The Use of Imagery in Refugee Mother and Child by Chinua Achebe :: Refugee Mother and Child Chinua Achebe Essays

Refugee Mother and Child is a poem that seems to be indite to arouseresponse from the commentator. The pitiful image of a mother holding thecorpse of her son is not only sourcing empathy from the ratifier butalso helps the reader reflect on their own fortunate lives. In fact,Chinua Achebe is a leading writer for African causes, especially forthe injustices in the world.The first stanza seems to be written as an introduction to thefollowing stanza. The poet begins by allowing the reader to visualizethe Picture of a mothers tendernessfor a son she soon would have to forget.This at present conveys the theme of death of a child and alsohelps set the sorrowful mood of the poem. The short introductionallows the reader to settle them down and focus much on the tragicscene, thus maximizing the response from the reader.Following the theme and mood set by the first stanza, the secondstanza described the living surround of the Refugee Mother andChild as The air was heavy with odoursof diar rhoea of unwashed childrenwith washed-out ribs and dried-upbottoms struggling in laboured locomote behind blown empty belliesThe filthy image of the environment that the mother and child lived inis projected through negative connotation. For example, the wordsodours and diarrhoea suggests the presence of diseases andsicknesses. This allows the reader to imagine a smelly and filthyplace crammed with ill people. The reference to illness, which seemsto be a link with the theme of death, foreshadows the tragic storyof the mother and her light son although it has not been clearly statedthat her son is dead.Furthermore, the grotesque image of the setting is strongly reinforcedby the mentioning of unwashed children with washed out ribs Chinuauses the children as a clear symbol of innocence and the unfortunate,as the children has been given birth in places where vital resourcessuch as water and food are lacking. This go away naturally allow thereader to reflect on their own fortunate li ves and raise awareness ofthese unfortunate children living in famines. The words labouredsteps also suggests child labour, linking to real cases in lessereconomically countries such as Africa, China and Algeria.As the second stanza continues, the constant reference to death is clear when the poet describes the ghost smile between the mothers teeth and in her eyes the ghost ofa mothers pride.The careful choice of the technique, personification, enables thereader to visualize the emptiness of the mothers smile and spirit, bycomparing the nouns smile and eyes with ghost, whichcommunicates the idea of death.