Comparing cultures: Nothing's Changed and Blessing

'Nothing's Changed' is set in district 6, Capetown in South Africa against a background of the end of the Apartheid regime. The speaker is Tatamkhulu Africa and the poem tells of his return to district 6. The speaker appears to have an angry attitude towards the culture it explored. Blessing is set in Dharavi, Mumbai against a background of a very hot environment, where millions of people live. The speaker is an omniscient narrator and tells of a water pipe which has just burst and happiness is spreading as they collect water. The speaker appears to have a celebratory attitude towards the issues explored. In 'Blessing', the poet uses language to show that the place has harsh conditions. The poem begins 'The skins cracks like a pod. There is never enough water' This simile gives the reader the impression that the place is dry and extremely humid because the skin will only 'crack' in extremely hot conditions. Further the fact that there is never 'enough' water shoes use how precious and rare water is to the village as there's never enough. In contrast, in 'Nothing's Changed', language is used to show the area is violent and inhabitable. District Six is described as an area where there's 'guards at the gatepost'. This description gives the reader an impression that the place is inhabitable as there's guards at the gateposts. This idea allows us to imagine the guards are

  • Word count: 522
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In the poem Blessing, Imtiaz Ali bases the poem on a situation in which water is a very rare commodity

Commentary Blessing- by Imtiaz Dharker In the poem ‘Blessing’, Imtiaz Ali bases the poem on a situation in which water is a very rare commodity and describes the scene that is created on the special occasion when water is available in plenty. The title of the poem is short, but not straightforward. When a reader initially reads the title ‘blessing’, the reader has no clue as to what the poem will be about. The first thing that came to my mind when I read the title was that the theme of the poem would relate to something religious, more specifically the Muslim religion, as it is written by a Pakistani Poet. However, it metaphorically symbolizes how much a common resource such as water is treasured. Imtiaz Dharker has deliberately done this to create suspense on what the poem is about, shocking the reader when he/ she starts to read it. Imtiaz Dharker has written this poem in 3rd person where he narrates a moment in time when water is available in an area. The poem is structured into 4 uneven stanzas in free verse further imposing the theme of the poem- the inconsistency in water availability. The first stanza introduces the theme with the quote ‘there is never enough water’. The suspense on what the poem is about is then broken as the reader is now aware that the poem is based on water scarcity. To further impose this theme in this verse, the poet has used

  • Word count: 890
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Of mice and men

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck Coursework Essay Examine the relationship between George and Lennie and say how they differ from other itinerant workers of the time. During economical down turn in the 1930s a worker would have to migrate to California from other parts of America in order to survive and try and escape failing in business, harsh poverty and unemployment. The great depression started when a series of droughts and failed crops occurred. A standard migrant worker would travel alone to a different ranch in a short term and continuously move in a short term, each worker was paid just about enough to survive therefore it was hard to start a ranch of their own. For a migrant worker, working at a ranch was the only suitable and available type of job. The majority had a dream for a better life even though it was a great obstacle getting there. Every migrant worker was lonely and isolated; it was common to find a worker so distant from one another due to jealousy. However George and Lennie were very different or even the opposite. Overall they did not travel alone but travelled together, they worked as a team and suited each other on account of George being smart and Lennie being tough and well built for the ranch therefore they were a perfect set together. George and Lennie were not distant and have each other also they both share a dream together unlike the

  • Word count: 1079
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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