Cloudy Day - Quote Analysis - Jimmy Santiago Baca Flashcards
Stanza 1
It is windy today.
- Opened with a strong, factual, short sentence
- Written in first person - almost like he is talking to himself
- Caesura used to close it off
Stanza 1
A wall of wind crashes against,
windows clunk against, iron frames,
- Scene full of energy, wildness and abandon
- Action verbs used such as “crashes”, “clunk” and “swings”
- “A wall of wind” - alternative metaphor, highlights living conditions, imprisoned behind walls
- The wind is free, iron frames do not allow freedom
- Emotion described through wind, unsettling atmosphere
Stanza 1
As wind swings past broken glass and seethes,
- SEETHES - something becoming turbulent, bubbling over, reflects the emotional state of men
- Metaphor, focuses on sense of fear
- SWINGS - action verb, highlights chaos and change
Stanza 1
Like a frightened cat,
in empty spaces of the cell block.
- Simile used to describe wind vortexing into small corners of the prison
- A feeling of being hunted and suggests a prison atmosphere full of rage and anxiety and barely suppressed anarchy
- CELL BLOCK - finally get location after detailed description
Stanza 2
In the exercise yard,
We sat huddled in our prison jackets,
- As if it is a memory - past tense
- Exercise yard referred to ironically since the men are too cold and miserable to move around
- HUDDLED - curled up, defending yourself, physical and emotional state of men
- PRISON JACKETS - designed to humiliate
Stanza 2
On our haunches against the fence,
and the wind carried our words
over the fences,
- “On our haunches” - stresses their position of submission and connotes to the idea that they are treated more like dogs than animals
- de -humanising
- WIND - prevents anyone from hearing them, can talk openly
- Uses personification to show how wind helps men converse safely
Stanza 2
While the vigilant guard on the tower,
Held his cap at the sudden gust.
- VIGILANT - being guarded, no one likes to be watched
- Dominant position of the guard, superior in high watchtower
- Ends with mocking humour, sudden loss of dignity as wind whips away cap, another symbol of authority
Stanza 3
I could see the main tower from where I sat,
- Becomes more personal, moves on to much more intimate “I”
- Intensifies focus on watchtower
- Indicates his hatred of being under constant surveillance
Stanza 3
And the wind in my face ,
gave me the feeling I could grasp
the tower like a cornstalk,
and snap it from its roots of rock
- Wind has invigorated him, passing on sense of strength and power, as well as anger
- Simile used to describe how he would like to tear down the watchtower
- Rural imagery appropriate to farming region
- Blends simile into metaphor where he uses harshness of rock to symbolise enduring toughness of the prison system
Stanza 4
The wind plays it like a flute,
This hollow shoot of rock.
- “Flute” and “shoot” - internal rhyme
- An auditory quality is added to the poem, highlights sound produced by wind funnelling through watchtower
- Eerie, ghostly sounds
- HOLLOW SHOOT OF ROCK - simile - stresses dominance and permanence of it
- HOLLOW - literally describes structure but metaphorically implies that prison system itself is hollow and futile
Stanza 4
The brim girded with barbwire,
With a guard sitting there also,
- Barb wire has connotations of savagery, anti - human/animal
- Add to Baca’s sense of restraint, everywhere he looks there are guards, both watching and listening at all times.
Stanza 4
Listening intently to the sounds,
As clouds cover the sun.
- Ends negatively with the sun being blotted out by clouds
- Not just listening to the wind, listening to the prisoners’ conversations, always listening
- Symbolic of a loss of hope within penitentiary
- Not just literally, metaphorically, how he is feeling at the time
Stanza 5
I thought of the day I was coming to prison,
In the back seat of a police car,
- Reflective tone, becomes more confiding, flashback
- Sitting in the back of the car like a child
Stanza 5
Hands and ankles chained, the police man pointed,
- Prevents any movement or sense of dignity
- Each detail of stanza expresses powerlessness
- He is considered a threat, adds a dark and bitter quality to stanza
- De humanising
Stanza 5
“See that big water tank? The big
silver one out there, sticking up?
That’s the prison.”
- Police man is chatting, he is at ease, in control
- Focuses on symbol of authority
- Direct speech makes comments more intimidating as he focuses on sheer size of prison dominating landscape
- Last word in stanza is prison and reader understands harsh impact these words had on Baca
