How two poets use personal experiences to express their attitudes and views towards cultural conflict?
In the two poems ‘Nothing’s Changed (NC)’ by Tatamuhkulku Afrika and ‘Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan (PFMAIP)’ by Moniza Alvi, both use a variety of clever and effective techniques. The two poets recall their personal hardships and shortcomings, and use it as a powerful way to express their attitudes and views towards conflict between and within their respective cultures. Both poems seem to show the writer cut a confused, helpless and frustrated figure as they struggle to find a culture and identity that they feel is right for them. They both evoke different, though equally significant moods that grab the readers’ attention. Both poets show how they have been caught up in cultural conflict and have suffered as a result. NC deals with the issue of racism in South Africa, both before and after the Apartheid, while Alvi explores her personal, social and cultural divide as she is torn between two very different cultures.
The hardships and shortcomings suffered by both Alvi and Afrika play a big role in how the reader responds to each poem. In ‘PFMAIP’, the writer is a young girl who has parents of different backgrounds, one of English heritage and the other of Pakistani heritage. Because of this she finds herself struggling to choose between the two different cultures. She does not feel quite right when trying on the traditional Pakistani clothing. “I longed for denim and corduroy” shows that she is desperate for English clothing when she was trying on her presents from her aunts, giving the impression that she feels uncomfortable and unfamiliar with it. She feels that she does not fully fit into any culture. “My costume clung to me and I was aflame, I couldn’t rise up out of its fire, half-English”. This word ‘costume’ shows that what she is wearing is something strange to her and something she would not normally wear. When she says: “I was aflame, I couldn’t rise up out of its fire”, she implies that, while she wanted to get out of the Pakistani clothes, she could not because she does not fully belong to the English culture.
The Essay on English Romantic Poets
The RomanticsBy: Aleem YousafThe period of Romantic poets in the history of English literature is full of beauty of human thought. William Wordsworth belongs to this era and is ascribed to as the pioneer of the Romantic Movement in poetry. His poetry is full of exquisite word-pictures of nature and presents it beautifully. Wordsworth felt the being of nature as no one ever has felt it and his ...
NC differentiates from PFMAIP because Afrika goes into detail, explaining the many simple human rights that were, and still are being taken away from coloured people. Afrika himself is a white man who was born in District Six, but due to his Turkish roots and Muslim faith, was classified as coloured. He clearly demonstrates the inequality of the different races with the white people Blacks Black">black people being undermined and looked down upon by the white people. He laments the fact that, despite all the efforts and time put into reducing and trying to rid the country of racism, it is still a major problem; maybe one as prominent as it was before the supposed solution. He uses District Six as a prime example. District Six is described in the first stanza as a run-down area in Cape Town where extremely poor conditions for black people is the norm, giving the suggestion that no-one cares for them like they do about everyone else. “Small round hard stones click under my heels”. The word ‘click’ is further emphasized by its position at the end of the line, much like ‘thrust’ and ‘crunch’ in the same stanza, perhaps showing that every clicking stone is more and more psychologically damaging to Afrika.
Language is important for both poets to broadcast their views on cultural conflict. The language used in NC by Afrika is really clever in getting his views across. In the first stanza, “cans, trodden on, crunch” is a truly intelligent use of imagery. The image of something crushed and trodden on reminds us of the homes of black people being torn down and this allows us to feel sympathy for the black people. At the start of the third stanza “Brash with glass” gives the image of a glass barrier between the races, which although is able to break, the racial abuse and injustice will never do the same because glass is harsh, destructive and painful. Also, ‘brash’ gives the connotation of carelessness and insincerity. In the fourth stanza, the line “Crushed ice white glass” is another fantastic example of effectiveness of Afrika’s poetry. ‘Crushed’ gives the suggestion of being smashed and defeated. Also, the difference between restaurants in the different areas is portrayed in the third and fifth stanzas. The white people restaurant is referred to as “new, up-market, haute cuisine”. The mere fact that the French language is used in the description shows that it is of a high class and a high level of sophistication, as the French language can sometimes be seen like that. Contrary to the top class restaurant of whites, the restaurant for the black people is of a poor standard. It is referred to as a “working man’s café”. A café is known as the lowest form of a restaurant, almost laughable, so this further increases the divide between the two cultures and races in the area.
The Essay on Rejected By White People Blacks Black
The book Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry is about a black family who experiences a lot of racism and is a victim in an unfair community which puts blacks down. The main contention for this essay is - fear is one of the main themes in the book. Fear is a main theme in the book because the black people are always scared of white people. The book has shown how black people have felt powerless against ...
In PFMAIP, Alvi also uses language which is crucial in expressing her thoughts and feelings on cultural conflict. At the very start of the poem she writes: “They sent me a salwar kameez peacock-blue”. Because she describes the salwar kameez as peacock-blue, she clearly shows admiration and finds the piece of clothing to be beautiful, calm and tranquil comparing it to the beauty of the bird itself. In the fifth line, the slippers received as a present from her aunt are illustrated as ‘gold and black’, a combination of colours which together form an image of sheer elegance and class. Despite Alvi giving the perception that she is in awe of the clothing from the Pakistani tradition, this does not necessarily mean that she is comfortable wearing it. In the second stanza, Alvi shows that she is not happy wearing these clothes, regardless of her admiration. “I tried each satin-silken top – was alien in the sitting-room”. This is a superb example because she says ‘satin-silken’, again describing the beauty of the clothes and also portraying her respect for the clothing. However, the word ‘alien’ is central to this sentence because it shows that she feels alienated when wearing these clothes and it is just not her.
The Essay on Uniforms vs. Casual Clothes
High school is supposed to be the best four years of your life, but for some people that’s usually never the case because of the way they dress. Everyone makes a first impressions which are mostly based on the clothes you wear to classify you as a jock, a nerd, the queen bee, and any other typical cliché names. Nobody will come and talk to you if you are dressed like a geek or a goth, but that’s ...
The expression of emotions and feelings is key for the poets in showing their attitudes towards cultural conflicts. In both poems they have similar emotions, emotions of frustration, confusion and helplessness. In PFMAIP, Alvi mainly shows an emotion of helplessness. “I could never be as lovely as those clothes”, is a way of showing that while she has tried to wear those clothes and feel like she is worthy of wearing them, her attempts are futile and she feels helpless. She is frustrated as she feels she does not belong in either culture. “My salwar kameez didn’t impress the schoolfriend”. This gives the implication that her friend is not impressed with the salwar kameez, much like the rest of England. In effect, she feels she is not good enough to wear the Pakistani clothing, and everyone else feels that Pakistani clothing does not belong in England. “I pictured my birthplace from fifties’ photographs”. In this quotation, Alvi does not refer to Pakistan as her home, rather her birthplace; this implies that she does not think of Pakistan as her home. Also, the timeframe mentioned, the fifties, was when Pakistan and India split up and this reflects the split of her personality.
Afrika similarly uses these emotions, as well as a few different ones such as anger. He seems resigned to the fact that nothing has changed and racial injustice in South Africa has remained the same. “No sign says it is: but we know where we belong”. Although the ridiculous signs showing that black people are not welcome have been removed, the message has stayed the same, and black people still do not belong. Here, Afrika, a white man himself, feels empathetic towards all the black people who have been on the receiving end of such unjust oppression, underlining just how bad the persecution must have been. More so than any other emotion, Afrika feels angry: “and the hot, white, inwards turning anger of my eyes”. This is an obvious, yet very effective example in that he clearly shows his emotion and just how strongly he feels.
The Essay on Dead Poets Society: The Influence Of Transcendental Thinking
Dead Poets Society: The Influence of Transcendental Thinking Transcendental thinking has an extremely empowering and influential effect upon whoever listens to its teachings. Transcendental thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau greatly influence three main characters from Dead Poets Society. The movie Dead Poets Society reveals the influence of transcendental thinking on the ...
When all of these points are taken together, I can conclude that both Afrika and Alvi, fuelled by their own personal experiences, use an array of adept and useful techniques to get their attitudes towards cultural conflict across. The two poets recollect their personal struggles and limitations, and use it as an extremely compelling way to convey to us their viewpoint and stance toward clashes between and within their respective cultures. The language used is relevant to the background because it shows imagery and contrast within cultures. I personally hold the two poems with high regard, especially with the considerable amount of emotion shown by both poets in the poems. They both clearly express their attitudes and views towards cultural conflict in ways that are different, yet both of an extremely equally powerful standard.
