Nichols also uses a series of metaphors throughout the poem. She says that her mother was ‘water to me’. Here the metaphor says how her mother was important, just as water is essential to life and growth. The metaphor is also extended; by saying her mother was ‘deep and bold and fathoming’. The reason for this is to tell us how influential and understanding her mother was. She carries on saying how her mother was ‘moon’s eye to me’. This again is natural imagery but also stating how her mother was the moon’s eye to her: watchful and protective. A further metaphor Nichols uses states how her mother was ‘sunrise’ to her this also emphasises how special and fundamental her mother was because sunrise /sun is required for plant species to grow and develop become strong which relates to why a girl needs her mother because the mother will bring up the child, develop the child which is a spectacular view which reflects the warmth of her Mum’s love to her.
The relationship between Grace Nichols and her mother is obviously strong and loving. The way Nichols recounts her mother by using strong, warming and a
effective imagery implies that the relationship was at its strongest and unbreakable.
The last line of ‘Praise Song For My Mother’- ‘go to your wide futures you said’ is isolated because it significantly proves how alienated she felt in Britain and it also recalls what her mum directly said to her. At this point Grace Nichols has nothing but admiration for her mother. She feels this way because even though her mother brought her up, loved her and cared for her, her mother had the courage to let her go and be independent. It also helps Nichols in a way that she does not feel stifled and restricted by her mother.
The theme in Grace Nichols’ ‘The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping’ relates to how Grace Nichols feels isolated in London. An obvious reason why Nichols feels isolated is that London and the Caribbean are two totally different places. She feels deserted in London because she is not familiar with the weather and the people. The weather is described as ‘so cold’ which begins the poem negatively and also causes physical discomfort to Nichols as she is used to tropical temperatures. The mood of ‘The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping’ can be dealt with as humorous but with an alarming message. It is seen as this way because it states how London only caters for the ‘lean’, which says that the choice is small and the size of clothes is also small. This emphasises how London is stereotypical and discriminates against people who do not conform to the stereotype. The message may also relate to the inability for other countries in the world to accept different people from an anonymous, background, culture and religion.
The salesgirls in this poem are identified as ‘mannequins’ to point out the narrow-minded attitude of them, as they do not accept the woman, as she is overweight. Grace Nichols says ‘look at the frozen thin mannequins’ which compares them to the salesgirls. What Nichols says about the mannequins makes them sound cold and sharp, like the salesgirls, unpleasant and uncaring. The salesgirls are also very unwelcoming and mock the black woman.
In the third stanza a significant picture is conjured up. The picture she summons up is of a beautiful setting in the Caribbean. In the stanza she says ‘Nothing soft and bright and billowing to flow like breezy sunlight when she walking’. To this stanza Nichols applies a swift rhythm. She does this so the way it will be pronounced will create a picture of warmth, freedom and passion. The use of an alliteration- ‘bright and billowing’ states that she is concentrating on a place, which gives a warm and positive feeling to the idea of the Caribbean.
Although Nichols praises the Caribbean in an affirmative way she does nothing but criticise London. What she wrote in stanza 3 can be contrasted to her views about London. She initially complains and says ‘de weather so cold’ which can be clashed with the conjured picture she said in stanza 3 about the Caribbean. She also dislikes the people as they are rude to her, they do not accept different people, which can then be concluded to the fact that a place like London adopts this narrow minded attitude and will not accommodate clothes or people of bigger sizes.
Overall Nichols has bad feelings concerning London and even decides to curse about the features of London in her native language.
Grace Nichols repeats ‘journeying, journeying’ for a number of reasons. She does it because it underlines how it is a real drag for her and how she is in a constant search for accommodating clothes and also how she is searching for an identity.
The quote ‘lord is aggravating’ is free standing from the rest of the poem because it emphasises her annoyance in the search for suitable clothing. It also shows her alienation or isolation from the salesgirls and generally, in London. After this isolated line Nichols immediately contrasts this to the Caribbean, which she has done deliberately to say how she contemplates London. Further on in the poem, Grace Nichols, the fat back woman curses in Swahili, her native language. She intends on doing this because then she is comfortable with her roots and it shows a reminiscence of her home and emphasises how angry she feels as London does not make her feel welcome.
The conclusion Nichols summons up about London is destructive. The rhyming couplet she uses suggest this it says ‘ the choice is lean nothing much beyond size 14’. The pun is purposely used as it mocks London and displays it is stereotypical attitude. The conclusion she reaches about London is also separated to focus on how the fashion industry does not accommodate anyone over a size 14 in London.
Grace Nichols’ ‘Tropical death’ can be linked to the ‘Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping’ because it contrasts the features the splendid features of the Caribbean to a critical London. They are linked because they both create a sense of warmth of the Caribbean and coldness of Europe.
The poem ‘Tropical Death’ builds up a strong argument to justify Grace Nichols’ wishes to return to the Caribbean to be buried.
Grace Nichols distinguishes between her views on a Caribbean funeral and a European funeral. She applies imagery and adds to her views of how bleak Britain is by saying how a European funeral is ‘a cold sojourn in some north Europe far/forlorn’. Here assonance is used on the ‘o’ sound, for the reason to make the word sound longer and emphasize the bleakness of a funeral in Europe. The alliteration on ‘far/forlorn’ is effective; it dwells on the loneliness of a European funeral. This shows that Nichols is not welcome in Europe and continues by saying that she does not want a ‘quiet jerk tear wiping’. These comments about a European funeral all present Britain as being lifeless and dull whereas the Caribbean funeral is presented as positive, it says how there is ‘heat/hibiscus’ and that she wants a ‘blue sea dress’, which conjures up an exotic, tropical destination for a funeral.
Grace Nichols also tends to be stereotypical towards the traditional European funeral to emphasize how she dislikes the way Europeans deal with death. She may also wish to be stereotypical because the people were stereotypical to her when she went to go shopping in London because she is overweight.
Nichols desires to have a funeral with excitement not some boring, mourning in a lifeless country. She requests this because British people disrespect her, so she feels that she should not have to conform to their ways. She may also want a funeral like this because it may have been a tradition her family to have and she would want to follow this.
The demand by Nichols to have a ‘blue sea dress’ for her funeral points out the likeness of the Caribbean, exotic and tropical. The demand for the dress can also be linked to the poem ‘Fat black woman goes shopping’ because it states how the Caribbean has the ability to supply her suitable clothing.
Nichols also wants her funeral to be a ‘brawl’. This means that she wants there to be excitement, people getting drunk and fighting. She also wants the people to reflect emotionally about the death of herself. The repetition of ‘first night’, ‘third night’ emphasizes how Grace Nichols wants the mourning of death to continue after the funeral. The rhythm of this line indicates the beat of a drum, which is reminiscent to the Caribbean as drums are a very important part of Caribbean music.
The protective imagery in the final stanza is important. The imagery states Grace Nichols’ desire to return to her roots literally like a child returning to her mother for protection and safety. The stanza states ‘In the heart of her mother’s sweetbreast, in the shade of the sun’s leaf cool bless, in the bloom of her people’s bloodrest’. This shows her desire to return to her mother and also the return to the heart of her family. The imagery relates to the Caribbean as a sense of warmth because of the warmth of her mother. Furthermore the stanza shows Nichols wants to identify with her forefathers.
Nichols wish to be reunited with her mother, links to the poem ‘Praise song for my mother’. They are linked because they both involve her mother and how Nichols wishes to recur back to her mother’s death.
The overall message of ‘Tropical death’ is similar to that of ‘The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping’ the reason for this is that they both state an obvious contrast between Europe and the Caribbean. Nichols refers to Europe and the way of life as being lifeless and dull in both poems whereas when referring to the Caribbean she says how spectacular and perfect the place is by commenting and conjuring up beautiful settings.
Grace Nichols’ three poems ‘The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping’, ‘Praise Song For My Mother’ and ‘Tropical death’ are all somewhat linked to with one another. They are all distinctly cultural. They are like this for a number of reasons. The obvious reason is that Grace Nichols wants to create a sense of Caribbean culture in her poems because that is where she is originated. The poems state the colourful aspects of the Caribbean, the scenery, weather and the food. They all imply how much pride and dignity Grace Nichols withholds for her country.
All of Nichols’ poems lack punctuation. Nichols deliberately does this because then the reader can then feel free to read her poetry at a pace, which they desire and not be restricted by full stops or commas. This also rebels against the fact in how her forefathers were restricted. They were restricted because they were captured and forced to work as slaves.
Creole is occasionally used in Nichols’ poems. Creole is the Caribbean dialect. She uses it because she wants to preserve her homeland and roots. Nichols also decides to use Creole because she personally described it as ‘genuinely exciting’, which would make her feel that her poems are more vibrant. Nichols also may use Creole so that readers may not understand her poems and also she may want to aim her poems at a certain market.
Grace Nichols also links her poems by using images of colour and vitality and comparing these with Britain. In ‘Tropical death’ she says how a funeral in the Caribbean would be a ‘brilliant tropical death’ whereas she describes a European funeral as a ‘cold sojourn in some… far/forlorn. In ‘the Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping’ she says how the Caribbean is sunny, ‘bright and billowing’ whereas she complies how London is ‘so cold’ and narrow minded.
The three poems link because they all contrast the emotional, physical and colourful aspects of the Caribbean with London. They also make the Caribbean sound much more attractive.
Also in the three poems Grace Nichols relates her relationship with the Caribbean to her mother. In all three, they show how she has a strong desire towards the Caribbean hence that fact she always talks positively about the place.
Grace Nichols’ poems clearly show a sense of cultural identity. They show this by Nichols referring to warmth, colour, recalls to the Caribbean, use of Creole and contrasts to Europe.
In Nichols’ poems she also states how she adores the Caribbean, which is why she wishes to return there to be buried. They also state her feelings about London. She feels very critical about London she believes that she does not belong in London; as she cannot find the appropriate clothes and the people mock her. Therefore she feels that London does not identify or accommodate the cultural identity she is searching for.