Fleur Adcock: Analysis of Instead of an Interview

An individual’s relationship with others and the places which surround them can have an effect on the individual’s sense of self-worth and their feelings of belonging. This notion is conveyed through the use of language techniques in both the set of poems “Feliks Skrzynecki”, “St Patrick’s College” and “Migrant Hostel” from Peter Skrzynecki’s anthology Immigrant Chronicles (1975) and the novel The Story of Tom Brennan (2005) composed by J.C. Burke.

Many immigrants have a unique story that may reveal the reason for entering another country. Often, this decision leads to a desire of starting a new life in a country that has beyond opportunities to offer. Much like in the stories “A Proper Goodbye” by Katherine Vlassie, “Ajax la-bas” by Yeshim Ternar, and “Nach Unten” by Janice Keefer all give insights to the lives of immigrant women and the hardships they go through. In these short stories, the experiences of the women in minority groups unite them in a way that the inability to learn a new language for whichever reason, limits them from developing as an individual, reinforcement of their fears, and are oppressed by society thus affecting their daily lives.

The understandings and diversities of each immigrant and their experiences underlies in a range of issues they encounter such as rights, freedoms, beliefs, power, entrapment etc… All of which are a common understanding when used in comparison towards the migrants lives using the poignant aspect of imagery and journey’s within the poem “Immigrants at Central Station, 1951”. The experiences and perceptive in this poem help perceive an understanding of the immigrants experiences towards the new world of which displays the integrity, emotion and suffering towards the new world and we as the readers are engaged into these aspects of life through trains, time, control and journeys.

     The poem starts off brilliantly. “The first four lines are beautifully phrased, and the opening couplet in particular has ingrained itself in the collective consciousness” (Blair, 1). “She walks in beauty, like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies;/ And all

Imagery is used consistently right through the poem to evoke sensory experiences and to endorse the theme. For instance: ‘A stark white ring-barked forest’-‘the sapphire misted mountains’-‘the hot gold lush of noon’ and many more. All of these appeal to the readers senses and places brilliant visual image(s) in our minds by illuminating the various features of the country, from the perspective of the poems persona. This is attained using; adjectives, ‘the sapphire-misted mountains¬¬¬’, which gives us a picture of mountains with a bluish haze embracing it, this image would thus give an impression of a composed environment and evoke a sense of tranquillity. Additionally by using ‘sapphire’ to illustrate the mist surrounding the mountains we get a sense of Australia’s uniqueness as sapphire is a rare gem. Imagery is also displayed through a metaphor used to appeal to the sense of hearing. For example: ‘the drumming of an army, the steady soaking rain’. Here Mackellar depicts the rain as an army and allows us not only to visualize but get a sense of the sound of the rain, which is presented through the adjective ‘drumming’. This line also presents to us the intensity of the rain again through the adjectives ‘drumming, steady and soaking’.

When one reads Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s “The Interview”, it is very clear how gender roles are predominate within the family that is portrayed. Using this family as an extension to represent all of India, Jhabvala gives us some insight into the daily lives led over there. The story is told through the eyes of an upper-class man who is completely dependent upon his family, specifically his brother and the women in the house. This essay will examine the male and female roles that are presented in this short story, how they parallel each other, and the deeper meanings hidden within the text.

The appreciation of nature is illustrated through imagery ‘and now the country bursts open on the sea-across a calico beach unfurling’. The use of personification in the phrase ‘and the water sways’ is symbolic for life and nature, giving that water has human qualities. In contrast, ‘silver basin’ is a representation of a material creation and blends in with natural world. The poem is dominated by light and pure images of ‘sunlight rotating’ which emphasizes the emotional concept of this journey. The use of first person ‘I see from where I’m bent one of those bright crockery days that belong to so much I remember’ shapes the diverse range of imagery and mood within the poem. The poet appears to be emotional about his past considering his thoughts are stimulated by different landscapes through physical journey.

In stanza six, we see the end of visiting hour, and the persona’s loss of control as he is overran with emotion. The phrase, “black figure in her white cave” creates an image of an intruder in her sanctuary. The black and white contrast suggests he is a shadow of his former self and also that he is trying to detach himself. The phrase, “clumsily rises” gives connotations of his state as he is physically affected by his feeling of loss. Furthermore, “swimming waves of a bell” is a metaphor which has connotations of water. This is used to illustrate that he is drowning in the realisation that she is dying. Finally, “fruitless fruits” is an oxymoron used to reinforce that there is no hope or going back, for her.

Throughout life, every individual must face obstacles; some more difficult than others. In the story “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez, and article “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, there is a main character who has to face many challenges because of the fact that they’re immigrants. In all three texts, it is evident that being an immigrant has many affects on their lives. However, this label and the obstacles that come with it didn’t stop each character from pushing forward.

As evident by the title of this poem, imagery is a strong technique used in this poem as the author describes with great detail his journey through a sawmill town. This technique is used most in the following phrases: “...down a tilting road, into a distant valley.” And “The sawmill towns, bare hamlets built of boards with perhaps a store”. This has the effect of creating an image in the reader’s mind and making the poem even more real.

On this extensive journey it allowed for an emotional journey to take part between immigrants, shown by the metaphor “silence fell from it’s shackles” showing readers that they were finally able to talk about their past experiences and emotions, which allowed for emotional release. The lengthy journey also allowed for Skrzynecki to allude back to his past life remembering both good and bad memories.

The poem contains two stanzas with two different settings. One might not know much about the first stanza; however, in the second one the speaker is next to an ocean, perhaps, at a beach. So, while the first stanza symbolizes the mindset of the speaker, the inner dream, the second stanza symbolizes the outer dream which is what we see; life. The poem

Before introducing any major events, or analysis, it’s important to note that this autobiographical work was only made possible with the aid of written documentation, and tales passed on from the family and the community. This is imperative because a great portion of the piece focuses on events that Edwidge didn’t experience first-hand, so she heavily stresses on the details being re-surfaced through friends and family to complete a holistic emigration story. Family history and the involvement of cherishing family moments is often an overlooked form of communication, but without this, this and many other important minority stories would have never been complied in a way where we can now discuss them in a culturally-reflective academic setting, like this course.

"Prospective Immigrants Please Note", a poem by Adrienne Rich, helps one to ponder on the dual perspective, with the mother culture and the American ideals. Rich 's essential goal is for one to remember their families and

The land in this poem is very important to the development of the theme. So the Pauline Johnson spends most of the describing it. Pauline uses a unique structure similar to slow close up to emphasize all the features of the land and give them depth and color. In the first stanza she starts of with a shot of the skyline. Witch at first only gives an basic idea of the landscape, we know not of the bleaching skeletons of the never coming herd of buffalo. In the second stanza she zooms in add a whole new layer of nuanced description breathing life into anything that occupies the land. "Etched where the cloudland touch and die" In the