Comparing how the themes of freedom and oppression are explored in the poems 'Caged Bird' by Maya Angelou and 'Nothings Changed' by Tatamkhulu Afrika (Poems from Other Cultures)

Comparing how the themes of freedom and oppression are explored in the poems 'Caged Bird' by Maya Angelou and 'Nothings Changed' by Tatamkhulu Afrika (Poems from Other Cultures) 'How do the two poets reveal the themes of freedom and oppression within the poems? Which is the most successful?' Poetry is such an important way of expressing themes, ideas and feelings in a condensed form. 'Caged bird' is a poem written by Maya Angelou and 'Nothings Changed' is written by Tatamkhulu Afrika. 'Caged Bird' is about 'Freedom'. In this poem Angelou relates back to how Black Americans were treated during the Civil Rights Movement. 'Nothings Changed' is also a poem about the American Society which has been written by a man who was demanded to leave his home, District Six. From these two poems, I can explore the themes of 'Freedom' and 'Oppression'. Maya Angelou focuses her poem 'Caged Bird' on the impact of the Civil Rights Movement. Angelou is a black woman with a full experience of the injustice against Black Americans. She has written this poem to reveal the significance of her situation as well as other Black Americans. Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature, and as a remarkable woman with many talents she continues to travel the world making appearances and spreading her legendary wisdom. Incredibly she has broken down the barriers of 'class' and

  • Word count: 1610
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Fahrenheit 451- a vision of the future

Fahrenheit 451- a vision of the future Ray Bradbury's vision of the future is not very optimistic and is not a world I would like to live in. In Guy Montag's world, compared to ours, technology has advanced but it hasn't made an improvement in life. One of the big social changes in Bradbury's vision is the role of firemen this partly down to the advances in technology because all houses had been made fire proof. Now there were no fires to put out so the firemen had to be given a new role: "And so when houses were finally fireproofed completely, all over the world there was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes." Their new job was to, instead of put out fires, start them to burn books because books were thought to corrupt and distress people so the government decided they needed destroying, and reading books was made against the law: "'Did you ever read any of the books you burn?' He laughed.'That's against the law!'" Transport has changed a lot aswell, even though it seems to have become faster, you'd think that would be a good aspect, it has made travelling more dangerous. The government is very strict with books but no where near as tough on cars or rules of the road. These 'jet-cars' can travel as fast as they want and you can get arrested for travelling slow: "He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two

  • Word count: 402
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare and contrast the ways in which the poets present injustice in "Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes" and "Nothing's Changed".

Compare and contrast the ways in which the poets present injustice in "Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes" and "Nothing's Changed". "Nothing's Changed" by Tatamkhulu Afrika is a protest against white authority- and against supremacy over all underprivileged, mistreated, weaker members of society by any power group. The focus of this disapproval is the Apartheid approach which subjugated white South African thinking. Tatamkhulu Afrika, writer of "Nothing's Changed", lived in Cape Town's District 6, which due to apartheid in the 1960's was unfortunately declared a 'whites only' area. Afrika was forced to evacuate his home land and some many years later, just after the official end of apartheid, Afrika set about writing this poem during a time of hope, in which his poem became an autobiographical verse. In "Nothing's Changed" Stanza one, Afrika invites the reader to stand in his childhood shoes and observe the on goings during apartheid. Although Afrika is recalling a past experience, through writing in the present tense Afrika incites the reader to relive the occurrence. By doing this he creates a vivid read in which the reader can identify with. As the poem develops it is easy for the reader to imagine that he too is walking, seeing and breathing everything that Afrika also overcame. Afrika continues to make the reader feel as if they are there

  • Word count: 2024
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Poetry Coursework:Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes (Lawrence Ferlinghetti) and Nothing's Changed (Tatamkhulu Afrika)

Poetry Coursework: Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes (Lawrence Ferlinghetti) and Nothing's Changed (Tatamkhulu Afrika) The American Constitution clearly states that all men are created equally and should have the same opportunities as each other. However, Ferlinghetti believes this is not true. In his observation he sees the garbagemen or 'scavengers' tired and weary from their route, working hard but still in unavoidable poverty. Also using a word like scavengers he compares the garbagemen to rodents scrounging a living at the bottom of society. He then sees the 'elegant' couple in an 'elegant' Mercedes, loving their life, not a care in the world, both wealthy and smart. The woman 'so casually coifed' and the man in 'a hip three piece suit' who, have both benefited from the inequality of the American Constitution, taking it easy in their heavenly life. Ferlinghetti understands the unfairness of the Constitution but knows deep down that it cannot change and will never change. In the poem Ferlinghetti makes many contrasts between the scavengers and the elegant couple. The title shows us straight away that the poem will be about the contrasts between two pairs of people. 'Scavengers' is a derogatory term for the garbagemen because it suggests that they live off the rubbish of others - a scavenger beetle lives off rotting flesh. However,

  • Word count: 1919
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Use Nothing's Changed and another poem; discuss how the writer creates a sense of place.

Use Nothing's Changed and another poem; discuss how the writer creates a sense of place. I have chosen to study Nothing's Changed by Tatamkhulu Afrika along with Island Man by Grace Nicholas, both of which are indirectly linked on the issue of place and where they belong. Nothing's Changed depicts a society where rich and poor are divided. In the apartheid era of racial segregation in South Africa, where the poem is set, laws, kept apart black and white people. The poet looks at attempts to change this system, and shows how they are ineffective, making no real difference. On the other hand, Island Man tells of a man from the Caribbean, who lives in London but always thinks of his home. Nothing's Changed opens with a very vivid image of nature, perhaps the poet is walking through a field where the only sign of plants are dried and dead, this has been emphasised by the use of 'crunch' the use of onomatopoeia also adds to this effect, also 'click'. It seems that the poet or the person in the poem feels at home as it's a pleasant image of what life is like, 'amiable weeds' and use of alliteration, 'trodden on, crunch' elevate this as it shows the beauty of nature. Island Man open with daybreak, as the island man seems to hear the sound of surf - and perhaps to imagine he sees it, since we are told the colour and the language tells us of the nature. This is followed by

  • Word count: 1414
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Assignment on Poetry from other Cultures and Traditions

Assignment on Poetry from other Cultures and Traditions Ever since life on Earth started it has been closely linked with suffering. Sometimes, against their will people hurt each other. All people have values of their own, dignity or pride, money or power, beauty and attractiveness. Depending on the individual depressing these values may lead to very strong feelings. Throughout history some of the best pieces of art have been influenced by the creators thoughts. Suffering is one of those feelings. In this assignment I will try and look inside the suffering that has led to the writing of these poems... Many women that left their homeland, in the 1860-80s, saw 'new life' in the face of New Zealand. They were taken up there by ships, and the only information about them was from the records. Those women left behind their past, to start a new full of expectations future. In those records there is a girl, Charlotte O'Neil, who is listed as a 'general servant'. Fiona Farrel chooses her as a leading character, to sing a song about her feelings and thoughts, in her play Passengers. Her song is only set in two tenses - the past and the future. Like the song reveals, the job involved everything, from opening the front door, to emptying the chamber pot. In the first verse the girl tells us all the work she had to do for her master. The last line: '...and I scrubbed till my hands

  • Word count: 1430
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How effectively do Tatamkhulu Afrika and Chinua Achebe both convey their feelings and attitudes towards society?

How effectively do Tatamkhulu Afrika and Chinua Achebe both convey their feelings and attitudes towards society? Tatamkhulu Afrika and Chinua Achebe both effectively convey their feelings and attitudes towards society in [A S 1]many ways. In this essay I hope to discuss the way both poems have managed to covey their personal feelings, emotions, thoughts and protest against the reality of living in Africa during the 1900's. If we compare the background of each of the poets we see that their backgrounds were very similar. Afrika was born in Egypt in 1920. He migrated to South Africa and was brought up by white farmers. He worked as a professional solider, a shop assistant, a barman, a drummer in a jazz band and a copper miner in Namibia. All of these jobs are jobs thought of to be low paid, disgusting jobs. He was arrested twice for an uprising in 1964 and for terrorism. He lives by him self in South Africa and has written many novels and poem describing his life. Afrika's poem, "Nothings Changed," is about the life of coloured people in South Africa. He also talks about the minor differences between the black and the white community in the road and the café. Achebe was born in Nigeria and is also well known for his novel and poetry writing. He studied English Literature at the University of Ibadan. When civil war broke out in 1967 his friends were severely punished. This is

  • Word count: 1525
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How do Seitlhamo Motsapi and Tatamkhula Afrika portray apartheid in their poems 'Andif' and 'Nothings changed'?

How do Seitlhamo Motsapi and Tatamkhula Afrika portray apartheid in their poems 'Andif' and 'Nothings changed'? The apartheid was a time between 1948 and 1990's. Apartheid is an African word meaning 'separateness' this was not just separation between people but it was racial segregation. The apartheid was invented by the national party it was a way to cement their control and economic and social system. The aim of the apartheid was to maintain white domination while extending racial segregation. The apartheid had major effects on black people in the country. Blacks had to carry identification and passports in their own country. They were not allowed education but only what they were allowed to have but this was very limited. They needed permission to enter white areas. In public areas, they had designated areas that they could use like car parks and public areas/facilities. They got jobs like slaves serving the whites. If they even tried to stand up for themselves, they were met by violence. The blacks had to stay in their own areas called 'Bantua'. The blacks had lost their freedom and rights. There was even a ban put on marriages blacks could not marry whites. If a person in a family was black and the rest of the family was white then the rest would count as blacks. The poems that we are going to write about are to do with the apartheid and the effects of the apartheid on

  • Word count: 1569
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How do the poets in Nothing's Changed and Charlotte O'Neils Song use their poems as a form of protest

How do the poets in Nothing's Changed and Charlotte O'Neil's Song use their poems as a form of protest? In this essay I aim to illustrate how the poems Nothing's Changed and Charlotte O'Neil's Song are used as a form of protest. Nothing's Changed is an autobiographical poem written by Tatamkhula Afrika. He was born in Cape Town and was banned from writing and public speaking for five years in 1987 by the South African government. Charlotte O'Neil's Song was written by Fiona Farrell. She picked the name 'Charlotte O'Neil' from genuine ships' records. Both of these poems protest about past ways of life. In Nothing's Changed the speaker is a previous resident of a place called District Six, in Cape Town. The poem is about how he feels when he returns to his old home. He conveys his opinion about the way nothing has changed since he was last here - apartheid is still in South Africa. Apartheid is the political policy of keeping people of different races apart, which was practised in South Africa. Black and white people were segregated from each other; however, District Six was a mixed community. In Charlotte O'Neil's Song, Charlotte O'Neil changes her life by going after her dreams of freedom. She protests to us about the Victorian class system and how far she has to go to get her freedom. Charlotte is at the beck and call of her mistress and tells the reader of her

  • Word count: 1086
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How do the poets convey anger

How do the poets convey anger in the poems you have studied? Give your own response to the poetry, indicating your own point of view In 'Nothing's Changed' the poet expresses his anger in many ways. The persona is a black South African man, angered at the way black people were treated in South America during apartheid. However, the way they were treated is not what angers him so much. It is the fact that the abolition of apartheid has not really changed the perspective of white people or the treatment of black people. The main thing that stands out in this poem is the comparison between the posh restaurant for white people and the 'working man's café'. 'Crushed ice white glass, linen falls, the single rose .' This gives an example of the high quality, indicating expensive glassware, white tablecloths and the decoration. This description clearly indicates the superiority of the restaurant. This comparison is made very vivid by the description of the persona. Also ,this symbolises conflicting cultures, the white people, dining in a posh, new restaurant with clean tablecloths and expensive items, whereas the black people dine on cheap takeaways at a plastic table without a tablecloth, spit pieces on the floor and wipe their hands on their jeans. 'it's in the bone.' [line 40] This indicates the poets perceptive on the influence culture has. It shows that the

  • Word count: 1781
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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