From Moniza Alvi's poetry, how do we learn about the challenges of
living between two cultures?
Moniza Alvi writes many poems based on the difficulties she faces
whilst living between two cultures and I am going to explore these
difficulties through the following poems: - "The Sari", "Throwing out
my Fathers Dictionary", "an Unknown Girl" and "Presents from my Aunts
in Pakistan." Firstly, I am going to discuss her poem "The Sari" which
is a metaphorical poem telling us what happened to her in early life.
The poem begins, "Inside my mother I peered through a glass porthole",
which creates an image of a baby in the womb. It then continues to
say, "the world beyond was hot and brown", which suggests that she was
born in Pakistan.
The second stanza represents her Pakistani life consisting of a
father, servants and animals; "They were all looking in on me -
Father, Grandmother, the cook's boy, the sweeper-girl, the bullock."
This shows us the differences between the Pakistani and English
culture and also what her life would have been like if she had stayed
in Pakistan. The phrase "the bullock with the sharp shoulderblades"
uses a repetition of soft consonants suggests a feeling of calmness at
being somewhere she knows she belongs. The third stanza links her
Pakistani and English roots, "My English grandmother took a telescope
and gazed across continents", giving the notion that her Grandmother
wishes for he upbringing to be in England. The use of the word "gazed"
in particular gives an impression of great eagerness.
The third stanza begins with her journey from Pakistan to England;
"All the people unravelled a sari. It stretched from Lahore to
Hyderabad." This suggests that the unravelling sari is showin...
... middle of paper ...
...ttempts to recreate herself in their
culture. As you can see, Pakistani beliefs are very different to those
held by the English.
Moniza Alvi's poetry is deeply influenced by her cultural influences.
This is obvious because the majority of her poetry is based on the
difficulties of living between two cultures. Her poetry is also
influenced by fashions in writing. Her style is very modern and
contrasting to pre-20th century poets, and this enhances younger
reader's appreciation of the text.
In conclusion, Moniza Alvi was privileged to have lived between two
cultures because it meant that she was welcomed into two communities
and had the opportunity to experience different ways of life. However,
all good things come at a price and for this she suffered the issues
of not knowing where she fit in, which values she held and having high
family expectations.
Not only is this a beautiful example of her rhyme but also a great illustration of her ability to imagine and recreate a scene, it feels as though you yourself are leaping and bounding to freedom as you read this. In lines 17-20 a questioning of how she will define herself once she escapes arises, she asks if she can truly call herself an American. Beautifully saying,
“Champion of the World” Review “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou is a true story of Joe Louis becoming champion of the world. Angelou describes how the fight took place through figurative language and strong, powerful words. Angelou switches from first person point of view to dialogue from the radio announcer and listeners to show the reader thoughts and feelings of people in the story. Maya Angelou captures the audience from the beginning of the story and makes them want to read until the end. One way the Angelou grabs the attention of the reader is by using figurative language.
The poem “On The Pulse of Morning” written by Maya Angelou, this poem explains the effects of cultural diversity among the American people during the late 20th century. Maya states in the sixth stanza of her poem; “Each of you, a bordered country, Delicate and strangely made proud, Yet thrusting perpetually under siege. Your armed struggles for profit Have left collars of waste upon My shore, currents of debris upon my breast. Yet today I call you to my riverside, If you will study war no more.” (Angelou, 6)
In this paper, I plan to explore and gain some insight on Audre Lorde’s personal background and what motivated her to compose a number of empowering and highly respected literary works such as “Poetry is Not a Luxury”. In “Poetry is Not a Luxury”, Lorde not only gives voice to people especially women who are underrepresented, but also strongly encourages one to step out of their comfort zone and utilize writing or poetry to express and free oneself of repressed emotions. I am greatly interested in broadening my knowledge and understanding of the themes that are most prominent in Lorde’s works such as feminism, sexism and racism. It is my hope that after knowing more about her that I would also be inspired to translate my thoughts and feelings
In the book Letters to My Daughters, poet Maya Angelou wrote “I am a spring leaf trembling in anticipation of full growth” (163). Anticipation is a good description of how I feel about being a thirty-six year old college freshman. Anxiety, self-doubt, and dogged determination are on my list of emotions alongside anticipation, if I were being honest I would add. Providing my children with security, find true happiness in my career, and conquer my fear of failure are just a few things that hold my hand as I take this leap into higher education. Friends and family are surprised that I have gone back to school. In January of 2015 when I applied to South Plains College, I was working for AT&T making a good living. My mother especially couldn’t
As Maya Angelou, a civil rights activist, memoirist, and American poet, once said, “I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people”. There are myriad of traits that a hero possesses, but one trait that differentiates a civilian from a hero is altruism; it is defined as the “unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others” by Merriam-Webster. There are scads of heroes who possess benevolence such as Odysseus, Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, and Cesar Chavez. Odysseus is an epic hero in Homer’s Odyssey, Harriet Tubman is known for freeing hundreds of slaves from their masters, Clara Barton had nursed wounded soldiers, and Cesar Chavez had protested the injustice farm workers faced. Altruism is the fundamental trait that deems a person to be considered heroic for it is displayed by all heroes and is the foremost reason for a hero’s actions to aid others.
While reading "Courage Courses through Maya Angelou's story; Writer and activist agrees social problems persist" by Fish Griwkowsky. Maya Angelou is a very strong individual, not physically but mentally. Her life struggles and the strength she was able to maintain through those devilish times of her life made her the successful person she is now. She worked hard enough to become an iconic writer, poet, even in front of major films as an actor/filmmaker. Only hard work and dedication can get people where they want to be in life. Maya Angelou took risks and sacrifice, those hard times she went through gave her the strength to be successful. (Griwkowsky)
Two of the most popular poets of the 19th and 20th centuries are Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath, respectively. These women were born nearly one hundred years apart, but their writing is strikingly similar, especially through the use of the speaker. In fact, in Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy”, she writes about her father and compares him to domineering figures, such as Adolf Hitler, a teacher, and a vampire; and in Emily Dickinson’s poem “She dealt her pretty words like blades—“, she talks about bullies and how they affect a person’s life—another domineering figure. Despite being born in different centuries, Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath are parallel in a multitude of ways, such as their choice in story, their choice for themes, and their choice of and as a narrator.
Mayo Angelou’s poetry occupies a very special position in her development as a writer (Balance 1). As a child, Angelou went through five years of complete silence after she was raped at the age of seven years old by a man named Mr. Freeman. As a result of telling her family members about her traumatic experience, her uncle’s literally kicked the man that raped her to death. Beings she spoke of her traumatic experience and the result of the man dying, she then imagined that her voice had the potentional to kill. Thanks to her teacher, Bertha Flowers, at school Angelou started writing poetry as a means of expression of her life events through her poetry. Poetry thus played an essential part in the recovery of her voice, which in turn signaled the success of the healing process (Balance 1).
The question is: What do you think the grandmother meant when she said to the Misfit, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” Why do you think the Misfit killed her when she said that? Since the question is two parts, I’ll answer it in two parts.
Throughout these six poems the relationship between parent and child are all expressed in unique ways. While ‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath displays the hatred towards her father through the use of metaphors, the other five poems examined all show strong bonds between the parent and the child, though it may not seem so all the time. All these poets express their themes through the use of mood and tone, structure, language, literary devices (such as metaphors, similes, alliteration) and through the use of polysemous words or phrases. This specific theme can evoke many emotions in a reader, and can make them reflect on their own relationships towards a parent or child.
With the description of Amari’s childhood, she uses imagery to fight through and forget the hellish physical sensations, with sweet mental sensations. It shows how Amari, no matter what she goes through, will never forget her dreamy childhood and use her memories to fight through hard times and keep her going without giving up. It calms the tensions of the issue by droning out the terrible actions and calming everyone with sweet memories of a warm, beautiful childhood. It helps to resolve the conflict because if she never remembered her family, the hard times would be much harder and the idea of freedom would not mean as much to her, causing her to have a small amount of hope and desire to escape and become her own woman.
Being Israel’s third largest city, Haifa is one of the most diverse and unique cities in Israel. Haifa as a city is a mosaic that has been defined by a variety of qualities that have been portrayed through literature, in particular poetry, ranging from a time period beginning in the early 20th century to the late 20th century.
Most people think that poetry is just a form of entertainment, but it’s really more than that. It’s a way of expressing your feelings and ideas in a creative way. On April 4, 1928, a lady by the name of Marguerite Annie Johnson (Maya Angelou) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She became a major beacon and a representation of what poetry is. She wasn’t just any famous poet, but rather the voice for all of those who could not speak up for themselves and an outlet that opened doors for women of all backgrounds. Her poetry also helped give a sense for what it felt like to be Black in our modern day America. Marguerite didn’t have it easy during her early years of living. Her being an African American and a woman made it really difficult for her to be accepted as a serious poet, author,
Here again Lahiri displays her deft touch for the perfect detail -- the fleeting moment, the turn of phrase -- that opens whole worlds of emotion. The self- assurance and intellectual adequacy with which Lahiri handles her subject matter is peculiar to her alone. Lahiri has particularly focused on the of ‘Alienation’ which results in loss of identity turns a person into a pathetic figure, his voice being an echo, his life a quotation, his soul and brain and his free spirit a slave to things. The rootlessness of Indian English novelists tend to threaten their creative talents and force their work to follow a more or less fixed pattern giving at times the impression of superficiality and stereotypedness. Her stories reveal more sensitive issues of first and second generation immigrants. Lahiri