In The Snack Bar Flashcards
What are the themes/messages of the poem?
- struggle to survive
- importance of supporting others
What are the main events of the poem?
- an disabled man in a snack bar asks for help going to the bathroom, as he is blind. Morgan helps him and reflects on how more difficult everyday tasks are for the disabled
Which words/phrases make the disabled man sound weak?
no power, trying, slowly, clings, feebly, hands like wet leaves
etc
Which words/phrases make the disabled man sound scruffy/unclean?
stained, beltless, scuffed, muddy, uncouth, shambles, etc
“He stands in his stained beltless gaberdine
like a monstrous animal caught in a tent
in some story”
The simile emphasises how scary he looks by comparing him to a monster. This is ironic as he is weak and helpless. “caught in a tent” emphasises that his coat is far too big and shapeless.
“Long blind, hunchback born, half paralysed”
This list emphasises the amount of difficulties/disabilities he has to cope with
How does the author use dialogue to convey the man’s helplessness?
“I want - to go to the - toilet” - the dashes show he is pausing through embarrassment that he needs help with this simple task, or perhaps he cannot speak properly.
“He asks doubtfully, ‘Can I – wash my hands?” shows he needs people’s permission and help even to keep himself clean.
How does the writer use repetition effectively?
“inch by inch”, “slowly we go down” and “slowly we go up”, “he climbs, we climb” are all repeated to draw attention to how painfully slowly the man has to do everything
“A few yards of floor are like a landscape
to be negotiated”
the simile compares a very short distance to an almost endless one, to emphasises how something quick and easy for able bodied people can be daunting and demanding for those with diabilities
“I concentrate
my life to his: crunch of spilt sugar,
slidy puddle from the night’s umbrellas,
table edges, people’s feet,
hiss of the coffee-machine, voices and laughter,
smell of a cigar, hamburgers, wet coats steaming,
and the slow dangerous inches to the stairs.”
List to show the vast amount of dangerous hazards which could make the man fall over. Onomatopoeia to show he has to rely on his sense of sound as he can’t see.
White tiles and mirrors at last. He shambles
uncouth into the clinical gleam.
“white” and “gleam” of the clean bathroom contrast to “shambles” and “uncouth” which makes the man seem even more dirty and messy in comparison. This is why people are afraid of him - because he looks different.
“contraption”
Means a piece of complex machinery. The word choice shows that very simple things (like a hand dryer) can be difficult if you cannot see what you are doing or have physical difficulties.
“The faltering, unfaltering steps
take him at last to the door
across that endless, yet not endless waste of floor”
the contrasting words show the different perceptions of the same experience from the able bodied and disabled characters.
How does the writer suggest that even the bus is disgusted by/afraid of the disabled man?
personification of “shudders”
At the end of the poem, how does Morgan convey his anger that the disabled man has to live like this?
exclamation of “Dear Christ, be born for this!”
Hard alliteration of “he must announce his most pitiful needs in a public place”
