Uche Nwogalanya
By: Chinua Achebe
No Madonna and Child could touch
that picture of a mother’s tenderness
for a son she soon would have to forget.
The air was heavy with odours
for a son she soon would have to forget.
The air was heavy with odours
of diarrhoea of unwashed children
with washed-out ribs and dried-up
bottoms struggling in laboured
steps behind blown empty bellies. Most
with washed-out ribs and dried-up
bottoms struggling in laboured
steps behind blown empty bellies. Most
mothers there had long ceased
to care but not this one; she held
a ghost smile between her teeth
and in her eyes the ghost of a mother’s
pride as she combed the rust-coloured
hair left on his skull and then –
to care but not this one; she held
a ghost smile between her teeth
and in her eyes the ghost of a mother’s
pride as she combed the rust-coloured
hair left on his skull and then –
singing in her eyes – began carefully
to part it… In another life this
would have been a little daily
act of no consequence before his
breakfast and school; now she
to part it… In another life this
would have been a little daily
act of no consequence before his
breakfast and school; now she
did it like putting flowers
on a tiny grave.
on a tiny grave.
This picture accurately depicts my poem because it symbolizes motherhood and security. After reading "Refugee Mother and Child," I began to get the vibe of a protective mother who is holding onto their child.
About The Writer
Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist and author who was born in 1930 and died in 2013. In 1958, he published his first novel, "Things Fall Apart," and later published many more works of literature and poetry. "Things Fall Apart" has since sold more than 20 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages. In 1971, Achebe and his family were forced to leave Enugu, Nigeria, and go to the Biafran capital, Aba, due to the Biafran War of 1967.
Analyzing The Poem
The poem is about a mother and her son, I assume during the Biafran War, who were refugees and had to flee to an unfriendly place. Even though the mother sees death around her, and knows it may take her son, she refuses to let go of his spirit... even after he dies.
When the speaker says "she held a ghost smile between her teeth," it metaphorically showed what death looked like, and added weight to the line. Achebe uses figurative language in this poem to paint the sorrowful picture of a mother still holding onto her dead child. Also, "singing in her eyes" is an example of personification because it gives an eye the quality of a human. This quote creates a slightly lighter, more soft feeling.
In this poem, there is no rhyme scheme. There is some enjambment used throughout the poem to give depth and significance to specific lines.
The tone of the poem is very sorrowful. An example of this is when the speaker says "in another life." A line like that gives the impression that what is wanted, or longed for, is not attainable at the moment and the mother is holding onto false hopes.
Overall, the theme of this poem is that in life, we would rather hold onto sorrow than to accept what is true and in front of us.
I agree with your interpretation of this poem. The word choice provides the audience with a lot of imagery. I feel as if I can perfectly imagine everything that is happening in the poem. Even after the supposed death of her child, her motherly instincts make it hard for her to let go. Because of that, it makes this poem seem even more powerful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your take on the poem. I think that the rust colored hair symbolizes how unkept and almost forgotten the poor child was. With no medical help to combat the disease, the child truly suffered, along with his mother who was helpless to save him. Her relation as mother would magnify her pain as she sees someone that she brought to life turn away and die in front of her. The imagery definitely helps me see what is going on in the poem.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Uche saw the poem the same way I did. In my opinion this poem is a little heavy for my taste but the message of these refugees needs to be heard. The tone is very depressing because it speaks of losing a child as well as being in a terrible place.I also agree with Uches theme because the mother in the poem couldn't think of losing her child.
ReplyDeleteI agree with her interpretation of the poem. Without the help for the disease, he suffered so much to stay alive, and with the mother helpless to save him. The tone is sad and depressing because of the lose of the child.
ReplyDelete