Living Space

Question 1

‘There are just not enough/ straight lines. That is the problem.’

Answer 1

• ‘not enough’ —> adverb ‘not’ immediately starts the poem in a pessimistic manner which will portray place as oppressive, precarious and limiting throughout the poem. The adjective ‘enough’ creates the impression that the living conditions of the people in Mumbai is insufficient.
• ‘straight lines’ —> portrays a sense of irregularity and lack of uniformity. This can portray a lack of stability in the lives of the people portraying the place where they live as quite distressing and insecure.
• most of the quote uses monosyllabic terms which can reflect the monochrome and mundane nature of the slums since there is no excitement or detailed vocabulary. This reflects the basic nature of the place.
• ‘that is the problem’ —> explicitly states that a ‘problem’ exists. This draws attention to the flawed nature of the slums, however, the term ‘that’ is an ambiguous description which can perhaps suggest that the true issues of the slums is unclear. This can be a reference by Dharker to the flawed nature of the government in the lack of care for the people or the flawed nature of people not caring for eachother or their homes. Socio-economic.

Question 2

‘Nothing is flat/ or parallel’

Answer 2

• ‘nothing’ —> portrays a building description of insufficiency surrounding the stability of the buildings. This portrays the buildings as entirely irregular insinuating that all of the buildings and its aspects are unsafe. This highlights to what extent the lives of the inhabitants is dangerous as a result.
• ‘flat/ or parallel’ —> uses enjambment to indicate how the descriptions of the setting is not flat and cannot fit within the line. This reinforces the previous concept of a lack of stability in the buildings. However, the use of enjambment can also reflect the slums and how they cannot be contained and sprawl around everywhere.

Question 3

‘Beams balance crookedly on supports/ thrust off the vertical./Nails clutch at open seams.’

Answer 3

• ‘beams balance crookedly’ —> adjective —> ‘beams’ —> refers to the foundation of the buildings which should be secure and unseen. However, the adverb ‘crookedly’ portrays a lack of stability and stability, whilst the narrators description of the ‘beams’ imply that they are visible and are not protected as they should be. This portrays the poor conditions of the slums’ buildings.
• ‘beams balance’ —> plosive sounds creates a harsh succession of sounds which reinforces how harsh the lives of the slum dwellers are.
• ‘thrust off the vertical./ Nails clutch at open seams.’ —> active verb ‘thrust’ —> suggests that the ‘supports’ are exposed and have been placed in a very forceful manner. This portrays a lack of care when creating the buildings resulting in poor conditions. Perhaps Dharker uses descriptions similar to this as a means to criticise the lack of care when making the buildings hence resulting in their poor conditions.
• ‘nails clutch at open seams’ —> ‘open’ —> portrays a lack of care when creating the holding as they are open and vulnerable similar to the people. Also, the use of punctuation in the ‘.’ At the end of the two lines within this quote, perhaps are used by Dharker to mimic the ‘nails’???

Question 4

‘The whole structure leans dangerously/ towards the miraculous’

Answer 4

• ‘whole structure leans’ —> adjective —> ‘whole’ portrays the a universal struggle and lack of stability within the buildings. This portrays no stability and no stability in the people’s homes. This reiterates the concept that the conditions are dangerous.
• ‘dangerously’ —> adverb explicitly describes how the conditions are unsafe and most likely should not be lived in.
• ‘towards the miraculous’ —> term ‘miraculous’ —> implies that the building is standing only due to a miracle. This implies that the state of it is so poor that it should not function and should have collapsed. This continually reinforces how precarious the conditions are, however, it draws attention to the resilience of people since they are able to survive in the buildings despite its poor state.

Question 5

‘Into this rough frame,/ someone has squeezed/ a living space.’

Answer 5

• this functions as it’s own stanza which is significantly shorter than the others. The large distance in stanza size can mimic the lack of coherency and regularity within the buildings structures.
• ‘rough frame’ —> adjective —> ‘rough’ —> connotes to being rugged and coarse in this context. This portrays how basic the conditions are and portrays a lack of finesse in building the structures.
• ‘someone has squeezed’ —> Deictic term —> specifically lacks clarity and does not give any identity. This is specifically done by Dharker to generalise the struggle and suggest that many people are struggling and have to ‘squeeze’ their homes into a small space. This portrays the problem as rife.
• ‘squeezed’ —> verb —> portrays a forceful action perhaps describing that the housing should not exist there but has been forced into the space due to a lack of other options. This portrays the poor quality of the housings since they are cramped and should not exist.
• ‘living space’ —> noun —> ‘space’ —> very broad. This perhaps implies that the area of land where people are ‘living’ was not built to be a home and does not function as housing. This portrays it as the bare minimum and implies that it lacks the aspects to be a registered home. This links back to the slums of Dharavi in the way that they are all informal housing.
• Furthermore, as another point, the use of sibilance in these lines can imply a sense of danger implying that these settlements are dangerous for the people and can collapse imminently. This further reinforces the danger of this type of housing.

Question 6

‘And even dared to place/ these eggs in a wire basket,/

Answer 6

‘Dared’ —> verb —> has connotations of being intrepid or courageous. This stanza develops in a different manner focusing on the inhabitants and portraying them as resilient and admirable.
- ‘eggs’ —> associated with fragility and vulnerability portraying the people as vulnerable despite their attempts to be courageous and perseverent. This continually portrays the overarching danger of the settlements.
- ‘eggs’ —> psychoanalytical —> is associated with the idea of life erupting from the object. This can be a metaphor for all of the people within the slums since they have thrived and life has erupted in these areas despite the poor conditions and danger. This creates a sense of duality in the way that life thrives when the conditions are close to collapsing and disintegrating.

Question 7

‘Fragile curves of white/ hung out over the dark edge/ of a slanted universe,’

Answer 7

• ‘fragile curves’ —> adjective —> ‘fragile’ —> continuous to build up vulnerability in the description of the ‘eggs’ which represents the people. This describes the people as tenuous.
• ‘white and ‘dark’ —> creates a sense of juxtaposition creating antithesis since ‘white’ can create imagery of hope, whereas ‘dark’ creates imagery of destruction and negativity. This contributes to the idea of hope within the people despite their struggling conditions.
• ‘slanted universe’ —> portrays the entire area as unstable and insecure. This portrays the areas as decentralised as it is angled away from flatness. Also, ‘slanted’ mimics the structure of the poem where the third stanza has lines decreasing in length hence making it appear slanted and insecure similar to the description of the slums.

Question 8

‘Gathering the light into themselves,/ as if they were/ the bright, thin walls of faith.’

Answer 8

• ‘gathering the light into themselves’ —> adjective —> ‘light’ can symbolise hope. In this act of gathering the light it portrays the people as beacons of hope portraying their resilience despite their poor conditions. This portrays their strong faith and describes them as admirable. This sheds a positive light on the slums in the strength of the people.
• walls of ‘faith’ are portrayed as ‘bright, thin’. —> adjective ‘bright’ portrays faith as illuminating the landscape and providing the people with perhaps a sense of direction helping them thrive. However, ‘thin’ anchors the fragility of their conditions despite their best attempts. Dharker deliberately uses the noun ‘walls’ and perhaps uses these to describe the people as providing the buildings with the extra support and structure to remain erect and surviving. This portrays the power of their belief as it helps maintain the buildings despite their external factors disadvantaging it.