Both poems have a powerful theme in common. What is it? How do the poets make their points?
Both poems have a powerful theme in common. What is it? How do the poets make their points? For this coursework I will draw a comparison between the two poems 'ogun' and 'nothings changed' Both poems have 'anger' in them. In 'ogun' as the poem nears to the end the sentences start to become shorter. This is shown as from the first sentence of 'My uncle made chairs, tables...' to the last sentence of 'image of his anger'. Also the poem portrays the struggle of the poets uncle and the way his uncle is neglected by the world. The poet praises his uncle for the struggle he is going through, and pities the effects of the negligence and poverty has on his uncle. This is shown as 'he was poor most days...' and ' he would have baffled them'. On the other hand 'Nothings changed' is the anger of the poet Tatamkhulu Afrika returning to the wasteland that was once his home, and reliving the anger he felt when the area was first destroyed. He sees a new restaurant that is built in the area, which is expensive, stylish, exclusive, with a guard at the gatepost. But then he thinks about the poverty around it, especially the working men nearby, where people eat straight from a plastic tabletop. This makes him reflect that despite the changing political situation, there are still huge inequalities between blacks and whites. Even though South Africa is supposed to have changed, he really knows
Compare the ways poets reveal emotion in Nothing
Compare ways poets reveal feeling in Nothing's Changed and one other poem. The feelings that people show in poems are often different. They can be sad, happy, excited or afraid, and poets show these feelings in a number of ways. In Nothing's Changed the feeling is of anger and aggravation at the lack of change in racism and separation. Whereas in Night of the Scorpion the feelings are of tension and apprehension as the child worries for its mother. In Nothing's Changed the poet uses repetition of connectives "and" on four lines in stanza 2. This shows growing feelings of anger and adds impact as the stanza commences. It shows his rising anger and the words suggest he has had a hard life and he is becoming trapped and the anger more concentrated, "skin about my bones". In Night of the Scorpion similes are used to make the village seem panic stricken and frightened, unlike the anger shown in Nothing's Changed. On line 8 in uses the simile "The peasants came like swarms of flies". This simile makes it seem like anger and makes the child and the villagers seem panic stricken and afraid. In Nothing's Changed the language helps to show the man's anger and the annoyance that he feels with the people. It says "Hot, white, inwards turning anger of my eyes". This shows that he cannot express his anger and the frustration that is bubbling up inside him. In Night of the Scorpion as
Other Cultures.
English Course work Ricky Davies 10D Other Cultures From looking closely at the two poems 'Nothings Changed' by Tatumkhulu Afrika and 'Charlotte O'Neil's song' by Fiona Farrell, it can be seen that both poems protest about the inequality of rich and poor. However it could also be suggested that 'Nothings Changed' is also protesting about racism. 'Nothings Changed' tell us of the poverty and struggle of the black people versus the distinguished lives of the whites. 'Charlotte O'Neil's song' shows a young girl servant who suffers inequality at the hands of her rich employer. This poem, unlike 'Nothings Changed', does offer some hope for the future as the girl is to move to a better life. The first poem I am going to look at is 'Nothings Changed' by Tatumkhulu Afrika. The poem shows a society where black and white and thus rich and poor are divided. In South Africa at the time this poem was written there were laws called the Apartheid system which kept black and whites apart. The area of South Africa where the poem is set is Cape Town where the blacks live in poverty, while the whites live a sophisticated life. The poet in the poem is protesting about the inequality that existed within this situation. The poem starts by showing the poor conditions that the black citizens are expected to live in at, 'District Six'. The poet gives the impressions that this area is run
Compare "Nothings Changed" with one other poem showing how the poets reveal their ideas and feelings about the particular cultures and traditions that they are writing about
Compare "Nothings Changed" with one other poem showing how the poets reveal their ideas and feelings about the particular cultures and traditions that they are writing about Throughout Afrika's childhood he felt a deep sense of isolation, a factor to later influence his writing. Brathwaite didn't experience the same emotion, but the way he was treated when he was younger also influenced his writing. Afrika found out that he was 'black' at around 12 years old and felt bad for his fellow black men and women, and the way they were treated. The poem "Nothings changed" was written when he had discovered he was coloured and it is about him protesting and voicing his concerns and opinions for those worse off in society. The poet Brathwaite also writes for those mistreated by people in power, in his protest poem "Limbo." It is about slavery and its effects on a society. As the title suggests the poem is related to "Limbo," but whether it means the place between heaven and hell, or the game/ dance Limbo is unclear. Afrika's motivation lay within his life experiences and influences, as did Brathwaite's. The two poets had each experienced forms of power, yet both were able to express and convey the flaws of these authorities in different styles. Today, "Limbo's" content is unbelievable. However, by using this approach he helped people realise that slavery was a real issue.
A Comparison of "Limbo" with "Nothing's Changed".
A Comparison of "Limbo" with "Nothing's Changed" The poems "Limbo" and "Nothing's Changed" have a lot in common if you look past the actual words into the meaning of the poems, you will see they both originate from the same theme; racism. "Limbo" tells the story of the Limbo dance and the joy of performing it. The poem is telling the story of a slave travelling from Africa to the West Indies in a slave ship. On the long journey, the slaves invented a dance called the Limbo dance which kept them fit and healthy so they could survive the journey. The dance involved walking underneath a stick only bending your knees; the stick started off low down then gradually went up every time you went underneath it without touching the stick. "Nothing's Changed" is a poem based on the segregation of white people and black people in Cape Town, South Africa. In 1940, apartheid was gripping over South Africa, the rich white people earned 12 times as much as the black people. There was no actual law abut it but everybody knew it, the black people were forbidden to go where white people went. The poet is expressing his views about how bad the situation is and how much he hates it in this poem. In both poems, they involve white people taking advantage of black people and they both come from the view of black people and tell us how they are treated. However this is not so obvious in the poem
What are your impressions of "Nothing's Changed".
What are your impressions of "Nothing's Changed" Nothing's changed is a very intense poem, it is showing the black boy's feeling towards what he is seeing and experiencing during his life. The poet tells the reader how he's angry due to the attitude towards black people. There are many violent and physical emotions in this poem. He makes the words and phrases come to life, for example "small round hard stones click" and "cans trodden on, crunch" by using this technique a physical response is brought into the poem. This feeling of conflict and physical tension makes the reader feel on edge. It makes the reader feel like tension is building. The poet tells the reader how he knows he's in district six by "the soft labouring" of his lungs and "the skin" about his bones, also "the anger" in his eyes. Anger and physical tension are very important in this poem. I believe it is mainly what the poem is about. To make the feeling of anger and tension build up more. The poet refers to heat a lot, for example "flaring like a flag." Words like "hot", " white", "burn" and "flaring" are used throughout the poem to keep the anger flowing. I feel that this situation is rather like in a boiler, the pressure and heat is building steadily but it can only take so much. The poet also tells the reader that he doesn't feel welcome in this country, despite there are no "sign says it is." The poet,
Nothings Changed
NOTHINGS CHANGED By Tatamkhulu Afrika > Describe the irony in the title nothings changed. In my opinion nothings changed is a tragic and revengeful poem, which reveals the veracity of the way nothing has changed even after apartheid. The poem is set in District six, Cape Town, South Africa and was written by Tatamkhulu Afrika. A man who once witnessed the solace and recreation of district six. There is an ample of irony in the title nothings changed. District six has changed physically but in no other way. For starters in stanza one the man is walking through district six which has been evicted of the ethnic cultures and instead been inhabited by whites. Through this stanza we discovered that district six is kept a shambles "into trouser cuffs, cans, trodden on." This means that no one really cares about it anymore. Another factor mentioned are the purple weeds. The color purple is often referred to as dried blood (hence there must have been a massacre). The scattered rubbish and the purple weeds (in this case symbolizing death) are all ironic because during apartheid people were being killed/ beaten and people treated the place with no respect. Even after apartheid, nothing changed. Moving on the man comes across a lavishing restaurant. Through his careful choice of language, Tatamkhulu Afrika has made it obvious that the restaurant is for white people only. For
Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Poet's Use of Language in "Nothing's Changed" and "Two Scavengers in a Truck,
Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Poet's Use of Language in "Nothing's Changed" and "Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes" "Nothings changed" is a poem about the separation of black people and white people in South Africa. The poem is about all the invisible barriers separating blacks, entering where only white people can go in the country. This poem emphasizes the problems with the system and breaking apart the two different types of culture. "Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two beautiful people in a Mercedes" although they are the same race, this poem uses the phrase "Small gulf" to metaphorically show the distances and differences from higher and lower classes in society. I feel that "Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two beautiful people in a Mercedes" is seen from the view of the "Scavengers" looking enviously down into the Mercedes. This poem stereotypes poorer people as they are labelled as "Scavengers," and the higher class two people are labelled by the poet as "Beautiful" and "Elegant." "Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful people in a Mercedes" instantly introduces the poem by stereotyping the two different classes. The lower class garbage-men are labelled as "Scavengers" while the higher class Mercedes owners are described by the poet as "Beautiful." The title contains a metaphor and a contrast between the two sets of classes because the poem
I have been asked to compare two poems. I will be writing about
I have been asked to compare two poems. I will be writing about "Nothing's changed" by Tamamklula Afrika and "Charlotte O'Neil's song" by Fiona Farrell. Both poets are protesting about the injustices and inequalities of their own respective cultures. In "Nothing's Changed" Afrika protests about the differences in the way that black and white people are treated in South Africa. The poem illustrates how, although the South African apartheid system was abolished in the early 1990s nothing had really changed beyond paperwork. Afrika was once quoted in an interview as saying "We may have a new constitution, we may have on the face of it all a beautiful democracy, but the racism in this country is widespread. We try to pretend to the world that it does not exist but it most certainly does, all day long, every day, shocking and saddening and terrible." He reinforces these feelings in his poem. He begins the poem in a calm mood. He describes his walk down the path towards district six in a calm, almost leisurely way. When he reaches district six the sense of calm leaves and the anger in the poem starts to become apparent. He talks about how there is no sign to show the name of the area but he can feel it. "No board says it is: But my feet know, And my hands, And the skin about my bones, And the soft labouring of my lungs, And the hot, white, inwards turning Anger of my
Discussing 'Breathless'.
Breathless - 1st Draft Kris Wong 12TB "Breathless" is about a man climbing a very steep mountain. At 21,200 feet, the effects of the high altitude are beginning to take a toll on him, causing him to become weary and breathless. The weariness of the poet grows as the poem progresses until he is nearly unable to climb further. The poet's seems to be asking the reader a question - 'Why are people willing to go through so much suffering to achieve their personal goals?' The poem is not split into different stanzas, but rather into sentences. The short and succinct sentences, which contain a considerable amount of enjambment, help to give a sense of breathlessness and fatigue to the poem by causing the reader to become quite tired as he/she is reading the poem. These factors allow the poem to be written in an unaligned column, which helps to make it look like the side of a very steep mountain, similar to the one the poet is climbing. The title of the poem - "Breathless" tells us that the author is quite exhausted. The opening of the poem explains the title and helps to further the exhaustion of the poet by stating that his heart ached and lungs panted. The words 'dry air sorry, scant' helps the reader to visualize and experience the scarcity and dryness of the air. The line 'why at all' in line 6 gives us an impression that the poet is not sure why he is willing to go through