There was no news that a hurricane was coming our way, and also where we live hurricanes

Clash with the hurricane Chapter 1 I woke up early morning and turned on the TV. I could not see anything clearly because I did not have my glasses on. Only red flashing lights from the TV appeared in my eyes. I got up and went and put on my glasses. The red flashing lights that were coming from the TV now made sense to me. 'BREAKING NEWS' I used the remote controller and went and put up the volume. 'Indestructible hurricane has blown over the Big Ben' I could not believe what I was hearing. 'The hurricane has taken over 230 lives and still has not finished its quest for destruction. The hurricane is now appearing to be heading for North Surrey' the news reporter man reported. 'God, I live in North Surrey' I thought to myself. I began to be frightened and scared.The pictures that are being shown on TV are horrendous and horrific. Men and women are laid on the floor covered in blood, helplessly. Trees have been battered to the ground. Cars have been toppled over. House windows and doors has been smashed open. Buildings have been left completely damaged. The cry of

  • Word count: 1008
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Back Home Contemplation" - Write about the ways in which the poems in this section are linked.

Remind yourself of "Back Home Contemplation". Write about the ways in which the poems in this section are linked. Consider: - -Register and tone -Form and style -Any other features of language you consider to be important. The section "Back Home Contemplation" represents an important section n of the entire novel. It pulls together the idea of the black woman from Africa to the Caribbean. It embodies all the experiences, emotions and feelings by showing her memories of the childhood she experienced and sharing them with the reader. "Back Home Contemplation" discusses the memories, which Nichols had as a child, which are shown in the form of a snapshot memory. The lexical framework, which Nichols uses, emphasises the imagery used throughout the section. She uses an ongoing image of water throughout the section in order to show her ties to her family. The water represents the way in which her family are all streams flowing from one origin but in different directions. This is shown in "Hey There Now!" which says "my sunchild branching from my mountain river". By using this technique Nichols shows to the reader how highly she thinks, not only her close family, but of the people of her origin. She uses the idea of water to represent strength, protection and a necessity for life. This shows the reader the importance of this section to Nichols and also sets the scene for

  • Word count: 1328
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What are Hurricanes?

What are Hurricanes? Hurricanes are violent tropical storms, an atmospheric movement in which the wind blows spirally round towards a centre of low barometric pressure. They are characterised by very strong winds and torrential rains. Hurricanes kill more than 20,000 people a year. Worldwide, that is more than any other form of natural disaster. A large hurricane can release more energy in one day than all the energy used in a year by the USA. How are they formed? Hurricanes develop in tropical areas, over the sea. The sun's rays heat the air and water, which are more concentrated at or near the equator. The hot air rises up, carrying with it large amounts of water in the form of fine droplets (water vapour). The warm air spirals upwards, leaving an area of calm in the centre, called the 'eye of the storm.' This 'eye' can be dangerous because as it passes over, people are fooled into thinking that the storm is over, when in fact the worst is still yet to come. This 'eye' especially passes overhead after a hurricane roars ashore. The heavy rains and wind of the hurricane are suddenly followed by clear skies and almost an eerie calm. Within an hour or two, however, the 'eye' passes and the opposite side of the storm hits, bringing with it the destructive winds and flooding rains again. The size, or intensity of a storm depends on its wind speed. Hurricanes are graded

  • Word count: 851
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In what ways is Grace Nichols Using an Individual, Characteristic Poetic Voice For Forest?

In what ways is Grace Nichols Using an Individual, Characteristic Poetic Voice For Forest? The ways in which Grace Nichols using an individual, characteristic poetic voice is very different from other poets such as Ted Hughes or Seamus Heaney. From a first impression of the poem, we can see there is no set poem structure. This is a free verse poem, almost in a conversational style. The fifth and sixth stanza's begin with 'and' and 'but' respectively as if it is speaking to the reader personally. This is unlike many poems and is free of style. I believe that Grace Nichols is British but with a strong Jamaican or Caribbean background. We can predict this by the fact that the poem is written in English originally and the English used is not Standard English. This poem is in dialect English, the word forms, which are non-standard as in many cases, prove this the word 'is' is not present. Also there are no definite articles throughout the poem. Throughout the most common words in English like 'the' and 'a' are very rare within the poem. There are therefore no grammatical words. There are only indefinite articles, which are words that actually have a meaning, also called lexical. Grace Nichols is once again confirmed as being from the Caribbean region by the Spanish links given in the poem. The word 'eldorado' meaning 'golden one' is a Spanish word. In history, the Spanish went

  • Word count: 1297
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What does the language of Grace Nichols’ have to tell us about her culture?

Grace Nichols Coursework Summer 2001 What does the language of Grace Nichols' have to tell us about her culture? Grace Nichols' poetry revolves around her culture and the foundations from before she moved to England. She was born in Guyana, then moved to a place where her lifestyle was dramatically changed. Here she could not share her culture. This may have caused a stronger standpoint on her feelings as she has had a chance to reflect on what her background is and what her roots are about. Culture is something that you share with your community, young and old, whether it is something that has only lasted within your generation or throughout hundreds of years. It is something that is cherished and protected, but is also shared throughout other cultures. Nichols has used her idea of culture as a way to express her feelings about her history, which has caused her to create her own personal, strong opinions. Nichols uses poetry to express her own culture because it is something that everybody would be able to understand in his or her own way. It lets the reader become involved with the poem and allows them to have their own opinion and thoughts on each and every part. The language of a poem can tell us a great deal of what the readers own opinions are and what he/she feels. In this case it is Nichols' culture. Throughout her poems she chooses to use her poems

  • Word count: 3240
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare the way the poets explore Journeys and Places in

27th February 2007 Compare the way the poets explore Journeys and Places in 'Limbo' and 'Hurricane Hits England' Throughout 'Limbo' and 'Hurricane hits England', both poets explore the themes of journeys and places in various ways. These include ambiguity of 'Limbo' creating a reflective and rhythmic pattern which is consequently juxta posed with the definition of limbo meaning the place between heaven and hell. This gives a positive feeling towards the poem as limbo is usually played at parties and creates fun and music whereas it can also be interpreted as negative as it's a place where your sins are not good enough for heaven but are not bad enough for hell. In the other poem, 'Hurricane hits England' also uses a lot of juxta position to make the reader think about the poem however its more personal to Grace Nichols and talks about her home 1ife and past experiences. During Edward Kamau Brathwaite's poem 'Limbo', the pattern of the poem is immediately introduced into the poem. "limbo, limbo like me, limbo, limbo like me". This creates a musical beat in the poem which suggests maybe an African/Jamaican culture. The structure of the poem is done in the way in which a person would travel under the limbo stick and then rise up again. "Long dark night is the silence infront of me", this suggests the fear of going under the stick and the silence from the audience. Yet

  • Word count: 959
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Grace Nichols is a poet who has written poems about immigration.

Mr. Barlin English essay: Grace Nichols poems Ross Aylard Grace Nichols is a poet who has written poems about immigration. These three poems that will be compared in these essays are all written by her and about the experience of immigration. However not all of them are necessarily from her point of view. 'Island Man' has been from a man's point of view. In 'My Gran visits England' the poem may be written from her point of view but the poem focuses on the Gran and how she looks upon immigration. In 'Wherever I Hang' Grace Nichols explores the differences between Guyana and England. "And de humming bird splendour" This line is a metaphor of what Grace Nichols sees Guyana as. The humming bird is the animal that represents the country, Beautiful, colourful, small and modest can all be used to describe both the country and the bird. "Among the pigeons and the snow" This line gives Grace Nichols impression of England. The pigeon can be described as dull, grey and ugly. Again this is also how she sees England. There also seems to be so many of them looking so similar that you cannot tell them apart. This is also how she sees the people in England are like. The words at the end, 'splendour' and 'snow' are also there to describe the two counties. These are the habitats that the two birds live in. The fact that they begin with the same letter

  • Word count: 1255
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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English Language Assignment A: Response to Poetry from Other Cultures and Traditions

English Language Assignment A: Response to Poetry from Other Cultures and Traditions Many poets write about the power of nature. Using 'Hurricane Hits England' by Grace Nichols and 'Storm on the Island' by Seamus Heaney, discuss which poet in your opinion has conveyed the power of a storm most vividly. Both poets use the power of nature to indicate the violence of the storm. 'Storm on the Island' by Seamus Heaney is from death of a naturalist and was written in 1991. 'Hurricane Hits England' by Grace Nichols was written in 1967. Both poets use the content, structure and language of the poem to express the power of Nature, from different cultural and gender perspectives. Nichols writes about an incident in England when a Hurricane hits the coast, she thinks that the storm is following her because she lived in the Caribbean where Hurricanes were more common. Heaney writes about an incident on an Irish island when a storm hits a house. Both explore and ideas brought on by the storm for example loneliness In Nichols case she thinks the storm has set her free and this helps her recognize her cultural identity. "It took the hurricane to bring her closer to the landscape." Nichols used to live in the Caribbean were Hurricanes weren't as unusual. Heaney is from rural Ireland and his father was a farmer, he talks about how much effort he has put into his house. Heaney uses

  • Word count: 1038
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How has Grace Nichols created a sense of other cultures in her poems 'Fat Black Woman goes shopping', 'Tropical Death' and 'Praise Song for my mother'?

How has Grace Nichols created a sense of other cultures in her poems 'Fat Black Woman goes shopping', 'Tropical Death' and 'Praise Song for my mother'? Grace Nichols was born and brought up in Georgetown, Guyana. She was moved to London where she still lives. Due to the history of invasions the people from the Caribbean Islands are a mixture of races. Most of the original Caribbean people were killed off by disease brought to the Islands by western explorers. As a result of this, Grace Nichols is a mixture of races and this comes through in her poetry, as she mixes standard English and Creole. Also her multicultural background leaves her searching for her roots and her identity. This also comes through in her poetry as she often creates an idyllic image of the Caribbean using warm imagery, and contrasts this with a cold, unwelcoming image of northern Europe. 'Fat Black Woman goes shopping' is a humorous poem that delivers a serious message. The message is that the British fashion industry does not accommodate everyone. The character feels out of place, when she is shopping in London. This is because of the weather and the welcome she gets. The weather is described as being cold. The word cold has a double meaning. The first is that the weather is cold and the second meaning is the way people are treating her. If they are being cold they are being mean, bitter and

  • Word count: 1587
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How is the subject of love explained

How is the subject of love explored through 'Even Thou' and 'Shall I Compare Thee To a Summers Day'? This essay will explore and compare two poems. The first poem is 'Even Thou". I don't think that the title gives off any information on what the poem is about. The second poem is "Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day'. I do think that the title of the second poem gives off information on what the poem will be about because it translates as, 'Shall I Compare You To A Summers Day' and summers day's are usually bright and beautiful. The first poem was written by Grace Nichols. I think Grace Nichols' point of the poem is to show that even when you have sex with someone you still are able to stay independent. Grace Nichols shows this by using lots of positive words. In my opinion the general message of 'Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day' is that Shakespeare's' lover is better than a summers day. 'Even Thou' makes me feel really good because Grace Nichols gets across the point to the reader that sex is positive. As a teenager this is a wonderful thing because sex is always being portrayed as something bad. 'Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day' also makes me feel good. But in my opinion the poem is too metaphorical. The first poem has 7 stanzas. 7 is said to be the lucky number so is Grace Nichols showing us yet another way in that sex is positive? I think that the way in

  • Word count: 893
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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