Compare and contrast The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping with Presents from my Aunt in Pakistan. How do the two poets convey their feelings about being outsiders in Britain?
The poets have written about the subject which is clothes, they have used this to symbolise how different races & religions in different societies have different styles. In “The Fat Black Woman goes shopping” it tells us how she doesn’t fit in because she cannot find “accommodating clothes” that fit her and are to her liking. She also talks about the way “de pretty face sales gals” react to her being a larger size than the rest of them and how she feels aggravated because the fashion stores she wants to shop in do not have “soft and bright and billowing” clothes that she wants and searches for.
On the other hand the poem “Presents from my Aunt in Pakistan” is showing how she feels that she doesn’t deserve to be in the clothes her Aunt has sent over to her, as it makes her feel uncomfortable because she “longed for denim and corduroy.” Also the expectations that are upon her having to wear the clothes are leading her into that uncomfortable feeling she felt because it is making her feel pressured and embarrassed “…and I was aflame,” because she is so used to the English cultured clothing rather than her Pakistan clothing that is to conspicuous and tight “My costume clung to me…” making her stand out to her family who may be watching her try on her new clothing.