A Comparison of Poetry of Different Cultures

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A Comparison of Poetry of Different Cultures Each poem is unique in its own way. They are all aimed at a specific thing or try to get a message across to the reader. But then again, many poems may well be related to one another. They may be related in an obvious way or a way which is more intricate and harder to identify. 'Night of the Scorpion' and 'Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes' are no exception. They are both unique yet they both are contrasting two things in the poem. In the poem 'Night of the Scorpion', Nissim Ezekiel compares the differences between one sceptic man and a whole village of superstitious people. In the poem 'Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes', Lawrence Ferlinghetti writes about the differences between the rich and poor. In the rest of this essay, I will compare these two poems. I will first describe each poem in separately and then compare the different aspects of the poems in together. Finally, I shall conclude the essay by writing the writer's intentions towards their poems. In 'Night of the Scorpion' Nissim Ezekiel remembers "the night" his "mother was stung by a scorpion". The poem is not really on the subject of the scorpion or its sting, but on the distinguishing reactions of the family, neighbours and his father, with the mother's dignity and courage. The scorpion is said to be sheltering from ten hours of rain, but so fearful of people that it "risks the rain again" after stinging the poet's mother. This shows the scorpion as a fearful and apprehensive creature. After the scorpion has bitten the mother, the peasants make effort to "pa... ... middle of paper ... ...at 'all men are created equal' - and the red light is democratic, because it stops everyone. It holds them together "as if anything at all were possible between them". They are separated by a "small gulf" and the gulf is "in the high seas of this democracy" - which suggests that, with courage and effort, anyone can cross it. But because the poet started this statement with "as if", we do not know if this is an illusion or a real possibility. Ultimately, both these poems 'Night of the Scorpion' and 'Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes' contrast the different aspects of culture and primary views of people and communities. Each person or community have different beliefs on how to deal with various problems. In some cases, their specific customs are able to work and in other cases, they are not.

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