LA E-Learning

Poem: 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!

TASK 1

I think the conflict of the poem lies in the last line of the poem stating the use of Agent Orange spray. ("Execrable effects of agent orange spray!") Some research was done by me, of course, and I found out that Agent Orange is actually the code name for a highly toxic herbicide and defoliant, a substance sprayed over plants and crops to cause its leave to fall. Agent Orange was used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. An estimated 4.8 million people were exposed to Agent Orange and this led to the deaths and disabilities of around 400,000 people and 500,000 birth defects. Agent Orange was used during the herbicidal program during the Vietnam War which also include the use of Agent Purple, Pink and Green, which were less toxic. I think this is why the poet entitled the poem Rainbow Death. Perhaps it is because of the different colours of toxic sprays used during the war that caused the deaths of the people.

What the lines mean:
1. Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Potpourri means a mixture of things. This lines probably means that the mixture of the various toxic sprays used have led to a mixture of deaths during the war.
2.Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Generations untold WILL pay -
These four lines mean that the effect of Agent Orange and the other agents on the victims of its usage would suffer terribly, including its future generations as there would be genetic birth deforms and illnesses. And such genetic problems can be carried down to many generations ahead.
3.Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
The poet re-establishes how deadly the use of Agent Orange on people can be.

TASK 2

Point Of View: The poet adopts the point of view of the victims who suffered the wrath of the horrific Agent Orange during the Vietnam war. The poet must have had some experience about the Vietnam Warfare involving the usage of the toxic agents, or perhaps he could have interviewed a victim suffering from the effects of Agent Orange to be able to compose the poem from the victims' perspectives.

Situation And Setting: The setting of the poem is set after the use of Agent Orange. Only then would the poet be able to write in the victims' point of views, what happened to their future generations and their feelings towards the Vietnam War. It is also said that "America did not foresee" the deadly effects of the use of Agent Orange. Thus, the poet probably wrote this line after he himself witnessed the terrible after effects of Agent Orange.

Language And Diction: The poet entitled his poem "Rainbow Death". Usually, when we think of rainbows, good memories or things come to our minds. However, the poet uses rainbows to signify the deaths in the Vietnam War. Also, the use of the word "potpourri". This word is rather interesting. Like I have said in TASK 1, "potpourri" means a mixture of things, in this case, a mixture of the different agents used in the Vietnam War - Agent Orange, Agent Green, Agent Pink and Agent Purple. The use of the word "deceit" in "All the deceit continues to spread." probably suggests that the Vietnamese people had not been told of the use of Agent Orange in their country, therefore they could not escape and in turn had to suffer from it.

Personal Response: This poem is rather disturbing. The poet tells the readers about the terrible effects of the usage of Agent Orange and images of the descriptions would be depicted in the mind. The poet adopts a solemn and rather furious tone, taking pity of the Vietnamese as well as to ask the U.S. government if they think what they had done was the right thing to do. This poem gives readers an greater understanding of how devastating Agent Orange usage can be. However, the person who reads this poem should have some knowledge about Agent Orange, of he would not be able not comprehend the poem.

Bye.

Posted on Term 2 Week 10