Singapore is perceived as a glossy nation, though it is not commonly known that the pressure of conforming to urban social norms muzzles an entire generation. Umej Singh Bhatia and Yip Sau Leng dare to be the voice of their generation by unearthing Singapore’s façade through their respected poems The @ Generation and Nightfall by using various literary techniques.
Bhatia compares the Singaporean youth to creatures to reveal the truth of Singapore and does this firstly by way of metaphor. The use of metaphor compares the Singaporean youth to poisonous snakes, which is supported by the use of sibilance in ‘survivors of the struggle for status’. The hissing sound made by the alliterative ‘s’ gives the reader auditory imagery reminding them of a hissing snake, therefore Bhatia is implying that the mental war has shaped Singaporean youth into revolting reptiles. Contrasting with the sibilance in the next line is an alliterative soft ‘p’ in ‘peace and plenty’, which is symbolic of how an opulent upbringing can lead to a generation of vile characters.
Furthermore, he blames modern gadgets by the use of imagery which we can infer from ‘A hunger gnaws between their narrowed eyes’ that the cause of the depicted crossed eyes are the result of staring blankly at a mobile phone. The poem implies Singaporean youth have evolved reptilian morals, the root of the cause being their spoilt background.
Bhatia makes the youth seem incompetent through the initial use of symbolism. By using the Merlion as the embodiment of national pride and stating that the youth have ‘Never seen the Merlion roar’ establishes that the youth have never accomplished anything to be proud of, as Bhatia believes they are hopeless.
Bhatia is arguing that the older gener...
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...s itself.
Bhatia and Yip both express how they feel about what Singaporeans have become. In The @ Generation Bhatia believes that Singaporeans have become shallow beings but in Nightfall, Yip believes Singaporeans have become misfits. They both express that the cause of the negative changes in Singaporeans is themselves. The poems have left me to contemplate whether society has changed my generation into misfits or shallow people, as often teenage rebels are associated with the west and are rarely thought of in Asia. London fits perfectly well with Nightfall, as it depicts a troubled and dangerous society, but The @ Generation is more similar to Singapore in terms of its consumerism. I feel that Hong Kong’s society is a mixture of the two poems as it is slightly more dangerous than Singapore like Nightfall but still is largely materialistic like The @ Generation.
When the “decently dressed” Lengel tried to tell the girls to be “decently dressed” because the girls were wearing “bathing suits”, the girls first argued they “are decent” and left because the girls thought what they were doing was not wrong since they have different perspective than Lengel. The result of feeling empathy for the younger generation in "Railway Club Blues" is that the older generation saw the younger generation as themselves and the protagonist mentioned that teens were the “Strange children of the simple punks we were”. Also, despite of the younger teens “clothes are odd [and] their attitudes obscure”, the protagonist saw their faces that gave him “a kindred memory” of how the teens “repeat the ancient dance”. Ultimately, because the two generations were able to enjoyed a small jazz performance together, the protagonist felt “all cardboard boundaries are erased.”. Both authors used contrast to show the results of feeling empathy for the younger generation, and in “A&P”, the result of Lengel feeling empathy for the teenagers is that he was rejected by the youth due to their contrasting perspectives. When the protagonist from “Railway Club Blues” felt the “boundaries are erased” when the music began to play, this demonstrates how the the protagonist felt how everyone shared the same feelings and empathize the teens despite
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
The youth, naive at first, believes in the glory and reputation of war. He romanticizes the idea of fighting in a battle to be filled with admiration and respect from others. Just like the Greek tradition to commemorate
Circumstance and time can alter or determine the different paths a group of young boys will take. These paths can have the power to strip children of their own innocence. Such a statement can be explored in William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” as it ventures into the pros and cons of human nature. William Golding’s tale begins with a group of English school boys who crash land on a deserted tropical island during World War II. In Lord of the Flies, the island that the boys crash on is beautiful, glamorous, and magnificent; yet, it proves to become a dystopia by the horror of the cruelty, violence, and inhumanity.
...s, demonstrated through the author's talent, are denouncing the authority figures who were supposed to guide his generation into adulthood but instead turned the youth against each other in the pursuit of superficial ideals. The soldiers were simply the victims of a meaningless war.
The boys live a new life without adults and social norms. Roles in their makeshift society have been carried out but Jack’s self-imposed responsibility only aims to fulfill his personal agenda. Jack’s fervent character is aggressiveness masquerading as passion. This destructive behavior sends Jack to a faster decline to savagery in relation to his peers.
...ms by which to live. An individual confronts many challenges in society, whether it be crime and punishment, struggle to grow, or other rapid modifications. Cry, The Beloved Country and Things Fall Apart exemplify how societies can be disrupted and how people react to interruptions to their traditional way of life. Some choose to adapt to society’s new ways, while others resist assimilating themselves with the innovative public. Societal change happens no matter where you are, however, how someone allows it to affect them remains determined by that person. Society maintains their own way of punishment, production of a particular type of person, and causes some to prevent from adapting to its evolving ways.
... of hope for rescue and the destruction of their ties to former human society; and the Lord of the Flies, used to represent mankind’s “essential illness”: inherent human evil. Ultimately, Golding’s symbols, simple in appearance yet burdened with the weight of human savagery, violence, and inner darkness, do more than frighten. As these symbols are ingrained into our minds, so, too, is responsibility: the responsibility of recognition, understanding, and action. If we do not take heed of the messages behind Golding’s symbols, then our ignorance may be more than unwise—it may be fatal. For if we do not soon take steps to confront our inner evil face-to-face, we may eventually find ourselves trapped in Golding’s harrowing depiction of human society: one bound only by rules far too fragile that, when broken, lead only to chaos, self-destruction, and total savagery.
Through vivid yet subtle symbols, the author weaves a complex web with which to showcase the narrator's oppressive upbringing. Two literary
Lawrence uses figurative language in order to present his ideas of societies expectations of a man. Lawrence changes the structure and style of “Snake” in order to highlight the struggles of the narrator. Specifically, when writing about the snake he uses repetitive and flowing words. He also uses traditional devices like alliteration, for example “and flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips.” The use of these technics gives the snake an almost human like feel that the reader can connect to. At the same time, Lawrence writes about the log used to hurt the snake in a different style creating such a contrast between the snake’s description and the log. The words describing the log are much different, “and threw it at the water trough with a clatter.” The changing styles helps emphasize the internal struggle the narrator is experiencing as he tries to figure out if he should do as society dictates and kill the snake like a man or do as he wishes and leave the snake in peace as his guest at the water
shows the effect of the society on them, the loss of hope they had in
Ramazani, Jahan. Richard Ellmann, Robert O’Clair, ed. The Norton Anthology Of Modern And Contemporary Poetry. Vol 1 Modern Poetry. Third Edition. Norton. 2003.
The image of the cat clawing at the reeds stands out the most. A person reading this poem can envision the cat clawing the reeds and screaming as the young boys hold it under the water bringing the cat closer and closer to death with each passing moment. The purpose that the young girl tries to explain is that she understands the way young boys are and that they do not love anything.
This essay will take a close reading of London, and examine the aforementioned conflicts that Blake sees in London society:
Postcolonial authors use their literature and poetry to solidify, through criticism and celebration, an emerging national identity, which they have taken on the responsibility of representing. Surely, the reevaluation of national identity is an eventual and essential result of a country gaining independence from a colonial power, or a country emerging from a fledgling settler colony. However, to claim to be representative of that entire identity is a huge undertaking for an author trying to convey a postcolonial message. Each nation, province, island, state, neighborhood and individual is its own unique amalgamation of history, culture, language and tradition. Only by understanding and embracing the idea of cultural hybridity when attempting to explore the concept of national identity can any one individual, or nation, truly hope to understand or communicate the lasting effects of the colonial process.