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The Quiet Place Poem Summary

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The poem, The Quiet Place, by Evelyn Lau expresses the feelings of paranoia, fear, and confinement one may face while being trapped within four parallel walls. The setting takes place at a Psychiatric Assessment Unit in Vancouver General Hospital. This is significant for the poem because it showcases the emotions many patients face while being constantly watched through a monitor that is scrutinizing their every movement. Likewise, in the poem, Evelyn Lau takes upon the persona of a girl who is admitted at the hospital and has been assigned to Quiet Room #4 and feels confined. She is constantly paranoid, hence the small noises that appear louder then they really are and the observation camera that seems to follow her every movement. Likewise, …show more content…

These noises set a disturbing mood and showcase the constant paranoia the persona is facing. Additionally, the observation camera further increases the feeling of insanity because the persona feels trapped within a room and the feeling of someone constantly watching engulfs her. Similarly, the simile, “The observation camera blinks at the flower of blood wilting on the ground puckered as an old woman’s lips the signature of a nurse stealing life through a hole in the patient’s arm,” creates an image of a nurse taking blood from the persona while droplets of blood drip from her arm. This is a significant simile because it represents what the persona feels regarding doctors and nurses and how they are supposed to save her; however, each time a droplet of blood hits the ground, they drain her from her life. Likewise, a flower is supposed to represent peace and beauty, but in the poem it is shown as a decaying plant whose petals are drowning in blood. Moreover, the line “Naked feet,” creates an image of vulnerability and weakness because underneath the hard exterior of shoes lay fragile

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