1.4 short texts "Bottlecreek Blues" & "Comment"

Bottlecreek Blues was written by Sam Hunt a local born poet who publicises the fact that he writes to be heard. A leading point of interest stressed throughout this poem is the idea that pollution is easily fixed with a suit and tie worn by a leader with the slightest bit of power; the more they talk the faster the coastline is cleared of toxines - Hunt is adamit this alone will never solve the poisioness cockles of Cockleshell Island. The idea of social apathy held my attention because of the truth his words portray.Comment by Janet Frame a troubled writer born in Dunedin expresses the height of indifference which we all live and participate in. The fact that society works in an out of sight out of mind way keeps readers actively thinking whether or not this is includes them.

Environmental pollution is highlighted and exaggerated in Bottlecreek Blues using language techniques specifically altering the sound of the poem when its read aloud. "Sad protest songs are sung and heard" is an example of sibilance which is the repeated sound which 'sss' makes. Sibilance is used and appreciated most when heard; the reason for its appearance is due to Hunt's desire to make all his poetry a symbol of mass communictaion; it also mentions the protest which was sung and heard however only by a small population of people. Repetition of " The wind can't blow any harder" in the first and last stanza ties the poem together with a statement with allows the reader to realise that the pollution is at an extreme high and needs to be recognised. Both of these examplars convey the idea of the environmental pollution located on the coatlines of Cockleshell Island which used to produce cockles to gorge yourself on.

The social issue of waiting for nature to heal itself because of the damage forced upon it by societies selfish needs was exclamated by Sam Hunt; Readers vividly understand that to help a situation you must stand up rather than stay seated. A sympathetic response was evoked with the use of hyperbole. Hyperbole exaggerates a situation to seem more extreme than the reality may have been; "A friend I used to do this with near died from typhoid fever". Undoubtedly Hunt's friend may have become sick but it is unlikely it was a near death experience. The reader is left with a feeling of guilt and aggression even though they are not personally involved; Bottlecreek Blues creates a sense of awareness and keeps the audience interested.

Comment highlights the fact that human culture as a whole do not show alot of interest in world wide issues but use more energy to look after themselves and resolve issues immediately affecting them. "The cancelling of a rugby match through rain is more lamented than the cancelling of a thousand men" Frame used a number of comparatives to illustrate to the reader how truthful and realistic her 'comment' is by using two everyday occurances both with connotations of loss; however one example more devestating than the other. Parallelism is displayed through the use of similar statements in a structured way. The first stanza is an effective example with the use of senses, one being smell and one being sight; "smell of the dead" and "the blind man". Janet Frame used this to compare human characteristics evoking a personal response.

The idea of indifference amoungst society interested myself as a reader because Janet Frame was an isolated person who never married or had any children and over the course of her life suffered immense loss and developed mental health problems. I was intrigued at how aware Frame was of the happenings around the world in particular the Vietnam War "is more shocking than a plane-load of bombs on Hanoi" because she was not an active participant in the outside world. Although, Janet lost family and therefore knew the feeling of grief perhaps this poem was writen out of annoyance for the pity people feel for themselves after a minor disappointment. "Heaven curls in place" This metaphor shares a sense of sarcasm providing an insight to her personality almost proving this was an attempt of Frame's to share herself with society.

Together these two poems are an attempt to create awareness of the shallow indifferent lives we as people lead.