LEELA'S ESL BUGGY

This poem was written by Marzuki Ali in the Malay Language and later translated. Marzuki Ali was born in 1945 in Terengganu. He is actively involved in Malaysian and Indonesian theatres. He began to involve in poetry writing in the 1970s. His poems mainly centred on patriotism, the changing environment and the wonders of his hometown.

Let’s study the poem.

This poem talks about the feeling of a retired soldier who had fought for the country’s independence. This poem is looking from the first person point of view who is a retired soldier as the poem uses the pronoun I , as seen in the stanza 1. In this stanza, the persona says that he is old and worn and has no energy. From this Stanza, we know that the persona once had become a soldier and he had suffered a lot to free the country from invaders. Many lives had been sacrificed to fight for our independence.  At that time, they fought with all of their will.

Consequently, he is wheelchair bound. Due to the loss of energy and the fact that he is now old, he has enough energy to only be able to sit on the wheelchair. This is portrayed in Stanza 2. After years of independence, the persona sees that the people are trying to destroy themselves by indulging into the world full of lies. Now, there is nothing much he can do as how he did before- protect the country. This is shown in the lines:

 see and cannot do much

 these times are too big a challenge

 for the remnants of my crippled years

 the net of deceit spread everywhere

 disturb me

In stanza 3, the persona calls out to the younger generation to stand up and protect the country. Due to the spreading of lies, he now urges new generation to speak out their opinions and fight for their freedom. He tells us in order to fight for our freedom, first we have to be united, ‘erect a wall of people’ and fight for the sake of our nation’s harmony.

Synopsis

Our ancestors worked very hard for independence. Many died for the country. In the midst of struggling for independence, he was injured and now he is wheelchair bound. He was strong then. However, the challenges facing the country are far greater than before. He is unable to fight it now. He has no more power to control or change anything although he has a strong will. Due to his strong will and in the spirit of patriotism, he urges the youngsters to see the truth and not drown in sea of lies. He stresses here that if we, as the younger generation cannot find the way to stop the dishonesties and lies we are putting our country’s fate in danger as this dishonesties can actually shake the stability of our country. As the persona feels helpless, he wants the younger generation to come forward and fight in the name of justice.

Setting

In this poem, there are two settings. First is in an independent country- independent of colonial rule and any foreign control. This is shown by the line, ‘and the history of the fight for independence have forced sacrifices that know no name or life.’ The word ‘history’ tells us that the persona is reflecting the past. The second setting is an old man sitting on a wheelchair inside his abode- home where he sits and ponders on the day’s problems. This is shown in Stanza 2 (Line 1), ‘from the wheelchair of the rest of my days’.

Theme

The important theme in this poem is patriotism. The persona’s experience of being a soldier; fighting with the enemies and going through hardships has made him a person who loves his country. But now he is old and disabled and cannot do much to free his country from current challenges. Due to his patriotism he cannot bear to see the country sink in the sea of lies, he urges the young to fight for it. He urges the younger generation to unite in spite of their differences and speak out the inequalities and dishonesties in the community so much so that the freedom retains.

Tones

The persona voices out his hopes through various tones. There are three different tones in the poem. In Stanzas 1 and 2, the persona enhances the tone of frustration as he shares his disabilities and weariness of not being able to fight for the country anymore. They are shown through the line, ‘I am old and worn’. Apart from that, the line ‘from the wheelchair of the rest of my days ‘, stresses his disability and leads him to feel frustrated. He shows the tone of disappointment as he talks about the deceits that have spread everywhere as what he says in the line, ‘the net of deceit spread everywhere disturbs me’. He also feels disappointed as he and his friends have fought so hard but now people themselves are creating problems due to greed and deceit. His tone changes dramatically as in Stanzas 3 and 4, he goes from frustration and disappointment to hopefulness.  He eagerly urges the new generation to stand up and rid of their fear of voicing out their opinions as stated in the line, ‘In the name of justice wake up and form ranks sons of our ancestor’ and ‘Be brave’. At the same time, he also stresses on the needs for the younger generation to be united and seek for their freedom as he clearly states in his lines, ‘And erect a wall of people’ and ‘Stand up heirs of our freedom’.

Symbols

A few symbols are highlighted in the poem. First is the ‘wheelchair’ that connotes disability. The wheelchair symbolises the sacrifices for the country-the hardships he went through for the sake of achieving the country’s independence. Although, he is now wheelchair bound, he still has the will and determination to awaken the younger generation from their long sleep on how important it is to retain the independence achieved from the sacrifices made by the older generation like him. Another symbol in the poem is ‘a wall of people’. It symbolises unity of the people. In this poem, it refers to a need for the younger generation to unite themselves regardless of race, skin colour or background to speak and not to be influenced by the deceits being spread. It is also important for the younger generation to erect a wall of people to retain the independence achieved.

Metaphor

One major literary device used in this poem is metaphor.  A metaphor is comparison made between two things without the use of words such as ‘like’ or ‘as’. In this poem, we can see there are two examples of metaphor. In Stanza 2 (Line 6), the persona uses ‘the net of deceit’ where he voices out problems encountered by the younger generation. The modern generation deceives each other and how the deceit is being spread- it is widespread just like a fishing net that spreads out when cast into the sea. The next metaphor is as in the Stanza 3 (Line 4), ‘a wall of people’ where the persona feels that the people need to be united and become like the concrete wall to counter any challenges met.

Moral Values

Whether we are young or old, we must fight for our country. We may be physically handicapped but we can still contribute as we can be alert mentally. We must value the issues of human rights that our ancestors have fought for.

Discussion

The poem implied that our country Malaysia comprises a variety of races, religions and beliefs. Dishonesties and lies can be the viruses that could destroy our unity and peace. The new generation is urged to form a wall of unity regardless of our differences and stand together as a family to retain our freedom. Apart from that, to retain our country’s independence, we must be brave to uphold justice. We must be brave to seek the truth and only then we can make a path to a better future.

The Poet-

Hugh Doston Carberry was born July 12, 1921, the son of sir John Carberry, a former Chief Justice of Jamaica, and Lady Georgina Carberry, in Montreal, Canada. He came to Jamaica when he was an infant and spent most of his life there. He was was Clerk to the Houses of Parliament from 1969-1978 and a member of the commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He was appointed Judge of the Jamaican court of appeal in 1978 and served for a decade. H. D. Carberry died on June 28, 1989.

Let’s study the poem.

Synopsis

The poem describes the weather conditions in Jamaica. It emphasizes that Jamaica does not have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Nevertheless, the weather conditions of golden sunny days and wet rainy days are just as good and are almost similar to the four seasons. It is a descriptive poem about the changing weather. It celebrates the richness of the land’s produce and how alive and abundant Nature is. Through the poem, the poet describes the beauty of the weather in Jamaica. There are hot sunny days and cold wet windy and rainy days. It is so pleasant that there is little climate difference between the seasons. Most days are sunny with the gold sun shines on the cane fields. Even on rainy days, it is a beautiful sight. The fruit trees blossom and the bushes are full of bees. The tall grass sways gently in the breeze. As for the buttercups, they cover the ground and look like yellow stars. It is indeed a beautiful sight. This is a poem that really sums up the fact that seasons do not make a difference in the islands.

In the first ten lines the poet tells about his homeland which is Jamaica. He rejoices the beauty of this island although Jamaica has no seasonal changes. Jamaica’s climate is hot and wet throughout the year. The days of golden sunshine are glorious and magnificent. There are many cane fields in Jamaica thus sugar is one of the main exports in this country.

The poet then goes on to tell us his favourite time – days when the flowers of mango trees and logwood blossom. He uses imagery of sound and smell to illustrate abundance of life and activity in the bushes when the ‘sound of bees and the scent of honey’ add to the beauty of Jamaica. He describes the fields filled with lovely yellow buttercups. All these take place when the rains stops.

Setting

The setting is clearly Jamaica. Nature is described through the description of weather being hot and wet. The poet also uses other elements of nature such as trees, bushes, flowers, and fruits to portray nature as alive and bountiful. The weather is portrayed as bright and sunny with flowers blooming. If the weather gets bad and turns wet with its heavy downpours and strong wind, it is said that all will eventually pass. The poet shares his enthusiasm and gratitude and appreciation for nature as the end of the poem.

Theme

There are a few themes in the poem. Firstly, we must celebrate nature. However we always remain humble. We cannot take things for granted. Nature is wonderful and we should admire it. However, its power has no limits and can be unpredictable. We see this when weather changes in a wink of an eye, calm at one moment and the other, showing off its destructive force. The same weather can be quiet and stagnant and revitalizing the earth with growth and beauty in the next. 

            Secondly, the themes of the natural cycle of life and the many phases of life are explored. The poet’s central message is the beauty of nature. It is natural to have good moments at one time and bad moments in the next. There is life and there is death. Usually when the struggle is over, we will see new life blooming in front of us.

            Finally, there is the theme of appreciating one’s country. There are ups and downs everywhere. The beauty and goodness of one’s country should be appreciated.

Tones

            The tone is definitely carefree and light hearted. The poet writes in a very relaxed manner as he appreciates the beauty of nature. It portrays a feeling of happiness.

Symbols

“The gold sun” symbolises the summer and warmth. It makes people feel comfortable as there is light and brightness.  Another symbol is the ‘rain’. The rain symbolises the winter time. It is cold and wet. In addition, ‘buttercups’ can be a symbol of beauty.

Literary Devices

Imagery is dominant in the poem. Imagery of sight such as “buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars” allows readers to visualise the colourful nature. Words related to colours and light are used to help the readers visualise the beauty of nature.

Imagery of sound is shown through “the swish of the water in the gullies, “rain beats like bullet on the roofs and “the sound of the bees.”

The “scent of honey” is an example of the imagery of taste.  The imagery of smell is shown through  “The mango and logwood blossom”

            Personification is also used effectively and this is shown through “the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air”.

There is also contrast in the poem, for example “the gold sun shines” and the magnificent “lush green cane fields”.  

Moral Values

We should appreciate what we have in our own country. Although Jamaica does not have the four seasons as some other countries experience, things can be as beautiful and in fact better. There is no harsh winter season to bear, for example. Thus, this brings us to the next moral value that teaches us not to long for what we do not have. This will be a waste of time and we may end up being unhappy waiting when we could have rejoiced what we already have.

Apart from that, we should appreciate our homeland. It is usually the place where we are most comfortable in as the saying goes “Home sweet home”. It is definitely the likely place that we actually feel safe and calm.

Finally we should appreciate the beauty of nature.

Discussion

We must not forget that in the past cane fields in Jamaica were a pit of slavery and forced labour. Now they are free. Perhaps it could be a reason why Jamaicans appreciate and celebrate life. Jamaica embraces its past through expressions such as music, dance, and joyful celebrations. Despite intense political strife and racial divide, the people of Jamaica have maintained the relaxed attitude for which the Caribbean is famous. Jamaicans are proud of who they are and pride themselves on their native culture.