The Deliverer Flashcards
‘because they were crippled or dark or girls’
tricolon
hierarchy-> places least value on girls
dark- colourism derived from colonisation where colonisers made being fair the beauty standard so dark sin looked down upon
crippled- workers at orphanages would make orphans crippled to make ppl feel more empathetic towards orphans and give money to orphanage
‘The Deliverer’
deliverer- religious connotations-> Jesus Christ=deliverer- reedemed humanity
elevates the nuns to saviours- give orphans a chance of a better life
-> ironic- physically ‘delivered’ to a new life in the West, they are not truly saved from hardships. Still are abandoned and commodified by western society disregarding those who don’t reach their expectation
‘dog’
Dogs have more freedom to survive than children- challenges the way the world works
‘naked’
vulnerable-> don’t have basic necessities
contrasts fast fashion in western world-> ppl buy many clothes just to throw away whilst ppl making clothes in poorer countries can’t even afford them
criticism- wastefulness of western society
poet evokes a sense of gratefulness in the reader by making them realise their privilege
‘They are American so they know abt ceremony’
expectancy
superiority complex-> America= first world country so it is their duty to help 3rd world ocuntry
‘fetish for plucking hair off hands’
shamed for anxiety which isn’t their fault
fetish- something corrupt+caused by individual-> makes their medical condition seems as someing wrong and disgusting
‘mother tried to burry her’
‘Strangeness of her empty arms’
maternal nature still present-> economic situation so poor to the point death is better than living-> burying child in an attempt to allow them to avoid suffering but economic situation (poverty) forces them to give up child
‘passed from woman to woman’
abandoned again in America
child treated as a commodity-> adopted as a status symbol by the wealthy to make them seem charitable
adoption=transactional
‘where mothers go to squeeze out life watch body slither out from body
‘squeeze out life’- childbirth has become a forced task-> unemotionalised not a fulfilling experience but an obligation
Could also be ironic- birth becomes a metaophorical death as the liveliness of childhood is taken away from children.
-> children deemed useless are abandoned and passed around, denying them of a sense of worth
-> boys are overworked from a young age and forced to provide for their family
- ‘slither’- zoomorphism- girls=dehumanised- inferior
‘Feel for penis or no penis’
Hierarchy
Boys are superior and girls inferior due to economic conditions.
-> girls couldn’t work but boys could contribute through helping their father or finding work
-> abandon girls as they becomes a burden financially
‘Trudge home for their men again’
-> suggests men don’t dare abt their child and only use women for sex, ignoring theeconomic conditions that force them to act this way
-> highlights ignorance of the Western perspective who classify this as culture, dismissing the human instinct to survive
Structure and form
1 line stanza at end- separated from rest of poem to show this is an outside view highlights ignorance of western perspective
Enjambment- quick, rushed process emphasises danger children are put in
Free verse- not set structure to show this a wide-spread-> common reality for many children
Erratic line length throughout- constant danger ppl in poorer countries are put in
Single sentence stanza in the middle- hope for an escape and to break free from this cycle of abandonment however return to the free verse show they are denied a chance ofna better life
