Title
Name
Course
Institution
Date of Submission
Section 1
Question One
How does the poem convey what is valued by the persona?
In a society dominated by technology, “Where am I?” expresses the persona’s value for personal connection. Because being in contact with others is such an important part of the human experience, the persona concludes that this requirement has been removed, and he has grown progressively solitary because of the technology that has changed the human lifestyle. The first declarative and high-modality loaded remark that the composer is just “desperate for connection” introduces us to this perspective. The persona highlights the desperation to be in touch with real people and not with all the texting and so forth that technology has brought. This very sarcastic remark on the 21st Century’s devaluation of relationships is threaded throughout the poem, in a world where the persona is blinded by their “display screen” and talking with people has changed into needing to “Google a map” or “text someone who will link me.” The persona explains how relationships are no longer part of the human life such that when people get lost, all they can do is ask for directions from the google map or call someone to direct them. When the composer compares antiquated ways of communication – “a message washed up in an old bottle” – to their “new slate black iPhone,” the two are regarded incomparable since the latter has surpassed the former as a means of building connections with a larger variety of people.
Question Two
What techniques are used in the comic to define the modern phenomenon of the ‘helicopter parent’?
Helicopter parenting is defined as a style of parenting in which parents are excessively focused on their children. The techniques used in the comic include the use of the imagery as a style whereby, the parents are displayed hovering above their children especially in education institutions just like helicopters. The parents are highlighted following their children all over ensuring that they are within reach of their children to keep tabs on their whereabouts and remind them to study. The images highlighted clearly explains the helicopter parent phenomena whereby the parents are closely watching their children to ensure that they do what is supposed to be done at school which is to study and pass their examinations.
Question Three
Compare and contrast the representations of parenthood in Text 2 and Text 3.
The representation of parenthood in text 2 is depicted as over-involvement in the child’s life. The parents participate in every aspect of their child’s routine activities to an extent where their own lives revolve around controlling that of their children. Even though they may view this approach as being protective, the inability to make decisions of their own renders the child’s self-esteem non-existent.
The idea of parenthood displayed in the 3rd text is an approach that is based on an emotional and cognitive connection between the parent and the child. This way, the parent does not need to be ever present in the child’s vicinity to be an effective parent. The child’s needs are evident to the parent before they can be communicated to the parent. This connection allows the children the autonomy to experience life at their own terms and receiving parental guidance concurrently.
These two approaches to parenthood have the following similarities. Both sets of parents believe that they are protecting the interests of their children. The helicopter approach in text 2 is dependent on following the child’s every move and making decisions for them. Text 3 is dependent on providing guidance to the child and believing that the choices they make will be based on the parental guidance afforded to them. Even though the approaches and techniques used may differ, the constant factor is the attempt to give the child the best life possible.
However, these two approaches differ in so many ways. The helicopter approach in text 2 is based on the smothering of the child’s ability to make their own decisions and experience their life at their own terms. This idea is valid in the sense that a child’s choices may never be right at all times. However, text 3 implies that even the child may never make all the right decisions, the parent and the connection they share will be the guide and the fallback option incase things go wrong. The feeling that the parent has when the child needs them is enough to give them the empowering ability of letting their children experience their own lives with the support and guiding hand of the parents, ever present but not smothering.
Question Four
How does the writer use language to create the character’s experience of ‘growing into manhood’?
The writer uses metaphorical language to explain the situation that George was going through that gave him the experience of manhood; “The mood that had taken possession of him was a thing known to men and unknown to boys. He felt old and a little tired. Memories awoke in him. To his mind his new sense of maturity set him apart, made of him a half-tragic figure. He wanted someone to understand the feeling that had taken possession of him after his mother’s death.”
The writer uses a descriptive language. The language of “Sophistication” is straightforward, and the narrator uses several adjectives and metaphors to build a vivid picture of a town during its county fair: “People rushed up and down like animals imprisoned in a corral.” ‘‘Young guys with bright red cheeks uncomfortably went about with girls on their arms.” ‘‘Voices mutter and horns blare.” “Little flames of the fire [that] danced madly about,” and “the wind [that] murmured among the dry corn stalks,” are examples of other metaphors. The writer describes how the town was highlighting George’s feelings that made him see himself changing from a child to manhood. The writer also uses the
Question Five
Explain how different aspects of the writer’s family experience are represented in this extract.
The writer explains how their lives were since their childhood and up to now describing the way their lives have all been as a family. The writer talks about the father established his businesses being a Chinese in a place that was had Australians viewing them as exotics. The writer narrates how they would be taken for road trips along the coasts where they went along Thai restaurants. She also narrates how they were pushed out since they were Chinese to create way for other ethnicities and this crumbled the family down. They had been exposed to living lavishly and large, attending good schools and being given pocket money in large amounts and yet with them being pushed away to pave way for other ethnicities, their father was forced to become a Thai and even them were forced to work in order to make ends meet since they were forced to sell their businesses. The writer ends by outlining how they lived through the challenges they faced to remain afloat and get re-established in business as her father now owns a majority of the hotels with new projects coming up such as the towering extensions to his old house which he plans to either rent out or sell it.
English Poetry
