Media and literature tends to exclude the stories and experiences of those with next to nothing from everyday consumption of the general public. Author Imtiaz Dharker fights against this notion in her poem titled “Blessing”. Within this poem, Dharker seeks to depict the frantic behavior and actions of a desperate third-world society when water, what they consider their salvation to be, becomes accessible. In doing so, Imtiaz Dharker brings to light and develops understanding of the thought that circumstance changes the values of individual cultures or groups.
In the first stanza Dharker sets the scene of poverty and distress with the use of two short, simple lines. These lines clearly present a village lacking readily available water
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who, as a result , suffer greatly. The following stanza lengthens and delivers a feeling upon the readers of nostalgia, which the reader likely would have never felt before in this specific circumstance, as Dharker produces an image of water dripping. The third stanza picks up pace and length, as it portrays a burst of luck among the village. A municipal pipe suddenly erupts, immediately providing a plethora of water. Excitement and desperation hits the villagers as they rush to collect their fortune. The final stanza provides an ending, as the scene begins to slows and the excitement fades to contentment and the filling of various buckets and pots shifts to children immersing themselves in the downpour. Imtiaz Dharker puts to use a variety of literary techniques within this poem in order to allow readers insight into a completely different set of circumstances than readers would usually encounter. This is especially due to the lack of these circumstances being presented in normal media and literature. The third stanza consists of a bulk of frantic diction, which among the longevity and lack of punctuation of the passage, allow the reader to experience the heightened value of water to this village.
This diction is present in the lines “Sometimes, the sudden rush/ of fortune.” (Imtiaz Dharker, 7-8). The phrase “sudden rush” demonstrates water as a resource exclusively present in short bursts, as is described in this poem. The use of the word “fortune” to describe water adds value to water as readers would generally associate the word “fortune” with an influx of money at a casino rather than something as simple as water. A lack of punctuation is also adopted in this stanza, “...From the huts,/a congregation: every man woman/child for streets around/butts in, with pots,/brass, copper, aluminum,/plastic buckets,/frantic hands.” (Dharker, 11-17). The punctuation, or lack thereof, forces readers to increase the speed at which they read, adding tangible experience to the reader as they attempt to place themselves in these circumstances. Another aspect adding tangible experience to readers is the shift in length of each individual verse. The short length of the first tells the readers that what is described is how it is and it’s as simple as that, but the increase of the second in length displays that while there is a general acceptance of the circumstances that does not prevent the villagers from dreaming. This provides an interesting insight. As will be discussed shortly, the
value of water in this poem to villagers is close to religious. Religion is practiced everywhere, and where it is practiced, is it used as a standard for both morals and values. Those with less, tend to hold onto their beliefs harder because it provides to them hope. The villagers have much less than necessary, and that of which they lack, they dream of and hope for religiously. Religion is integrated in this poem through metaphors, such as water having “the voice of a kindly god.” (Dharker, 6), “a roar of tongues” (Dharker, 11), describing villagers as “a congregation” (Dharker, 12), and finally “the blessing sings over their small bones.” (Dharker, 22-23). The many religious references adds value to water that readers are able to understand, because religion is known everywhere, disregarding circumstance. Every aspect of this piece of literature demonstrates the difference in values based on circumstance. As would be experienced between first and third world countries, or the villagers of the poem and the readers, yet it is done in such a way that allows a sense of understanding and community.
A couple of my teammates accompanied me and we drove to Lyari. We had to park our car outside as the roads in the city were too small for a car. As we entered the city we noticed that people lived in small homes. Homes with thatched roofs and walls made of manure and sticks. Generally, majority of the town was uneducated, without proper shelter, no electricity, no vehicles and no access to clean water. It was so moving to see how these people had so little in material things and yet they seemed to be at so much peace with their life burdens. There were young children everywhere either completely naked or just in their underwear but what stood out the most were the smiles on their faces while playing in the same dirty water used for washing clothes and showering themselves. They were completely incognizant to what was going on around them. Such an environment made us realize that all we care about in life is having fun, while those in other countries are just trying to stay alive. Me and my friends gave the little children some money and gave our jackets and shoes to those children. The young poor children considered our donation as a great act of kindness and would never forget this day. We never realize how simple things to us could mean the world to other children less fortunate. Poverty to us is when our parents are not able to buy us the latest shoes and clothes in
The alliteration used is to emphasize rhythm in the poem. On the other hand, the poet also depicts a certain rhyme scheme across each stanza. For example, the first stanza has a rhyme scheme of this manner a, b, c, d, e, a. With this, the rhyme scheme depicted is an irregular manner. Hence, the poem does not have a regular rhythm. Moreover, the poet uses a specific deign of consonance, which is present in the poem (Ahmed & Ayesha, p. 11). The poet also uses the assonance style depicted in the seventh stanza, “Seven whole days I have not seen my beloved.” The letter ‘o’ has been repeated to create rhythm and to show despair in the poem. On the second last line of the seventh stanza, the poet uses the style of consonance, “If I hug her, she’ll drive illness from me. By this, the letter ‘l’ is repeated across the line. The poet’s aim of using this style of Consonance is to establish rhythm in the poem and add aural
This poem captures the immigrant experience between the two worlds, leaving the homeland and towards the new world. The poet has deliberately structured the poem in five sections each with a number of stanzas to divide the different stages of the physical voyage. Section one describes the refugees, two briefly deals with their reason for the exodus, three emphasises their former oppression, fourth section is about the healing effect of the voyage and the concluding section deals with the awakening of hope. This restructuring allows the poet to focus on the emotional and physical impact of the journey.
Stanza one is set in the morning at breakfast time. It involves the mother and her child. Instead of the usual loving mother, we see a cold mother and one that is doubtful of her lover for her own child. Dawe uses cold language such as ‘beneficence’, ‘beamed’ and ‘laminex’ as well has the pause after ‘she loves him’ to signify this. The pair are also conveyed to be separate from each other, symbolised by them being on opposite sides of the breakfast table.
This is portrayed through the descriptions such as "the drought is silent, sometimes Whispering into dust". As an Australian poem it describes the tough outback and climate in which is drought prone. Throughout the recreation, the poet seeks to involve our senses. He introduces concrete objects (such as: they stand lonely as giants by the little sheep, endlessly moving, never going anywhere), and simple sounds (magpies all begin to sing and the galahs clang, and sliding in the rain the two windmills are silent, as if joyful at water), to help us visualise the scene. Thus, the scene is evoked for us in a much clearer
In the novel Poor People, written by William T. Vollmann asks random individuals if they believe they are poor and why some people are poor and others rich. With the help of native guides and translators, and in some cases their family members, they describe what they feel. He depicts people residing in poverty with individual interviews from all over earth. Vollmann’s story narrates their own individual lives, the situations that surround them, and their personal responses to his questions. The responses to his questions range from religious beliefs that the individual who is poor is paying for their past sins from a previous life and to the rational answer that they cannot work. The way these individuals live their life while being in poverty
All the poems in Kettle Bottom display a powerful message. Some of the poems messages are happy while are extremely upsetting. The readers of these poems are able to learn about the horrific conditions that people in poverty were forced to live in but also about how they made the best of those situations whenever possible. The dangerous work conditions and the inhumane treat of people living in poverty is extremely disturbing and tragic. These poems are able to show first hand examples and experiences of people involved in these situations. Despite all the dark and deaths that the poor experience they still are able to find some light in it all with the birth of new things.
Poor People struggles to confront poverty in all its hopelessness and brutality, its pride and abject fear, its fierce misery and quiet resignation, allowing the poor to explain the causes and consequences of their impoverishment in their own cultural, social, and religious terms. With intense compassion and a scrupulously unpatronizing eye, Vollmann invites his readers to recognize in our fellow human beings their full dignity, fallibility, pride, and pain, and the power of their hard-fought resilience.William T. Vollmann goes to different parts around the world to interview different people and to ask about poverty. With the help of interpreters he holds the interview with randomly selected individuals.
During the process of growing up, we are taught to believe that life is relatively colorful and rich; however, if this view is right, how can we explain why literature illustrates the negative and painful feeling of life? Thus, sorrow is inescapable; as it increase one cannot hide it. From the moment we are born into the world, people suffer from different kinds of sorrow. Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow about growing up, about sorrowful pretending, and even about life itself.
Not only the words, but the figures of speech and other such elements are important to analyzing the poem. Alliteration is seen throughout the entire poem, as in lines one through four, and seven through eight. The alliteration in one through four (whisky, waltzing, was) flows nicely, contrasting to the negativity of the first stanza, while seven through eight (countenance, could) sound unpleasing to the ear, emphasizing the mother’s disapproval. The imagery of the father beating time on the child’s head with his palm sounds harmful, as well as the image of the father’s bruised hands holding the child’s wrists. It portrays the dad as having an ultimate power over the child, instead of holding his hands, he grabs his wrists.
The title of the poem is ''Blessing'' and the poet is called Imtiaz Dharker. In my essay I will be looking at how the poet describes a culture different from our own and explaining how the poet brings this culture to life through his use of poetic techniques. The poem is set in a third world country which is in desperate need for water. A municipal pipe bursts and suddenly there is a flurry of people rushing to get that much desired water.
Religious cultures of the world face the difficult of poverty and their beliefs on poverty. Societies believe that many different things cause poverty, as well as ways of surviving it. Poverty isn’t just about being rich or poor, it is also about what causes poverty and how to understand the reason for it. Many cultures have their own beliefs as to why poverty exists as well as how to contribute to it. In this essay, I will be discussing three major cultures and their beliefs on poverty. Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism are the cultures of study. This essay will be comparing and contrasting their beliefs of why it exists and how they deal with poverty. Also, explaining why each of the cultures beliefs more in depth, helping people understand the societies better with a more detailed background.
By examining ways to bridge the gap between poverty and society, one identifies that the solution is not easy. There are a plethora of structural issues including economics and identity that play a part in the culture. Generation after generation seem to fall prey to a culture of poverty and thus, the onlooker must determine how to help these people out of an abyss. In addition, the assumptions that onlookers place on poverty deface the culture’s sense of
The dry, emotionally and spiritually barren village, and the villagers as an extension of the village, then encountered inexorable changes. A poetic sense slowly stepped into...
The poem is divided into 2 Stanza's with 3 lines each. And there are an