Poetry analysis and comparison
In the last leg of the world war 2, twin cities Nagasaki and Hiroshima were bombed. After six months of intense bombing on japans 67 cities, an ultimatum by the Potsdam declaration was ignored by the Japanese government. On orders from Prince Harry s. Truman, the US, dropped nuclear weapons on japans Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Such a big disaster that the world had never seen till date. Over two LAKH people were killed in both the cities , half of those on the day of the bombing.
Salters poem juxtaposes the two images of Hiroshima the grotesqueries of its past and the superb commercial development that it has seen over the period of recovery and development after the bombings. Examples of the progress with Toshiba billboard , coffee shops , and fusion cuisine, she conveys the images of the sufferings due to the bombs detonation. Her comparison to a flowers reproductive centre, and examining the citys double erasure first by the bombings and then the commercial development is reflected in the first part of the poem.
Passing by the Peace Parks floral hypocenter (where how bravely, or with what mistaken cheer, humanity erased its own erasure),
In the last few lines , she mentions how Japan has succeeded in obliterating evidence of its population decimation.
Take note that Japan actually started as one of the aggressors in the war, nut was later defeated in the end, hurting their sense of pride. In this case, one of the most lasting effects was the introduction of Americanism in the country so strongly tied up to its traditional heritage. As said in line 13-16, the countless coffers shops have undergone deep changes, manifest in its mutated cuisine of pancake sandwiches and pizza tops. In addition to losing the war, Mary Jo Salter also showed the fact that the Japanese cultural heritage began to give way to the American kind of thinking.
Salter used pleasant descriptions to hide the barbaric acts during the Hiroshima bombing and the horrific effects of the explosion. Who would have thought that the phrase memorial museum (22) would be a scene used to describe a place of a number of bloody and tragic death. In addition, Salter also tried to present the living memory of the war, which may seem a little bit overlooked by tourists in its memorials. As said in the lines 17 to 28, the floral hypocenter presented a mistaken cheer where humanity erased its own erasure, leading to three mannequins served in a glass which serves as reverence to the dead but somehow al commemorations swallowed up. These lines only how the irony of memorials where the gravity of the destruction is somewhat erased in spectators, but is still stored in Japanese memory. A poem and a documentary at the same time, and that is what had made Salters Welcome to Hiroshima a real literary masterpiece.
May be that the poetess wanted to elaborate the sensitive condition of the city that resembles glass and is more into display and exhibition of it progress elaborating a word of caution. Her allusion to glass is almost significant of the brittle nature of humanity and peace.
adjacent, an exhibit under glass Is glass itself a shard the bomb slammed into A womans arm at eight-fifteen, but some Three decades onas it to make it plain Hopes only as renewable as pain,
The poem is deeply affecting because it elaborates how a war hit city, terribly destroyed can rise on its feet and gain momentum to leave behind it s ruins. There is a feeling of pain as well as pride of the development in the poem.
Ethnic poetry by Julio Marzan
In this poem the poet talks about how various aspects of life and gods creation go hand in hand with various show offs and virtual beliefs of the people who consider themselves ethnic. the poet compares the earth to a hollow guard with empty notes coming out of it while the sun is presented as large instrument. He describes life to be following certain principles, which are different to follow and show.
The poet says that the sun was believed to be dark so that we could see and feel light in the same way as we could imagine a walrus emerging from the broken ice of Antarctica, which is in itself an impossible thing. He elaborates that on the one hand we expect the large marine animal to come out breaking the ice of Antarctica, and on the other hand the ethnic people would use drum made from seal skin .
The poet further says that eagles make their nest in the hard redwoods, where as the ethnic people eat fried bread and honey. The poet also enlists how the ethnic people consider a show off humanity in the last lines of the poem.
Julio Marzans Ethnic Poetry reflects the memory of the ethnic peoples whose heritage is so much altered by colonialism. According to the lines 1-4, the earth is maybe a huge maracasun a trombonelife is to move your ass to slow beats reflecting the slow paced of life that the ethnic peoples were accustomed to, until they where forced to the fast paced life of the modern era. This is reflected again in the following lines, such as lines 5-8 stating that Oh thank Goddy Goddymy toenails curled downward, which represents the satisfaction and contentment of the lives of ethnic people even before western developments was introduced.
Meanwhile, lines 9-11 stated the sun was created blackso we should imagine light and in lines 13-16, stating that reproductive organslisten to my ancestorsethnic audience ate fried bread and honey, in which there was a return to the original diet and cultural heritage of ethnic peoples. In this case, the author tries to create the impression that the period before westerners came was a period of contentment, asserting that their identity as peoples. All of these lines actually reflect the world-view of ethnic life, with the conclusion at line 20 that ethnic audience deeply understood humanity, which is currently lost in the lives of ethnic peoples who have completely assimilated into modern society without preserving their cultural heritage.
Similarities between the two poems
The two poems deal with how people can change in life, there circumstances, and how the show off certain things just to make their certain things felt. in Salters poem, she mentions how the people of Japan have come of age and proved that they have recovered from the death s and disasters caused from the bombings of the world war 2. In ethnic poetry, the poet also explains how the people would do certain things there way just to show of how a certain thing is supposed to look to others so that their ethnicity is intact.
The way the two poems deal with how humans think is quite a symbolization of culture and humanity. How we play with culture and also let humanity be on our side is quite a statement. How we change our culture yet reminiscent of history are yet to hide from our system of living is similar in the two poems.
Reading poems like Ethnic Poetry and Welcome to Hiroshima is a very educational way of learning the factors that melded the history and the reasons why we have and enjoy the things that we have at present.
Differences between the two poems
Salters poem is more of a serious in nature elaborating how japans Hiroshima has recovered from the disaster of bombing and now dramatically advanced in commercializing itself. Whereas ethnic poetry is more of a pun on humans on how the look to do something taking shelter of history yet pretending to be ethnic and cultured in nature. The theme of the two poems are much different and the feeling is much contrasting to each other. People how they have been , how they have changed and how they show their lives , which is a reflection of the past and history is quite a thing tried to be shown in the second poem
Marzan and Salter may have presented their sides in exact opposite ideas, one thing is clear poetrys powerful impact on culture and history is unquestionable. In addition, it is also important to note that all both poems are situated within specific historical contexts. This is the reason why the poems of Marzan and Salter actually give an important insight in the representation of history. Of course, it is true that interpretations of history vary from one to the other however, it is also true that poetry may give a powerful interpretation of such.
The main difference between the two poetry is their approach, wherein Salter tried to present history according to bad memories, and in reiterating the agony and then pain that the Japanese experienced during the bombing, and how it is overlooked at present times. On the contrary, Julio Marzan actually reflected in a more subtle and relaxing way, arguing for the forgotten humanity of the ethnuic ideal and the ethnic wayn of life. While Salter preferred to look at the way American culture has impenetrated Japanese culture, Marzan preferred to look back and reflect on the heritage of ethnic culture rather than focusingn on its profound changes in the present.
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