IT Home Learning : Children In The Darkness

Children in the Darkness *

There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light

~ Henry M Bechtold

***

The author, Henry M Bechtold was often in Vietnam which he felt was where he belongs to. The Vietnam War was raging at that time, and he witnessed the horrors of war. He was inspired to write this poem when he saw a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle while watching the news programme on TV. This happened on Christmas 2009.

The poem describes the situation of the children suffering in war. It also speaks of the privileges every child should or would have, in contrast to those who are missing out. Their future are bleak as they received little or no education, and also have to endure health problems (as shown in the previous poem, Rainbow Death), etc.

***

Point of view

The persona is anti-war and is concerned about the consequences of war on children.

Evidence :

"There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light "

"Could we teach them how to read Could we teach them how to dance"

"Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul"

Elaboration :

The persona opposes to war due to the harm it could bring to children. Besides causing physical damage to the children, war also results in loss of privileges of what every children should have, such as education. Therefore, war could "consume" "their body and their soul".

Besides that, the poet also demonstrates a good understanding of the conditons of children during war. This is probably because of his previous involvement in the Vietnam War. The brutal treatment of children still etched vividly in his mind. He felt that they should receive proper education as well as the rights to freedom, instead of fighting and enduring the war at such a young age, otherwise their future would be in total darkness. They may either suffer severe wounds or health problems or having no essential skills to obtain employment in the future.

The poem draws sympathy for the children and serves as a reminder to the effects of war on children, who are ignored and neglected.

Situation and Setting

The children are trapped and "consumed" amidst the chaos of war. They are unable to escape from their predicament.

Evidence :

"There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light"

"Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole"

"Back into the darkness From which there is no flight"

Elaboration :

The children experienced the tragedies of war; the violence and inhumanity of it. They are caught in it and had no means of escape, as they are neglected and cannot flee without the grown-up's help. Therefore, they are subjected to being tortured, inescapable.

The poem also states that "their life and blood be poured" "down some endless thirsty hole", indicating that men is still thirsty for war and glory, totally oblivious to the children's needs. This destroys their childhood, not having seen the "light", engulfed in "darkness from which there is no flight".

Language and Diction

The author is able to connect to the reader. Good use of literary devices and figurative language is used to convey his message. He also make use of contrast, repetition and rhetorical questions.

Evidence :

"Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key"

"Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance"

"Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole"

"Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light"

Elaboration :

In the rhetorical questions in stanza 3 where the author emphasises that the children miss out a lot compared to their peers, "we" is used to make the readers feel connected. It also shows a contrast between children suffering in war and those who lead a normal life, thus evoking sympathy for them.

Furthermore, the "chalks" and "blackboard" symbolises education, for which "there is no key" to the "door", indicating that the children have no opportunities to be sufficiently educated. Personification is also used in the children's body and soul being "consumed by war", showing that war affects them in all aspects, both physically and mentally. The "endless thirsty hole" describes the war robbing the children of their rights.

In addition, The contrasting words such as "light" and "darkness" is used to highlight the children's condition, where the "light" symbolises the innocence of the children, which "shines no light" in the darkness and we could not "simply light a candle" to protect their innocence, as it is far too exposed to the brutality of war.

Personal response

This poem aims to convey the message of suffering children in war, raising awareness about the implications of war have on them. To me, I felt very fortunate not to be one of those children who have to endure the war besides sympathising with them. I think that we should appreciate what we have nowadays, as there are many children out there who do not have them. The impact of war on them certainly could not be removed. All in all, it is a very meaningful poem.

IT Home Learning : Rainbow Death

Rainbow Death **

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

Hubert Wilson

~~~

This poem is written by Hubert Wilson who was a soldier involved in the Vietnam War together with his four brothers serving in the USAF Security Service. He started having health problems, being sent to a contaminated environment. His health deteriorated and even no physicians has diagnosed the illness. Fortunately it did not affect his brain thus he followed his late father's footsteps and turned to writing.

The "Rainbow Death" in the poem refers to a herbicide and defoliant contaminated with TCDD( Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin) and is used by the US military during the war, also known as Agent Orange. Approximately 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to it, causing the deaths and disabilities of 400,000 people and also birth defects in 500,000 newborns.

Among the "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used. Agents Purple, Pink and Green were produced at that time too, and are also mentioned in the poem.

Therefore, it can be seen that the poem speaks of a modern day ingredient warfare which has resulted in appalling deaths and sufferings. Not only the intended victims (the Vietnamese) but also those who used or came into contact with the deadly weapon were affected. Even after the war has ended, the people there are still suffering up to today. In this poem, the author is trying to show the consequences of war especially the effects on people during and after the war. The horror of modern warfare is also brought up too. It also serve as a reminder on how huge improvements in technology has also lead to weapons of war nowadays to be more destructive than ever to mankind.

IT Home Learning Lesson 3

The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

The capital of Singapore is Singapore

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper

In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me

Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment

When my eyes were actually closed

***
Respond to the following threads.

Discussion threads:

1. What are the poet’s thoughts? What were his feelings as he think back on these ?
2. Think back on our days in Primary School. Do you share the same sentiments? What were your memories of those days? Write a poem of no less than 4 stanzas.

1. I think the poet is missing his old school life. He missed the lessons. This can be seen from "Seven to the power of five is unreasonable" and "The capital of Singapore is Singapore" which he learn from lessons. He also described his school life in a humorous way.

2.

Flashback starts,

As my mind travelled,

To my old primary school days.

Happiness, sorrow,

Surprise, anxiety,

Any emotions that can be named,

I went through in my primary days.

Homework, homework and more homework,

Exams were teachers’ favourite word.

Teachers’ word is law,

Whenever we disobey,

Or when results were bad,

Canes come raining down on our hands.

But looking back,

I found that I missed,

My old primary school days,

My old primary school friends,

The fun we have together.

My old primary school teachers,

Whose teachings could never be forgotten,

As they make me into what I am today.

Now,

I wished I had a time machine,

I wished I could turn back the time,

I will be more obedient to my teachers,

I will be better to my friends,

I will study harder for exams,

But it’s too late.

***

Please comment :)

IT Home Learning Lesson 2

Choose a poet by going online to a couple of the internet sites such as Poets.org ( Academy of American Poets website) or American Poetry Online. Blog on your favourite poet. Your entry should be approximately 400 words.

The most popular historical poet in 2008, James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, and even a short story writer. He was also a black, who were discriminated in his days.

It was his poems that intrigued me a lot; they are meaningful and left me deep in thought. For instance, the poem Life is Fine leads me to ponder that life is actually good if we think it the right way. I also like the way he stood out for his fellow black American through poem like I, Too, Sing America and Let America Be America Again. Some of his poem rhymes well, such as The Weary Blues.

Langston Hughes was born on 1 February 1902 in Joplin, Missouri to James Nathaniel Hughes and Carrie Mercer Langsten. (His name is a mix of his parents'!) Both parents were mixed race, as Langston Hughes was of African American, European American and Native American descent. Parents divorced, he was raised by his grandmother in Kansas, and moved to Lincoln, Illinois. He started writing poetry there. Following graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and another at Columbia University. All these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, seaman, etc. and moved to Washington D.C. in 1924 Langston Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature.

22 May 1967 was the fateful day. Langston Hughes died at the age of 65, from complications after abdominal surgery, related to prostate cancer. His ashes are interred beneath a floor medallion in the middle of the foyer leading to the auditorium named for him within the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

The following are some poems by Langston Hughes :

The Negro Speaks of Rivers (also Hughes's signature poem)

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I danced in the Nile when I was old

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln

went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy

bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Life Is Fine (My favourite!)

I went down to the river,

I set down on the bank.

I tried to think but couldn't,

So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!

I came up twice and cried!

If that water hadn't a-been so cold

I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator

Sixteen floors above the ground.

I thought about my baby

And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!

I stood there and I cried!

If it hadn't a-been so high

I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',

I guess I will live on.

I could've died for love--

But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,

And you may see me cry--

I'll be dogged, sweet baby,

If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

Outside sources : Wikipedia - Langston Hughes Poets.org - Langston Hughes

IT Home Learning Lesson 1

Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

1. How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?

Hyperbole is used in the poem, as the word "die" stressed the author's distress and tired of living. He"hollered" and "cried" which indicates that the water is extremely cold and the building is supremely high in an exaggerated manner. The metaphor in the poem is "I stood there and I hollered! I stood there and I cried!". "Fine as wine" is the simile in the poem, while the symbolism is the river and the building.

2. Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.

I like Life Is Fine because it is meaningful. The author intends to commit suicide but in vain, but is it because of the coldness of the river and the height of the building? In my opinion, when someone wants to jump down, he or she would choose the highest building to do it, since the person has already decided to commit suicude, no matter what happened will change his decision. However, in this poem, the author is still aware of cold, and height which shows that there is a still a thirst for life in him. After that, he found out that life is fine. From this poem, I understand that we will encounter a lot of difficulties and setbacks in our life. We may feel distressed and give up and lost the will to live on, but it gives us power to stand up again. There has to be reason for everything that happens to us or in our life. Thus, we should think positively. As we live longer, we understand failure and success, life and death. We will found out that life is fine, sooner or later.