining the language used in this poem. I can see that it is once again effective to show the writer’s feelings. Imtiaz uses a lot of words that want you to imagine as she urges for the water to come through. She is almost teasing herself by talking about ‘the small splash, imagine the drip of it, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly God’. This quote shows their desperation for water. She is thankful for the water coming through and counts it as a blessing. Religious imagery is also used as she talks about a congregation forming around the pipe. The use of religious imagery ties in to the title. The emotion is high in this poem as the story is about relief and people rushing out to enjoy it and collect water. Screaming, roar of tongues, fortune all show arousing emotion and delight of what’s happened.
The tone used in ‘Blessing’, is very high, thankful, pleased and delighted. Where as in comparison ‘Nothing has changed’ Is a tone that is low as the writer is very angry, upset and disgusted in what’s occurring in the racially segregated village even after it was meant to have been abolished.
The author Tatamkhulu Afrika express’s a lot of deep anger in her poem. She does this by including various sentences that clearly demonstrate her levels of anger. These are towards the fact that there has been constant racism and segregation in district 6 and that it is said that there is no more segregation here. Where as Tatamkhulu comes back to discover that she has been misled and there is still a strong racial divide between the whites and non whites. This is where she uses the title to sum up her thoughts. (Nothing’s changed). This quote extracted shows that ii is said the segregation has been abolished and there is no more racial anger, but she knows there still is. ‘No board says it is: but my feet know. Also ‘no sign says it is: but we know where we belong’, is an example of this false factor said.
The poem ‘Blessing’ talks about the drought and deep desperation in this poor society and then leads to the ‘sudden rush ‘of joy from a water pipe bursting. Imatiaz has wrote this describing it in exaggerative words too make you feel sorry and relieved about the pipe burst. ‘Screaming in the liquid sun’, describes children rushing around and enjoying themselves in the baking heat.
Out of the two poems I read, I preferred ‘Nothings changed’. This is because I felt more emotionally involved. The poem was a lot more interesting to me and I understood what was happening from different views.