| Steps in Analysis | |||
| | Point | Evidence | Elaboration |
| 1. Point of View | Soldier of | “America did not foresee” “ Nefariously “Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.” | This poem shows the point of view of a Vietnamese soldier who most probably experienced the Vietnam War. He understands the suffering of which the people suffered, “all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead”, and the “Execrable effects of agent orange spray”. He also knows that the Americans were the ones who caused all these suffering by utilizing those harmful herbicides during the war, that “ |
| 2. Situation and Setting | Social setting – People are suffering in the midst of all those colorful herbicides. (“Rainbow Death”) | “Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!” “ Toll on the innocent and unborn.” “ Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.” | The setting of this poem is a social setting which shows the people suffering in the midst of the colourful herbicides, “Green, pink purple and other colors death potpourri!” As all these colourful herbicides are released, it is taking its toll on the innocent and unborn”, causing harm to their health and even death. The herbicides are “Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn”, depicting a scene where innocent people are crying and moaning as the herbicides ruthlessly cause them to suffer greatly. |
| 3.Language/ Diction | Imagery of death and suffering. Irony in the title as well as the way the herbicides are described. Metaphor to describe the colourful herbicides. Emphasis to show the inevitability of the suffering future generations will have to suffer from the herbicides. Language used reveals the truth of the issue at hand. | “Rainbow Death” “Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!” “ Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.” “ Generations untold WILL pay –“ “America did not foresee “ “All the deceit continues to spread!” | Firstly, this poem makes use imagery to show the death and suffering of the people. The title “Rainbow Death”gives an imagery of the innocent people dying in the midst of the harmful, colour-coded herbicides. There is also irony in this title as rainbows are normal used to describe happiness, however in this case, the rainbow is the presence of the herbicides which are causing many deaths. Irony is also used in the statement “Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!”Once again, potpourri is usually something sweet and peaceful, dried roses as well as other spices giving out a beautiful scent. However in the poem, the metaphorical potpourri (Herbicides) is used to show the death of the people. “Generations untold WILL pay –’’There is a clear use of emphasis in this statement in the word “WILL”, thus showing the inevitability of the suffering future generations will have to suffer as a result of these herbicides. In general, the language used reveals the truth of Agent Orange used during the Vietnam war, that is was indeed the fault of the Americans, “ |
| 4 Personal Response | I find this text very disturbing | “ Generations untold WILL pay –“ “Rainbow Death” | I find this text very disturbing as the scene of innocent people dying and suffering in these colourful herbicides is indeed very ruthless. These innocent victims die a “Rainbow Death” from the ignorance of the American troops, not only causing suffering to the people during the Vietnam war period, but also to the future generations, “Generations untold WILL pay.” The ruthlessness and cruelty of war shown in this poem is indeed very disturbing to me as it clearly displays how self-interest can neglect the lives of the people. Think about “all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead” caused by the herbicides discharged by the |
5/31/10
English E-learning assignment 2
5/25/10
E-Learning Assignment : War Poetry
Task 1: Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2. Be sure to include your references and credit your sources.
2. WHAT IS THE SITUATION?
What is the historical / social / psychological / emotional setting? What is happening at this setting? Is there an external or/and internal conflict? What is the nature of the conflict (ethnic, social, cultural, psychological, emotional, spiritual etc.)?
ANALYSIS: THE SITUATION & THE SETTING
How is tension created and how is the climax produced (through the use of contrasts, through incremental repetition of diction, through the variation or development of imagery, through question and answer etc.)? Is there a resolution to the conflict? What is significant about the way the conflict is created and resolved? What is the significance if there is no resolution of conflict? What are the fundamental causes of the conflict? What is the function of the setting: background for action/ antagonist/means of creating atmosphere/means of revealing character/means of reinforcing theme? How are the functions of the setting fulfilled in this poem?
Rainbow Death
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread!
Nefariously
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert Wilson,
Background of poet
- Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service.
- Had health problems while working as a soldier :
- Unexplained headaches and limb pains.
- Central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors.
- Severe headaches,
- Progressive limb pains, etc.
- His brain still functions moderately well though he has mobility issues, and has turned to writing just like his Father and the late singer/writer Johnny Cash.
Introduction
Before we start analyzing the conflict poem, it is important that we know some background on what this poem is talking about. This poem speaks of a modern day war ingredient known as “agent orange” for the pain and suffering it has caused which involved death. (“Execrable effects of agent orange spray!”). From 1962 to 1971 (period of the Vietnam War), Agent Orange was by far the most widely used
(mostly by
Conflict
In the poem, there is a social conflict between the lives of the people and war. During the Vietnam war, the U.S military’s used agent orange to deny it’s enemy’s cover/concealment by defoliating the surrounding trees of shrubbery in dense tropical terrains. However, “
Causes
The cause of this conflict is indeed clear – Agent Orange as well as other harmful colour-coded herbicides (“Green, pink, purple and other colours death potpourri!”). These harmful herbicides has indeed caused the suffering of many innocent people “Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.” Illness, child birth, child deaths, these are all the implications of the use of these herbicides. The cause of the conflict is clearly shown in the sentence “Execrable effects of agent orange spray!” Apart from the herbicides which are a direct cause, the ROOT cause of all the suffering is war itself! Why would
Resolution
There is no actual resolution to this conflict as the as long as the suffering of the Japanese people is still evident, there will always be hatred of the people towards America for what they have done; as long there is aggression, there will be war(in one way or another), and when there is war, only more people will have to suffer! It is never ending cycle, which is why “Generations untold WILL pay-“
3/2/10
Interpersonal Assignment - Interview
Recently, I interviewed my friend from another school about his views on discrimination and prejudice. Though it may be a short interview but key issues such as the foreign workers in Singapore and his personal feeling if he were a African American are addressed in this interview.
Me: I need to do an interview with a non HCI friend for my school assignment can help out?
INTERVIEWEE : yeah ohkay
Me: Okay Basically, this interview will be about prejudice and discrimination. So 1st question, what is your view on prejudice? State some examples that you have experienced or seen in media.
INTERVIEWEE : Prejudice is bad because if you are prejudiced against someone, the person won’t feel good and you will not let him show his true skills? Because u prejudice then you discourage him
Me: Can you state some examples?
INTERVIEWEE : umm... when one guy in my class damn pro in maths then teacher like him alot then always scold us never scold him
Me: okay, so do you think that prejudice is evident here is our Singaporean society?
INTERVIEWEE : umm... yes?
Me: so, how is is present? or in other words, how does prejudice exist within the Singapore society?
INTERVIEWEE : like u see the foreign workers
Me: Yes
INTERVIEWEE : people see them and they say they dangerous never prove then say they got problem
Me: That's true okay moving on let's talk about discrimination what are you views on discrimination?
INTERVIEWEE : It’s not good because when you are stereotyping people u will like isolate people the minority whom you are discriminating against
Me: okay do you think that any racial group is being ostracised in singapore?
INTERVIEWEE : Racial group... no not ostracised
Me: So if discrimination did exist in our singapore society, how will it affect our development?
INTERVIEWEE Conflicts would happen between the races then racial riots would happen all over again which will disrupt businesses and everything would stop then cannot develop econimically etc.
Me: Okay last question put youself in the shoes of a black African American during the period of the civil rights movement, how would you have felt?
INTERVIEWEE : Angry? that i am being treated this way I human they human they have no right to do anythign to me discriminate me.
Me: This calls the end of the interview, thanks
INTERVIEWEE : ohkay np
What are your views on discrimination and prejudice ? Feel free to share with me.
3/1/10
Intrapersonal Assignment - Diary Entry By Arthur "Boo" Radley
2/28/10
Multiple intelligence Test
2/1/10
Purely Talent
1/30/10
I feel disapointed with myself
1/24/10
Love is beautiful
1/22/10
A Singaporean
1/21/10
15th Humanities Seminar Series Report
On the 18th of January, I attended the 15th Humanities Seminar Series 2010 which was themed “ The Role Of Literature In An Age of Turbulence” The Speaker was Dr Kirpal Singh who is an accomplished professor, currently working as an Associate Professor of English Literature and Creative Thinking in the School of Social Sciences of Singapore Management University (SMU).
Introduction
To give you a better idea of what this topic is about, I would like to post a few questions. How large a role can literature play in this chaotic world? What is the significance of literature in our lives and how does it affect our society? Looking at the topic itself, we can derive a few things. Literature spontaneously incites a role in our world and it is not passive. It is not just a subject we take in school, but it has an influence in our chaotic world. Literature can come in many forms, such as stories, biographies, memoirs and poems. It expresses thoughts and imaginations, allowing us to think and experience. (*more detailed elaboration will be shown below) Then, we look at the word turbulence, an interruption of a steady state which expresses confusion and when things go wrong. Now, when we look at turbulence, anxiety would be a sustaining emotion which is associated with it. This is because there is uncertainty of what is going to happen next. People are unsure of the chain of events which may or may not occur in times of turbulence and thus, anxiety leaks. The ambiguity in literature allows it to be interpreted in many different ways and thus, gives many other complex meanings to the word turbulence in different opinions.
1st Benefit Of literature – Risk Taking
Now, I’ll be moving on to the main gist of this topic, which would be the five benefits of literature and how it relates to this age of turbulence. Firstly, literature helps us when it comes to risk taking. In this age of turbulence, there will be many times where we will have to take risks. Thus, literature allows us to be surer of the direction we are heading by expressing other’s feelings in different situation which enables us to have a deeper understanding.
2nd Benefit of Literature- Experiencing
Secondly, literature allows us to experience things that we may never experience and allows us to be in places where we are not present at. This plays a vital role in this age of turbulence by allowing us to prevent ordeals. When we experience negative emotions in literature such as horror, pain and agony, we will want to prevent such things from happening to ourselves or others as we would understand what it feels like. In contrast, literature also plays a role in allowing us to maintain beauty in our world. Positive emotions such as happiness, love and hope would in a way inspire us to conserve beauty.
3rd Benefit of Literature - Thinking
Closely related to this is the next benefit of literature, which is allowing us to think! In times of turbulence, decision making and knowing how to respond is very important. In times of turbulence, we should always ask ourselves, do we respond to the issue in an animal-like manner, or do we be sensitive about the issue? Being able to be sensitive is what makes us human. Through thinking in literature, we would be able to learn how to make the right decisions and also to be sensitive towards issues/ being more humane. This would allow us to cope with turbulences and not lose our calm. Quote: “I shall do so, but I must also feel it like a man” (Mcduff in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.)
Relating Back To Anxiety
Relating back to anxiety being a sustaining emotion during turbulence, we can now point out the role literature plays and the impact of it through experiencing and thinking. Literature allows us to experience and understand the strong anxiety of the people and thus allowing us to be prepared for uncertainties in the future. It also reminds us to be able to act rationally and sensitively towards turbulences.
4th Benefit of Literature - Imagine
Next, the fourth benefit literature would be allowing us to imagine. Ages of turbulences often enhances imaginations and thus sparking many masterpieces of literature. One example would be Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The period of the Civil Rights Movement inspired the author to write this book which very much talks about a time of discrimination and prejudice amongst the American society. Ironic as it seems, ages of turbulences in this case actually benefits us as it would give us inspiration to express our own feelings through literature and touch the hearts others with our work.
5th Benefit of Literature - Articulation
Finally and most importantly, literature allows us to articulate. Through literature, we would be able to make connections of all the thing literature allows us to do and how it helps us to cope with turbulences.
Summary
In a nutshell, literature in times of turbulences gives us a sense of self-assurance and also enables us to understand others, whether in terms of culture, character or emotions. At the same time, it also allows us to know a country’s psychic response to turbulences. As you can see, literature indeed has an impact in our lives and our world and has a very crucial role in an age of turbulence.
1/16/10
Japanese Toys!!!
1/14/10
First Post!
