The language and structure in the poem is very straight forward. The poem consists of seven stanzas and is written in the present tense, although the poet is recalling a past experience.
Stanza one consists of a single sentence. There is a staccato rhythm which reflects that the poets entry into District six is being resisted. Words such as "stones", "seeding grasses", "cans" and "bearded seeds" gives us the impression that the surface is resisting his presence. There is also alliteration of "s" sounds which sounds like suppressed feelings. The use of onomatapoeias such as "Click" and "crunch" gives a harsh effect.
In stanza two the poet uses repetition of "And" to convey the build up of his anger. The repetition of “And” tells us how familiar he is with the place as he can feel District Six in his body.
Stanza three is a whole sentence which tells us about the sort of world the whites can still inhibit
Stanza four consists of two lines and is a turning point in the poem. It introduces the contrasting and separate world of black people.
Stanza five consists of two sentences and is a complete contrast to stanza six this establishes the difference between black and white people. It obviously shows that the whites as having better facilities and a luxurious life.
Stanza seven has three sentences and puts us in the poet's shoes. He say "boy again", this makes it like a flash back as he remembers what has happened in the apartheid era. The poet uses alliteration, "small mean O of small, mean mouth" to tell us how powerless he was watching from outside the restaurant. However, in the next sentence his "hands burn for a stone", as he wants to take some action. He is referring to the days when activists used bombs and other weapons against the apartheid regime. The final sentence emphasises his final opinion of District Six, "Nothing's changed". He still knows the apartheid regime is still present in District Six.
Tamatakhulu Afrika is trying to say that nothing has really changed. Although the apartheid regime is no longer in South Africa there is still a deep division between black and white people. In his statement, Tamatakhulu Afrika says, “ we try to pretend to the world that it does not exist, but it most certainly does all day long, everyday, shocking and saddening and terrible”. This statement clearly indicates that nothing has really changed
“Desiree’s Baby” also has some racial element to the story as black people were slaves and white people were considered to be more powerful, wealthy and dominate
Armand falls in love with Desiree “ as if he was shot like a pistol shot”. Armand had been warned against marrying Desiree because of her obscure origin, but he does not care and was “swept along like an avalanche”. This shows that Armand is a headstrong and uncontrollable person. This also provides a clue about what may happen later in the story.
When Armand realises that their baby is of mixed race, we realise that the clue is telling us that Armand does not think before he acts. He comes up with the assumption that Desiree is not white
There is also a twist at the end, where Armand finds “ a tiny bundle of letters” from his mother reveals that it is he who is of mixed blood and “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery”. So Armand is punished for his pride and his feelings of superiority over black people. We know Armand is like this because on his plantation he carries out a strict rule and punishes slaves severely.
We fell sympathetic to Desiree because she is totally devoted to Armand, she loves him desperately and depends on him for her happiness. When he rejects her she feels as if the world has come to an end. The author also creates sympathy for Desiree because we are deceived into thinking Desiree is at fault because of her obscure origin and because Armand rejects her for something that is not her fault.
The language in the story provides us with many clues as to what the final outcome will be. Many words are used which relate to colour such as “fair”, “dark”, “black”, and “white”. Also, a clue to the twist in the story is when Madame Valmonde says, “This is not the baby”. This tells us that she thinks something is wrong with the baby. It also tells us that the white society thinks that being black is a bad thing. The significance of the quadroon boy makes it obvious that something is wrong as “Madame Valmonde scanned the baby narrowly then she looked searchingly at Zandrine”. Zandrine is a slave and is described as being yellow. The author mentions that Desiree has an obscure origin. This makes the reader think that something is wrong with the baby because in those times bloodlines were very important to the status of the family and their social placement, so the “purity” of the family must be kept. There is also a hint when Desiree defends herself from the accusation of having a black origin and says “look at my hand, whiter than yours, Armand”. This comment made by Desiree makes the reader question whether it is Armand who has the black origin.
The structure of the story is different from the structure of the poem, because the story comes from a longer period of time. Both structures reinforce the main themes. In the poem, the two halves of the poem remind that black and whites live in separate worlds and the story enables us to follow the clues to the twist in the end.
Therefore, the two texts do have similarities. In the story Kate Chopin tries to show us how the world is quick to judge. In this case it was Armand accusing Desiree of having a black origin when it was Armand who had the black origin. Tamatakhulu Afrika tries to make us see the inequalities of blacks, as there is still a deep division between black and white people although the apartheid regime had supposed to be abolished.
