Island Man Essay
Island Man Essay
Island man was written by Grace Nichols, her inspiration for the poem came from her own experience. Grace Nichols was born in Georgetown Guyana and in 1977 she imagrated to the UK. She missed the layed back quite life of the Caribbean that was replaced with the bustling noisy city.
Much of what she written has been based on what she has: heard,saw; felt. She used these senses and emotions to create a character that missed his home and felt alien to his new life. Her poetry is characterized by Caribbean rhythms and culture;influenced by Guyanese and American folk. She wanted people to see how her life had dramatically changed;how she used to live in the free and natural Caribbean which was suddenly replaced with the trapped gloomy feeling of London and also feel all the emotions that she felt: saddness,happiness,solitude,trapped etc. She wanted people to see all this which motivated her to write Island Man.
The use of colour shows how vibrant and natural the Caribbean is. He lives on a “small emerald island” highlights how natural,green and precious the island is. The word “emerald” indicates how special the island is;that it’s a gleaming paradise to him. Caribbean is full of “wild seabirds” and there is the steady “sound of blue surf” which is another example of colour; the word “blue” shows you it is the sea he is referring to; has used colour to describe the Caribbean’s positive atmosphere:“blue” is bright and upbeat. Also “blue surf” is an example of synaesthesia which combines sound and colour to create an stimulating effect.The colours reflect how Grace Nichols has used her emotions to make island man find himself blissful in the Caribbean; that it is a place where he feels free and sees as home or paradise.
In reverse London is loud “to the surge of wheels and has “dull”, “grey”, “metallic” colours. Which creates the sense that island man finds London to be quite alien to him and has a negative atmosphere towards him. The use of colour
Island man was written by Grace Nichols, her inspiration for the poem came from her own experience. Grace Nichols was born in Georgetown Guyana and in 1977 she imagrated to the UK. She missed the layed back quite life of the Caribbean that was replaced with the bustling noisy city.
Much of what she written has been based on what she has: heard,saw; felt. She used these senses and emotions to create a character that missed his home and felt alien to his new life. Her poetry is characterized by Caribbean rhythms and culture;influenced by Guyanese and American folk. She wanted people to see how her life had dramatically changed;how she used to live in the free and natural Caribbean which was suddenly replaced with the trapped gloomy feeling of London and also feel all the emotions that she felt: saddness,happiness,solitude,trapped etc. She wanted people to see all this which motivated her to write Island Man.
The use of colour shows how vibrant and natural the Caribbean is. He lives on a “small emerald island” highlights how natural,green and precious the island is. The word “emerald” indicates how special the island is;that it’s a gleaming paradise to him. Caribbean is full of “wild seabirds” and there is the steady “sound of blue surf” which is another example of colour; the word “blue” shows you it is the sea he is referring to; has used colour to describe the Caribbean’s positive atmosphere:“blue” is bright and upbeat. Also “blue surf” is an example of synaesthesia which combines sound and colour to create an stimulating effect.The colours reflect how Grace Nichols has used her emotions to make island man find himself blissful in the Caribbean; that it is a place where he feels free and sees as home or paradise.
In reverse London is loud “to the surge of wheels and has “dull”, “grey”, “metallic” colours. Which creates the sense that island man finds London to be quite alien to him and has a negative atmosphere towards him. The use of colour