The mother’s emotions are well expressed in the first stanza by an alliteration that makes the reader understand the pain and distress that the mother is feeling. “…mother’s tenderness for a son she soon would have to forget.” The ‘S’ sound here are being used to emphasize tenderness from the mother towards her child, as the ‘S’ has a very delicate and flowing sound when tenderness is pronounced, thus also creating a depressing mood, which highlights on forgetting her son. This shows that there is a sad mood here, as by foreshadowing Achebe suggests that the refugee mother’s child is going to pass away. By joining tenderness with the ‘S’ sounds in son she soon, were to forget, this depressing situation emphasizes on forgetting, meaning her son is soon to part away into the afterlife. It gives a very kind-hearted feel to the poem, because the death is a calm and slow one, in the mother’s hands, not alone without her comfort, which would ease the child’s suffering and pain. Furthermore it must be stressed that “son...soon...forget” is an example of foreshadowing as forgetting her son, indicates the destiny of the central character, which is the mother’s child.
The first 5 lines of the second stanza give a very intense imagery of children dying. “Dried-up bottoms” is used in the 3 line to show dehydration, which of course is a constant struggle refugees have to deal with. The writer shows that bottoms are unfortunately dried-up, when actually the child’s bottom is supposed to be soft and round. This gives a horrific imagery of the refugee camp and the ill-fated misery that refugees have to experience there. The starvation that the refugees undergo is expressed well by using ‘B’ alliteration in the 5th line of the second stanza; “…steps behind blown empty bellies.” This quote emphasizes on the under-nourishment of the children, as they are fighting diseases and a lack of food. Starving children, who are also suffering from illness, get round stomachs, and the ‘B’ sound here shows harsh reality to the life and suffering at this moment in the refugee’s life. When reading this line, the 3 ‘B’s are expressed in a tough way, right after each other, in contrast to if that line were to state “steps at the rear of puffed empty stomachs’. The ‘B’s have a sharp and bold sound to it, which is a skillful way to express the poor state of suffering refugees and the lack of food they have.
As we read on, we the quote “Most mothers there had long ceased to care but not this one; she held…” This quote shows the contrast of this refugee mother and other mothers who might live in countries where this suffering is not currently taking place. The semi-colon emphasizes this contrast because it joins the two ideas of the refugee mother compared with other mothers who are more fortunate. This clearly shows how tough life is for refugees in their camps. This line distinguishes the mother from the other mothers who don’t have to suffer these terrible situations, because the refugee hasn’t yet lost faith in a slight chance of the child surviving, although her child is dying, she comforts both him, and herself. The “rust colored hair left" is another situation that illustrates the under-nourishment of the child and the lack of food. The word "skull" is disturbing and it reflects back to the line before where the writer mentioned “ghost smile”, hence by showing these two images of death, the writer shows that the fate of her child dying is just about to happen. Note the use of ellipses that force the reader, by having a small pause to swiftly reflect back on the poem, to think of the attachment and emotional bond between mother and child. The combing of hair is the last signal. It is a custom, and is a simple act taken for granted in our everyday lives. “Little daily act of no consequence.” It is the very last loving touch of the mother. Due to the infirmity of the child, the mother offers her child, with the only simple pleasure she can present him; she combs his hair. This intensifies the reader's compassion and sympathy for the mother. The plainness of this act brings to life the terrible nature of the painful conditions.
The poet uses simple graphic images, such as ellipses, dashes and semi-colons creating a visual image that the reader can sense the feeling in the poem. The dashes in lines 11 and 12 definitely emphasize that the mother is not yet giving up on her child as it slowly dies; thereby she is being strong about the terrible circumstances, although she knows that her son is about to part into a second life from her. Dashes are a strong affect here, as they are like a small pause, so the 2 pauses, are like short thinking periods, maybe a short session where the fate is now clearly evident that her child is to die, which intensifies the pain the mother has to undergo as her child is about to pass away. But, in the quote “singing in her eyes”, that the mother is not giving up on her child. This does seem ironic, as the mother wants to sing, given the terribly sad situation of her beloved child is dying. Although the child is about to die, it is still alive and the mother hopes and prays to try to save her child, she doesn’t give up on it, even though the 2 dashes from before were already clear signs on the slow passing away of her child, so this emphasizes on the pain helpless mothers have to undergo in the refugee camps.
The last few lines of the poem show how the mother has to say goodbye to her child. The mother makes the imagery so simple by using this simile, “… Did it like putting flowers on a tiny grave.” Putting flowers on a tiny grave is a common act, during a burial, but tiny here is not used to emphasize the size of the grave, but how the mother has cared to be with her son until his death. The flowers are used to show the mother’s final gesture of farewell, illustrating a sad and intense imagery as unfortunately this child had to die before her mother actually has, which is not the right thing in life, showing how the child’s life was inopportune, but for the mother, it definitely wasn’t a waste. Therefore this quote also demonstrates the attachment between the mother and child, and how the last gesture of combing her child's hair, was like saying goodbye to him.
Chinua Achebe is an excellent writer, and has made this poem an intruding, yet plausible read. This poem is an example of one of his great works, which uses many different techniques such as irony to show the emotions the refugee mother has to undergo, foreshadowing to gain the attention of the readers and look at the seriousness of such an event; the contrasting image of life and death, and the contrast between more fortunate mothers and the one mentioned in the poem, which therefore show lives and emotions a refugee embarks on, as well as alliteration to highlight the harsh reality of a refugee’s life. Skilfully balanced and combined in the poem with intense imagery and descriptions, this poem is an excellent example of Achebe’s poem writing at its best. The tone in the poem is very depressing and painful as it shows the pain of losing a loved one, and the sorrows that war causes. Thus, the poem teaches us about the blessed relationship between a mother and her child.