Carolyn Forches poem The Colonel - Essay Example

Textual Analysis: The Colonel Carolyn Forche’s poem “The Colonel” is a dramatic narration that satirizes a political situation in a poetic manner. The author intelligently uses a poetic form of presentation rather than the popular editorial approach of addressing controversial issues. The poem’s assumptions are that, in the contemporary world, brutality and violence constitute the order of the day and leaders, and the people associated to them, are immune from the adverse effects of the political oppression and riots. My sentiments are that the poem is contradictory to the expectations and morals of the modern society. People should coexist and, through the leaders, solve the problems that they encounter. The oppression that the Colonel acquits on the citizens of El Salvador, the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America (Harssel, Jackson & Hudman 23), emerges as an issue that should be condemned sternly, and she presents the poem in a manner that overcomes the cultural boundaries. This text intends to analyze the various textual strategies that Forche uses to satirize the situation in a poetic manner rather than the journalistic style. It is not coincidental that Forche employs the poetry into her narration but rather intends to bring on the satire through myriad textual strategies. Detailed description of a situation places the reader in a similar setting as that of the writer. At the beginning of the poem, Forche uses poetic language to depict the homey and domestic nature the colonel’s family was going about their daily lives. She narrates, “What you have heard is true. I was in his house. His wife carried a tray of coffee and sugar. His daughter filed her nails; his son went out for the night” (Forche 579). The political riots seen in El Salvador do not affect the family. She uses the atmosphere textual strategy to describe how the Colonel’s family did not pay attention to the riots that were rampant in their region, making the writer to get an initial positive picture of the situation. The author has managed to satirize the political situation by illustrating the manner those people associated with the leaders are not affected by the shortcomings of politics. The atmosphere created to the reader, at the beginning of the poem, is a mere satire of the main point of the poem. Contrary to a journalistic approach, the poetic approach effectively satirizes the politics in question. Posing a different attribute to a given thing, contrary to its mundane purpose, has a groovy effect on emotions. Forche asserts that “my friend said to me with his eyes: say nothing” (579). Ordinarily, eyes see rather than talk. The author uses the point of view textual strategy to depict not only the hostility of the colonel, but also the communication limit instanced by the presence of the colonel to a point of people communication using the eyes. The reader can relate to similar situations whereby people implore to each other to restrain from doing whatever they intend to do, when silence is the only safe response to the situation. She satirizes the political situation by posing the colonel as cruel to a point of hindering fundamental communication. By using the point of view, the reader is able to stand in the shoes of the narrator as concerning to the situation in the colonel’s house. A blend of reality and poetry serves to evoke the satirical mood that the reader intends to create. Forche recounts of the Colonel “keeping a pistol next to him on a cushion” (597). Pistols explicate a person’s anticipation for some danger, whereby the gun is a weapon of defense. She uses the foreshadowing textual strategy to describe the evil that was yet to take place. The pistol indicates that something was wrong and that the Colonel was protecting himself against attacks. The colonel has enemies and he ought to be ready for anything any time. Peaceful people do not keep pistols beside them, and this was used to foreshadow the brutal nature of the Colonel. The writer tried to depict the fear the Colonel possesses despite the fact that he is the leader. It is important for the reader to learn that the Colonel lives in fear and hence keeping the gun beside him for protection, so he will understand the poem better. Trivial details of a situation can aid in comprehending the whole idea in generality. Forche narrates, “On the television was a cop show. It was in English….There was a brief Commercial in Spanish.” She distinguishes the languages use in the two shows to enable the reader understand the real political situation that she encountered. By presenting the cop show to be in English whereas the short commercial was in Spanish implies that the main shows were in English and Spanish was left to be used in the short commercials. Forche used this symbolism textual strategy to show how the government sidelines other people except for the English speakers. The symbolism in this case satirizes the political situation in that the colonel is agitated with the government’s way of doing things. It only favors the English speakers rather than all the citizens. The utilization of the tongue-in-cheek style can facilitate evoking of emotions, hence satire. Forche avers, "Some of the ears on the floor caught the scrap of his voice. Some of the ears on the floor were pressed to the ground” (579). The audience may perceive this statement to refer to the ears that the colonel had drop on the floor. However, she intended a deeper meaning to this statement. She is able to use the Synecdoche textual strategy in her reference to the political oppression that the people of El Salvador were subjected to. The reader is able to infer that the ears that were pressed to the ground mean refer to the people who were innocent and ignorant of the political instability in their nation. On the other hand, the ears that caught the scarp of the colonel’s voice referred to the people who were actively involved in the riots and other political oppressions. The synecdoche sets the satiric mood by presenting a case where people can be ignoring a problem that is affecting their nation and instead hope for the best by watching the cues. Conjuring up of satire can be instanced using common phrases that the reader already understands. Forche narrates, “Some of the ears on the floor were pressed to the ground” (579). The phrase ‘ear pressed to the ground’ refers to the devotion of attention for clues on what is to happen next. She uses this cliché to refer to the people who were aware of the political oppression and riots in El Salvador and only decided to watch and wait to see what will happen next. As much as they are ignorant of the politics in their region, they are only interested on the cues of the preceding events. The writer brings the satire in the politics by using phrases that the readers can relate to. Apparently, it is satirical for people to watch a wrong thing happening and instead of trying to seek for a solution, they pay focus on hints of the subsequent events. The reader learns of this tendency of the people of El Salvador to dig their head to the ground hoping the danger will be gone once their heads resurface. The author effectively drives this point by the use of a cliché textual strategy. By exaggerating various attributes, the reader is able to infer to the situation being considered. After the colonel drops one of the human ears and drops it into a water glass, Forche narrates, “It came alive. I am tired of fooling around he said. As for the rights of anyone, tell your people they can go fuck themselves” (579). The reader is faced with a problem of knowing whom the Colonel was referring to with his harsh comments. Is it the author or the ear? Apparently, the narrator use figurative language textual strategy in reference to the ear that was dead, and became alive after being dipped in a glass of water. The ear present the ignorant part of society and coming into live represents the awareness that the ignorant people are forced to embrace about the war. Forche brings out the satire in the political situation in El Salvador, using figurative language, by describing the manner in which the colonel forced the ignorant citizens of El Salvador into the riots. The authority likes it when people are active in the riots since through it, they are easily oppressed. The indirect reference to an activity can have be a great instrument for satire. As Forche reports “there were daily papers, pet dogs, a pistol and a cushion beside him” (579). Apparently, daily papers are the means through which one is updated of the events that take place all over a nation, and sometimes worldwide, at a particular time. She used daily papers to indicate that the Colonel was aware of the riots and political oppressions that continually took place in El Salvador. The author uses allusion textual strategy to inform the reader that despite the colonel’s position in power, he was still worried and concerned of the possibility of change of events. Through this textual strategy, the writer satirizes the political situation in that; the colonel is keeping track of his inauspicious activities by reading daily papers. The reader is able to comprehend on the cruelty of the colonel. In conclusion, the use of various textual strategies in the poem can aid in the deepened understanding of the poem through the creation of emotions that delivers the satire intended by the author. Forche employs atmosphere, point of view, cliché, allusion, foreshadowing, and synecdoche textual strategies in a cagy manner to bring out the intended emotional feeling to the readers. In my personal experience, the political oppressions and riots that were experienced in El Salvador are of trivial relevance to me for the mere reason of cultural differences. In the UAE, unity and compassion is the order of the day. Problems are solved collectively and leaders are agents of peace and not ‘enemies’. Given the cultural diversity in the UAE, oneness is what people preach in pursuit of overcoming cultural boundaries. Apparently, the UAE culture is renowned for its hospitality, tolerance of religion differences and trustiness among the Emiratis. Commerce and business have become an integral part of the UAE culture owing to the trustworthiness and companion ship that the people have adopted. The poem intends to pose the leaders as cruel and brutal individuals whose utmost interest is to protect their families and other personal interests. However, this is impractical in the UAE culture and the modern society that we are living in. The era of dictatorship is long gone and democracy is what society runs on. On the other side, some rogue leaders still believe that by oppressing the subjects, they will command power over them. I recommend that such leaders should be prosecuted for their various offenses against humanity. The use of textual strategies should be adopted by poets since detonates the details of the poem in a succinct manner through the evoking of emotions. Works Cited 1) Forché, Carolyn. “The Colonel.” Writing As Revision. 4th Edition. Beth Alvarado & Barbara Cully. Boston, MA: Person Learning Solution, 2010-11. 579. Print 2) Harssel, Jan. Jackson, Richard & Hudman, Lloyd.National Geographic Learnings Visual (Geography of Travel and Tourism). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.   Read More