Across on each side of the page whereas Half-Caste uses incorrect words and cleverly compares things, he does this by turning his poem into a dialect form, where it seems like he is asking questions to the reader “explain yuself wha yu mean when yu say half-caste yu mean when light an shadow mix in de sky is a half-caste weather/”
Agard ridicules the use of the term 'half-caste' by following the idea through to its logical conclusion
Should Picasso be seen as second-rate because he mixed a variety of colours in his paintings? Should the English weather be scorned because it is full of light and shadow? Should Tchaikovsky's music be seen as inferior because he used both the black notes and the white notes on the piano? Is someone who is called a 'half caste' only half a person? Agard also seems like he’s asking rhetorical questions, and is really answering the question for the reader, he does this by using words like explain yuself instead of what do you mean.
Both Poems use contrasting language and layout to get the message of the poem across.
In ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ the writer contrasts the beautiful clothes and jewellery of India with boring English cardigans from Marks and Spencer. In the beginning she prefers to wear ‘normal’ English clothes, “I longed for denim and corduroy” and complains about how uncomfortable she feels wearing her Pakistani Clothes
“my costume clung to me and I was aflame”. The writer also uses the phrase “alien in the sitting-room” to show how the girl feels when she puts on the satin-silk top. In the second half of the poem she wants to remember her childhood, growing up in Pakistan and pictures what it might be like.
John Agard also uses contrast in his poem; he contrasts the meaning of Half-caste in the first half he uses half caste as a half and half being mixed together ‘when yu say half-caste yu mean when Picasso mix red an green is a half-caste canvas’ he uses the colours red and green as half’s being mixed together.
In the second half he uses a different meaning of half caste, as only one half “why I offer yu half-a-hand an when I sleep at night I close half-a-eye”. Agard uses the word Half-caste to a more literal meaning.
Presents from my aunts in Pakistan is written in free verse, and the phrases are spread loosely across the page, by doing this she creates more emphasis on certain words for example ‘I longed
for denim and corduroy’
Instead of ‘I longed for denim and corduroy’ Alvi does this to create more emphasis on the word longed, by doing this she shows what the girl in the poem is doing, it also gives more of an understanding for the reader to relate to, whereas in Half Caste Agard uses gaps between the stanzas, this is because he wanted the reader to think about what was just said in the stanza, by leaving a gap it gives him time to let the reader think about the point he made and get ready for the next.
The lines throughout the poem are quite short; this is to hammer home the message to reader.
Words like Explain yuself and half are repeated or echoed, this builds up a pattern in the language, this strengthens the impact of his argument, echoing and using repetition is a successful way of strengthening the impact of messages and arguments.
The poem relies on comparisons to make us see how stupid it is judge things that are contrasting colours as only half worthy.
He also uses the weather as an example of something that is full of contrasting colour, when he uses the phrase overcast it sounds like same word as caste with an ‘e’, but it’s actually a different word, this adds humour to the poem, Agard uses humour because it is very powerful, it makes the reader connect and relate to the writer of the poem it does this by engaging and enlightening the reader.
Agard chooses not to use Standard English or standard punctuation, this is partly because the poem is meant to be read aloud, he also writes in a Caribbean dialect to show that there isn’t a right or wrong way of speaking, the Caribbean dialect also emphasises that the poem is meant to sound like it is talking to someone, because it isn’t in standard English it seems more realistic.
Although Alvi uses Standard English in ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ she uses words like salwar kameez, this is a word from a different culture, this relates to the Caribbean dialect used in ‘half caste’ because the words are both from different cultures.
While ‘Half-caste’ relies on comparisons ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ uses lots of imagery, however the imagery is also used to make comparisons for example in the first stanza she uses lots of vibrant colours (orange split open, peacock blue) to describe her Pakistani clothes and Culture, she then talks about her English culture in an ordinary way, this is because girl can relate more to her English culture meaning there is no need for great emphasis on what she already knows so well.
The final image in the poem leaves the girl alone in the Shalimar Gardens, somewhere she has only been in her thoughts, Alvi uses this technique of leaving this the last image in the poem because this is the image that the reader’s imagination is left with.
The poem is written to make the writer seem confused about whether she is more Pakistani than English; she also regrets having lost her original culture ‘often I admired the mirror-work, tried to glimpse myself in the miniature glass circles, recall the story how the three of us sailed to England.’ Half-caste uses a more angered tone warning everyone who uses the term half-caste; he also uses a sort of sarcastic humour as he tries to make people understand his message. “Excuse me standing on one leg.
Agard has written this poem to make people understand that a mixed raced person shouldn’t be seen as lower class or as something threatening but as something enriching, ‘an de whole of yu mind an I will tell yu de other half
of my story’ this shows that he wants people to become more open minded and not prejudiced
