1) Point of view
I think the poet wrote this poem in a third person point of view where he addresses the problem and situation as someone who is explaining them, depicting the damages that the Americans have dealt on the innocent Vietnamese by using the deadly chemical known as Agent Orange. This can be seen from how the writer starts off with the phrase "America did not foresee," where it can be interpreted that the poet was trying to show how careless America was in using the chemical Agent Orange which caused heavy damages to the people where they were "now thinking twice" but it had already taken its "toll on the innocent and unborn". Throughout the course of the poem, the poet seems to be narrating on how the chemical has destroyed lives and caused countless damages. Thus, the poet adopts a third-person point of view.
2) Situation and Setting
The setting and situation displayed in the poem is according to the Vietnam War where the Americans utilised the chemical Agent Orange to expose Vietnamese soldiers hiding in the foliage. This move proved useful in the early phases of warfare, but as time passed, the harmful side-effects of Agent Orange slowly began to reveal itself. It caused widespread damage to people's health everywhere. The poet chose to reflect Agent Orange in this poem as it can be considered as one of the most controversial incidents that has happened where its effects are still living on in our current society now.
3) Language/Diction
The poet masterfully incorporates appropriate diction to fully display the entire "feel" of the poem. The title itself, Rainbow Death, is an oxymoron where a rainbow would least likely be associated with death as a rainbow is bright and colorful while death is dark and sinister. Thus, the writer makes a reference to the "Rainbow Herbicides" that were used in the war that have caused many deaths when it was never meant to be lethal or damaging to health. Therefore, depicting the surprise that they got when something that they thought to be harmless was actually harmful. Another word that has the same meaning and effect as the title would be the words "death potpourri". A potpourri is a mixture of dried, natural and fragrant flowers. It is a stark contrast from death as a potpourri is usually to have a gentle fragrant scent through your house. But to associate it with death would turn it into an oxymoron, with the same effect and meaning as the way the title is written. Thus, with the careful use of these words, it can be seen that the poet is mocking the way the American soldiers used Agent Orange without realising its repercussions.
4) Personal response
This poem seemed strange to me at first, until I saw the last line that finally mentioned about Agent Orange. I have read about this Agent Orange before but that remained at the back of my head until I came across this poem that reawakened the spirit of the Agent Orange in me. I pitied the people who have and are suffering from the after effects of this deadly chemical. This poem also made me feel for the people that have gone through the tough trial oof warfare, where the war is not over when it stops and are still fighting battles of their own either physically or mentally. War has horrible repercussions that are unimaginable if started. Hence, I have understood and received the message that the poet was trying to convey and I hope that one day, war will be a distant thing of the past.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
LA task 1: Rainbow Death
Here is the poem that I will be writing about:
Rainbow Death
Hubert Wilson is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Along with a dozen or so intelligence school graduates, he was assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska which heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. Agent Orange is a code name for a herbicide and defoliant contaminated by TCDD and used by the US army in its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam war. Agent Orange was used to cause the leaves to drop off of trees and plants, thereby exposing the Vietnamese soldiers that were hiding within the foliage.
This poem speaks mainly of the Vietnam War that lasted between 1955 to 1975 along with the use of Agent Orange. This was a cold war military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia where eventually, other countries and states joined in the great battle. The Vietnam War probably would only be remembered by the harmful chemical of Agent Orange that was introduced. The use of Agent Orange seemed to be effective at first, where soldiers were easily exposed and "taken care" of. However, Agent Orange is said to have caused many side effects among the soldiers and the people living in Vietnam. Also sprayed in Vietnam were Agent Purple, Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent White, and Agent Blue as well as a bunch of other herbicides where it was named the Rainbow Herbicides. The poet, Hubert Wilson, drank water contaminated by this Agent Orange and after that, his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc.
Agent Orange has been said to cause many deformities among the newborn where babies would be born without limbs or are severely disfigured. Many generations have cursed this use of Agent Orange where its effects are felt even till the young of today's Vietnamese children. HOWEVER, contrary to popular belief, Agent Orange has nothing to do with the disabilities that are present in their offspring. Scientists have not proved that there is a link between Agent Orange and the disabilities.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_orange
http://www.johntreed.com/agentorange.html
http://onlyaliberal.com/blog/2008/01/
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow
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 is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Along with a dozen or so intelligence school graduates, he was assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska which heavily contaminated by Agent Orange. Agent Orange is a code name for a herbicide and defoliant contaminated by TCDD and used by the US army in its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam war. Agent Orange was used to cause the leaves to drop off of trees and plants, thereby exposing the Vietnamese soldiers that were hiding within the foliage.
This poem speaks mainly of the Vietnam War that lasted between 1955 to 1975 along with the use of Agent Orange. This was a cold war military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia where eventually, other countries and states joined in the great battle. The Vietnam War probably would only be remembered by the harmful chemical of Agent Orange that was introduced. The use of Agent Orange seemed to be effective at first, where soldiers were easily exposed and "taken care" of. However, Agent Orange is said to have caused many side effects among the soldiers and the people living in Vietnam. Also sprayed in Vietnam were Agent Purple, Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent White, and Agent Blue as well as a bunch of other herbicides where it was named the Rainbow Herbicides. The poet, Hubert Wilson, drank water contaminated by this Agent Orange and after that, his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc.
Agent Orange has been said to cause many deformities among the newborn where babies would be born without limbs or are severely disfigured. Many generations have cursed this use of Agent Orange where its effects are felt even till the young of today's Vietnamese children. HOWEVER, contrary to popular belief, Agent Orange has nothing to do with the disabilities that are present in their offspring. Scientists have not proved that there is a link between Agent Orange and the disabilities.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_orange
http://www.johntreed.com/agentorange.html
http://onlyaliberal.com/blog/2008/01/
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Temptations
The world around us is full of temptations. Be it temptations of food or games or anything. Temptations cause people to lose control of themselves and succumb to the wonders and joyousness of them. Temptations are deemed as bad by many. Unless of course, one is a student and is greatly tempted by the allures of schoolwork then he or she would be the model student for everyone to follow. Those cases rarely happen though. Now in our fast growing world of technology, more and more temptations are now radiating off technological items. Ipods and games and many more. All these ensure that you waste your time on it instead of doing something useful to your life. Little by little, we find technology slowly invading into our lives, causing us to lose sense of the appropriate things to do at the appropriate times. Temptations for technology, double T, double the danger.
Many people find themselves unable to live with the form of technology they are so tempted by, such as laptops or their favourite PSPs for even a day. This turns us into gentle addicts to our technological items. Nobody can possibly firmly turn down a temptation. Temptations are the world's number 1 at ruining our life's schedule. People often feel the regret and anguish of their valuable money and time lost just because they failed to control themselves for that few minutes when their "addiction" acted up. Many have tried to relieve themselves of their killer temptations, but many have failed.
Unlike popular belief, a strong will is not enough to combat temptations but does give you an upper hand. For me, the best medicine to cure the enticements of those temptations to you is to simply avoid it. This works to an extent until the temptation is just right beside you. Then all you have to do, is to curse the temptation and list out all its bad points, out loud. this really helps you to bid farewell to those pesky temptations that are costing you your valuable time and money. Temptations are hard to forgo, but it can be cured. All it takes is for the power of time to kick in. The longer you forgo the item that tempts you, the lesser you will be attracted to it. Your efforts will be successful the day you find yourself staring at the television without switching it on at all and leave 3 seconds after. That will bring you to the highest stage of self-control. Thank you.
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