Nooligan and Street Boy
The poems "Nooligan" by Roger McGough and "Street Boy" by Gareth Owen
are two poems which both deal with the issue of teenage hooliganism,
and both poets use language to create a vivid sense of character.
Although both deal with the same theme, there are many similarities
and differences between the two.
"Nooligan" is about a boy who thinks he is really powerful and harsh
but is actually an uneducated boy trying to be a real hooligan.
"Street Boy" is also about a hooligan except that he actually is more
powerful and has a higher status than the inferior "Nooligan".
One of the main similarities is that both the poets present the
characters as using slang language or some sort of incorrect form of
English. In "Nooligan" for example the boy says in the fourth line of
the third verse:
Football's me game
(Well, watchin')
McGough has used "me" instead of my. This portrays the "Nooligan" as
unintelligent and uneducated because of the use of words and grammar,
because the poem gives us an impression that "Nooligan" isn't the type
of person who would work hard (he doesn't "give a toss"), I'm not
surprised at the hooligan's English. The use of slang by the hooligan
in "Street Boy" is the word "hark" instead of listen or hear and
"stompin'" instead of walking. The effects that these two words put on
us are that we start to think that the boy actually does have some
power and attitude, and we believe that he actually is the bully that
he's talking about. But at the same time, the use of these slang words
makes the characters appear to be foolish and idiotic.
Another similarity that the poet employs in the two poems is that in
both of them, the first line of each verse is the sa...
... middle of paper ...
...he is. The words "stompin'", "silence", "spaced",
"stoned" all show that.
In conclusion, the two poems are very interesting and engaging in
terms of the use of words, tone, structure etc. The poets Roger
McGough ("Nooligan") and Gareth Owen ("Street Boy") use specific
techniques to give the poems a certain effect. There are differences
and similarities between the two obviously. The main similarity is the
poets' use of slang and an incorrect form of English and the main
difference is the language and vocabulary between the two poems.
Something worth mentioning is that the poets have made the poems
relate to all teenagers in general since the name of the "Nooligan"
and the "Street Boy" aren't given. So overall, there are a lot of
similarities and differences between the two, but both are to the
point and give you a general idea of what the poem is about.
“ Sirens blared, voices screamed and shouted, wood cracked and windows shattered, children bawled, dogs barked and footsteps pounded”(7). This scene is from the autobiography Kaffir Boy written by Mark Mathabane. That is one of the scenes he had to live through every morning in apartheid South Africa. Apartheid is a policy of segregation and economic discrimination against non-whites. Apartheid system affected every black person living in South Africa during that time. It forced blacks to become slaves in their own country. The system forced blacks to live in unsanitary environments, work-degrading jobs and carry passes, and receive limited education. Blacks and whites were living in different sections during apartheid.
In “Useless Boys” the writer, Barry Dempster, creates a strong feeling of disappointment and shame in himself and society as he looks back on his youth to when him and a friend made a promise to each other to “not be like their fathers”. Dempster expresses a sort of disgust for the capitalist society his world seems to be built around, a life where even if you’re doing something you initially enjoyed you end up feeling trapped in it. The poem is a reflective piece, where he thinks back on how he truly believed he would end up happy if he chose a different path than that of his parents. The author uses simple diction and syntax, but it’s evident that each idea has a much deeper meaning, which assisted in setting a reflective/introspective mood.
On the edge of North Beach, across the street from where the myriad of little shops in the wharf which sell Alcatraz t-shirts and miniature Cable Cars begin, two human outlines made of white paint adorn the ground in front of a union hall. These are passed by hundreds of tourists daily, as well as many residents, yet few stop to ponder the curious shapes or the crude text painted in red: “SHOT BY POLICE JULY 5, 1934.” Though this spot does not mark where the original incident occurred, for the men died in front of the original Longshoremen’s Hall on the corner of Mission and Steuart streets, when the new hall opened here on the edge of North Beach these outlines were placed to remember the event. That event, “Bloody Thursday,” became the climax of the waterfront strike in 1934 and a turning point for Employer and Union relations in San Francisco—and the rest of the nation.
Boyz in the Hood is a statement of how urban youth have been passed a legacy of tragic indifference, and the writer has shown that it is an almost inescapable fate for those born into racism and poverty to repeat the patterns they wish to escape. The movie’s characters are clear representations of how the system fails young black youth in the United States, and the difference one mentor can make for these kids. During segregation young black children became targets for white brutality. This movie reflects what the European mentality and what it has done to the African American culture.
Both poems inspire their reader to look at their own life. In addition, they treat the reader to a full serving of historic literature that not only entertains, but also teaches valuable lesson in the form of morals and principles.
Poetry is more than just a correlation of words; poetry contains power. Poetry works by sculpting the English language in such a way that it produces sound, while endeavoring to recreate experiences. I really grasped this concept when we read Dulcem Et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen. Among other things, this poem contains haunting imagery, and a rhythm that produces the sound of being in the trenches. While reading this poem, Wilfred Owen’s words made me fearful and paranoid. The slightest sound could hold my attention. I also noticed how silent the room felt after we finished the poem. We were all struck and disturbed by the old phrase Dulcem Et Decorum Est.
Song lyrics have set off a great generation of our leisure time than reading poetic devices, therefore song lyrics are better than poetic devices. Song lyrics have dropped numerous lines that attach to us now a days and make us listen to the line over and over unlike poetic devices. Song Lyrics have so much meaning by word choice and by relations.”Mr. Rager” by Kid Cudi, is about people fed up with society and plan on taking a journey. “Dreams” by Edgar Allen Poe, is about a man who dreams of a greater life. Mr. Rager, the song by Scott Cudi, has a better meaning than Dreaming, the poem by Edgar Allen Poe, by personification, allusion, and symbolism.
This is Peter Inskip coming to you live from triple j, with this week’s segment in our ‘Music and Society’ series. For the next half hour we’ll be looking at the punk music scene starting in the mid-seventies.
An examination of American counterculture as it exists today would make for an excruciatingly boring 15 pages. I refuse to drag you along in a discussion of my generation, devoid of originality or conviction, in an age where the so-called subcultural movement, if one even exists, is defined by apathy. While institutionalized American greed, exploitation, entitlement, and deception propagates at an alarming rate we find ourselves enveloped in our own narcissism. It is much easier to update our Facebook statuses than to face that the human race is driving itself into extinction as we defecate into our resources and onto our neighbors. In a world full of distractions and convenience there is simply no room for a rhetorical movement; maintaining opulence takes priority over basic human decency and few care to realize that we are pawns in operations all leading to our ultimate demise. If we had half the conviction of our predecessors, perhaps I could speak proudly of my generation; instead I am left to admire the rhetorical movements of yore.
Many viewers of the 2014 Grammy Awards were surprised and confused when two robots took the stage to receive awards. The musical group Daft Punk was a mystery to most watching. As many believed, the duo are not actually robots, but two french men. They find that their robot personas bring more attention to themselves and their music than their normal faces do. They play a wide range of electronic music, and have won several awards for it. Daft Punk has had quite the effect on pop culture with a large following, but many people have not actually heard of them.
“Football Factory” is a raw and powerful novel by John King depicting football hooliganism in Britain. The center character is Tom Johnson; he in his late twenties, and a white Anglo-Saxon working class male. He is a hooligan who supports Chelsea, the South London football club. For the protagonist, Tom Johnson, and others like him, Chelsea football matches, both home and away, provided the opportunity to vent their pent-up rage and fight ‘wars’ against what they view as a repressive society in Britain. In their minds, this repressive society is represented by the police, politicians, the press, armchair fans, the middle class, intellectuals, communists, women, and in terms of football related violence, opposing firms or fans. The hooligans refer to almost everyone as the “the scum of the earth" (King, 31). The book gives detailed information about brutal fights and violence. The novel does not follow a classic narrative structure. There is no character development and no attempts at redemption. “Football Factory” is not really driven by plot or character development as would be expected in a classical narrative, but uses characters and circumstances to make a statement about society, the welfare state, and poverty. The book also provides an inner look at the class divide from the perspective of working class British society, as well as providing an inside look at hooliganism in general, without prejudice or judgment, which enables the reader to make their own judgments and engage with the frustrations of youth in Britain.
Abrasive rock music has rarely been considered a potent political force in the United States. Punk is no exception to this rule. As a subculture, punk has received much more atention for its hairstyles and caustic sounds than its politics. As Daniel Rosenblat points out, punk rock “Confound[s] our conventional (western) notions of politics by [its] emphasis on maters which we consign to different domains entirely” (1). What he means i s that because punk does not express its political discourse in traditional venues or traditional terms, it is discounted as apolitical or politicaly impotent. To wit, Hebdige argues that subcultures can do litle more than provide a ‘signal of Refusal,’ and should be considered “just the darker side of sets of regulations” (3). Latino punks have countered these claims since the 1970s, with lyrical assertions that their political speech is an essential precursor to political change. In this paper I explore the ways in which contemporary Latino punk self -defines as political, in contrast to early punk bands who refused to be affiliated with politics. By explicitly aligning with political causes, Latino punk establishes a tension between punk’s historical tendencies towards ‘forgetfulness’ and ‘self -fulfilment,’ and new political agendas that push awareness and change. I conclude by asserting that the punk movement is preoccupied with individual fulfilment at the expense of political activism, a tendenc y that ultimately undermines its political import.
...very much different to “Brick Lane” because it is very subtly describing the cruel culture of America at that time but explicitly revealing the thoughts of black people. There is no description or explanation in the poem as opposed to Brick Lane but still contains representations of culture through short sentences or phrases and figurative language. We can see from just exploring two texts and slightly contrasting them, we get to learn the different ways culture can be portrayed. The culture of a society doesn’t necessarily need to be a non-fiction piece for us to know more about the culture but can be stories or poems, in these cases. We also do not need a vast number of information on the culture but like the poem can be short but still give away the true meaning. Just from this, we know how powerful culture is, and how many different ways it can be represented.
How is it that two poems, written on the same theme, could be so incredibly d...
These poems are different in their forms. Roethke, in his poem “My Papa’s Waltz” uses a closed form with a distinct pattern and a rhyme scheme. This poem follows an ABAB rhyme scheme. On the other hand, Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” is written in open form. It does not follow any rhyme scheme. The poets use different tones for the poems. In case of “My Papa’s Waltz”, the poet uses a tone full of excitement and joy as he describes the way he danced with his father, while in “Those Winter Sundays”, the poet uses a tone of melancholy when he describes the way his father did little things which no one noticed. The imagery used in the first poem is also different from that used in the second one. “My Papa’s Waltz”, uses imagery like “romping”, “waltzing” which reveals his excitement. On the other hand, in Hayden’s poem, there is no such warmth in the human