Another topic which is dicussed in ‘Wherever I Hang’ is the superficiality of modern society which hinders immigrants when they try to fit into this countries customs, they also explore whether this way of life is correct or not. In ‘Wherever I Hang’ it says:
“And is so I warding of de cold
And is so, little by little
I begin to change my calypso ways
Never visiting nobody
Before giving them clear warning
And waiting my turn in queue.”
This segment of the poem shows that at first she tries to keep to her old ,“Calypso,” ways but in the end she gives into the English way of life, referred to as the cold in a similar way as her forsaking the sun in the first stanza. It also tells us that not only is it referred to as cold but also is anti-social itself as we never visit anyone without warning. This also displays a point of view, which could well be the poets, that the English way of life is superficial whereas the caribbean way of life is much more open and true, and therefore better.
This view is shown again in ‘My Gran Visits England’ when her gran sees the suferficialities alone of England and not the shadows beneath:
“Boy, come take my photo – the place cold”
When gran asks for her photo to be taken it shows that she wants to remember England by that, but it will only show the shallow exterior on the surface of England and not the realities inside, all coated in the glossy exterior of a photo. This is confirmed when the only comment she makes about England is that it is cold which is highly superficial as that may change with the weather, at natures whim.
In ‘Wherever I Hang’ Grace Nichols investigates the effects of trying to find out what the rules are and where the boundaries actually are. This is shown in the quote below:
“De misty greyness
I touching de walls to see if they real
They solid to de seam”
The first thing this quote shows is that at first there seemed to be no boundaries, only misty greyness, so there were no boundaries. But then she encountered the boundaries that confined her to do and not do certain things, these walls are solid to the seam. This is a metaphor and a homophone for they seem to be solid while using the commonly used phrase ‘solid to the seam’. This also infers that English culture and society is not as stable as everyone thinks it is.
This feeling is similarily reflected in ‘My Gran Visits England’ as shown by the quote below:
“As she found
That the ground was as groundy
The frogs were as froggy
…
And she looked at her spade
And she pondered”
This extract is writen in the style of a nursery rhyme , once again showing the Grans childlike niévety, this depicts to us her Gran digging, a commonly used phrase to describe searching, but she doesn’t dig deep enough to find the slug beneath her toes.
The next point I have chosen to discuss is that of the unsurity of immigrants as to where there home truly is. Sometimes they don’t fit into wherever they have immigrated to but have said goodbye to their old life. This extract is from ‘Wherever I Hang’:
“I don’t know really where I belaang
yes divided to de ocean
Divided to de bone
Wherever I hang my knickers – that’s my home.”
The metaphor in this compares the division between the two societies to a physical separation of her flesh from her bones. Using the word ,”bone,” evokes the feeling that the persona is stripped and reduced by the experience of immigration. The implied pain encourages a sympathetic response from the reader. The statement, “Wherever I hang my knickers – that’s my home,” displays that she is caught in the middle of a confusing situation just trying to do every day things with only the things she absolutely needs.
In ‘My Gran Visits England’ there is a set structure in which there are seven stanzas, six of which have four lines and one has two lines. This structural arrangement is used to section off the last two lines, as they use direct speech. In the central three stanzas all of the lines bar one of each stanza have the same beginning and rhythm. This creates a linking effect and makes it look as if it was a poem in a poem, which helps to introduce the theme again and reflect the poem, as it also has a sub-text beneath it. The first stanza introduces us to the poem by telling us about her gran in a semi-narrative position, next is a totally narrative stanza which tells us what happened as soon as her gran arrived in Shoreham by the sea in an almost childish fashion, which links it to the next three stanzas as they are written in a similar fashion to a nursery rhyme. These stanzas are also descriptive and use euphamisms and metaphors to make points out of describing insects and worms. The penultimate stanza gives us a slight climax as we are unaware of grans opinion on her findings. The last stanza gives us a conclusion to the poem as it explains not only Grans feelings but her childlike superficiality which is mirrored in the poem as it uses simple language and a nursery rhyme feature. In the third and fourth stanzas a half rhyme ending in an ee sound is used to connect them together.
‘Wherever I Hang’ is completely different in how it uses its structure as there are only two main stanzas and one small concluding stanza. This mirrors the style in which the poem is written as the poet starts the poem by using guyanese dialect showing that English culture is still alienated from her. But then she starts to use English more corectly as she accepts the English culture and drops her Guyanese dialect. Lastly she regains her dialect as she begins to feel homesick and becomes unsure of where she belongs. The last mini stanza is used to reflect upon the rest of the poem and sums up the emotional pain that she went through during immigration. At first the first stanza is written hopefully showing that originally she only saw the bright side of England, but then ,”de misty greyness,” seeps down and she sees the realities of England at the end of the first and beginning of the second stanza. The end of the poem is written regretfully as she misses the home she left but doesn’t know if she will be accepted back there again.
I think Grace Nichols intention in writing these poems were not only to explain the hardship and pain of other immigrants but also her own pain when she herself immigrated to England in 1977.
