Analysis Of Refugee Blues And The Last Night

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Helen Ge
‘Refugee blues’ and ‘The last night’

The holocaust is a horrible tragedy that occurred during World War two, when the Nazi’s persecuted the Jews throughout Europe. The poem ‘Refugee Blues’ and the extract ‘The Last Night’ are both about the recrimination and persecutions of Jewish people. They are both about facing cruelty and prejudice however the writers portray this in different ways. They both show us that the death of Jewish people is inevitable. In my essay I will show how persecution and suffering is conveyed.

‘refugee blues’ uses simple yet strong language, this makes the reader sympathetic to the situation. “some are living in mansions. same are living in holes” (this quote does not show first person” this shows the reader how dramatic the situation is. That within a small community there can be that much segregation and separation. The term “hole” is dramatic and clearly is a negative living space, “yet there’s no place for us” shows that Jewish people were treated that cruelly. It shows that they weren't even able to live in holes. Auden is using descriptive language showing us the desperate situation the Jews are in.
“each child was given a sandwich.” Faulk's focused on children, this is to make the reader feel sympathetic as children are seen and innocent and helpless. This simple sentence gives the reader insight and foreshadow of the future and inevitable death of the children.
Both poems have a tone that is not angry or extremely emotional, this makes the reader feel even more sympathetic. this is because it shows the reader they have given up hope. Auden uses a neutral tone to show us that hope is lost, that the death of Jewish People is inevitable and there no point putting up a fight. The speaker du...

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...ine contains a repeated phrase that develops the theme of the poem. The poems structure is relatable to music, The poem’s sense of musicality is also evident in its title. The ‘blues’ is a musical style that is today considered to be a sub-genre of jazz. Blues is generally calm, quiet and depressing, this can relate very well with the content of the poem. Blues originated from slavery. this is similar to the jewish people in concentration camps.
In conclusion, the poem and prose are written very differently. However they both show the suffering and tragic persecution of the Jewish people. They write in different styles for different effects. I find that the use of first person in “refugee blues” is very effective because not only is it more relatable the speaker is also speaking to his loved one or family. this takes the poem to a very personal and emotional level.

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