Song of the Battery Hen. How has the poet portrayed what life is like in the battery farm?

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2 (a) How has the poet portrayed what life is like in the battery farm?

The poet has portrayed that life is comfortable in the battery farm.

In the first stanza, the poet describes the place where the hens live. They have “a new concrete floor that’s always dry”. This shows that improvements are made to the accommodation given.  They also have ‘a sheet-iron roof that rain drops on’. The hens are even sheltered from the rain, thus providing comfort. There is also a fan and fluorescent lighting to ‘disperse the smell of chickenshit’ and to light up the place ‘on dull days’. This shows that the farmer had kept into consideration the comfort of the hens. He made sure that the floor is hygienic; the hens are sheltered from the rain; the smell and lighting of the place. With such ideal conditions, life is comfortable for the hens and this may in turn help them to serve their purpose as egg-laying hens.

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Moreover, it is stated that the battery farm is situated in a considerably near distance with a broiler house. A broiler house is where tender young chickens are raised for broiling, over a grill or in an oven. This creates a contrast between the chickens in the broiler farm and the hens in the battery farm. The hens in the battery farm are reared to lay eggs and are given a nice place to live in while the chickens in the broiler farm are reared to be killed. This huge contrast helps to prove that the fact life is comfortable ...

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