The poem is written as a narrative poem, irregular and only has one stanza. Some of the lines thought at the poem are short which provided impact. I think that Serote wrote this poem in order to show people how the ethnic minority of that time were oppressed and the difficulties that they faced by their white counter parts.
Serote uses imagery to convey this for example he uses ‘I salute you’ this is very effective as the image that comes to mind when these words are said is his hand reaching to his head, this in effect suggests a warm greeting or a welcome but instead Serote puts his hands is in his back trousers pocket for his pass. These few lines express a mocking tone as it depicts fear and anxiety and is shown not to be a proper salute. It continues by saying that his pass is his life. These two concepts together show they are both as important as each other. This is because without his pass he has no life.
It appears that Serote repeats the words ‘Jo’ Burg City’ many times throughout the poem, this suggests that he was very familiar with the city as he has been there so long. The writer uses similes such as ‘my hand like a starved snake rears my pockets’. This simile shows how nervous he is because he is looking for his pass, it also has a lot of depth to it because if you imagine a starved shake clenching onto a piece of food. In the same way you can imagine him clenching to his back pocket.
‘For my thin ever lean wallet,’ this quote links in to the previous one because it indicates his lack of money. Therefore it also shows his economic status in that city.
The poet uses a lot of emotive language in this poem to try and make the readers understand the hardship for black people ‘My death,
That is so related to me as a wink in the eye’ The quote ‘the wink in the eye comes across as being emotive because it enables is readers to realise that his death could be as quick as a wink of the eye. This suggests that with every wink there could be danger of death.
It is apparent that the poem is written with no structure this maybe because the poets feelings at the time were incoherent. When reading the poem the mixture of emotion appears to be overwhelming therefore it would be difficult to put words into a logical order.
Serote expresses ‘There is no Fun’, ‘nothing in it’ this statement would indicate that ‘Jo Burg City, Johannesburg’ is like being empty or unfilled, the idea of happiness or fond memories appear to be missing, leaving a void in his life needing to be filled.
I believe that Mongane Wally Serote wrote this poem to try and make his readers aware of the type of treatment that was inflicted upon black people. He wanted people to understand and see the segregation that was evident in his time and the oppression being mete out upon the less fortunate due to laws conjured by white people. Serote wanted people to appreciate that these laws were unfair and destroying the lives of vulnerable people.
I conclude by saying that the emotive language used throughout the poem identifies with the oppression ‘where death lurks in the dark like a blade in the flesh’ for me this final statement re-emphasises the blade, which is a knife being held close to a person who if he moves without being told to will be killed. This without a doubt shadows the deep pain and turmoil Serote really feels inside.
This poem has made me realise that black people had no place in life. It also showed me how life had changed for the better. I felt that this poem was very touching as it made me feel sorry for who had to live life knowing that at any time death could be waiting for them.
