POEM - IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn

and approached the stove

their limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of wounds

but on their brows

there was not a sign of despair

The whole day and night just passed 
they had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the time

between bloated carcasses

and tiny chips of tree barks

desperately looking for their son's

albino buffalo that was never found

They were born admist hardship 
and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, making

jokes while rolling their cigarette leaves

-Latiff Mohidin

SYNOPSIS (OVERALL)

In this poem, the poet tells of the situation of a farmer and his family. They come back at dawn after being out in the floodwater for a day and night. They are looking for their albino buffalo. They come back wet and hurt but they do not show any despair. They have been born into a life of hardship and have never complained. Now, they are in the kitchen and they joke and talk while preparing to relax with a smoke.

SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)

STANZA 1

They returned home at dawn and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried.

STANZA 2

They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it.

STANZA 3

They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes.

SETTING

The setting of the poem is in the house.

THEMES

Stoicism in life

Family love

Acceptance of way of life

MORAL VALUES

We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook.

We must attempt to face and solve problems.

Failure is part of growing up.

Do not despair in the face of failure.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

Understanding and sympathetic

Dismal

Acceptance of situation

POINT OF VIEW

Third person pint of view.

LANGUAGE  STYLE

Language is simple and easy to understand.

The style is simple with no rhyming scheme.

POETIC DEVICES

Imagery – Gives picture of poet’s thoughts e.g ‘soaky clothes torn’ and ‘legs full of wounds’

Alliteration – e.g. ‘but on their brows’

Symbols – e.g. ‘horrendous flood’ and ‘bloating carcasses’

Diction – e.g. ‘stove’ and ‘brows‘

Examples of question :

In stanza 1, which lines indicate the suffering that the people endure while out in the rain?

Their limbs marked by scratches
Their legs full of wounds

In stanza 1, why did the people approach the stove?

They are wet and cold.
They need to get warm and dry.

In Stanza 2, who had to brave the horrendous flood?

The father and the mother
The couple
The parents of the albino buffalo's owner

In your opinion, what might happen to the albino buffalo?

It drowned in the flood.
It died.
It got lost in the flood.

How long did the heavy downpour occur?

The whole day and night
24 hours

From the poem, what hardship did the villagers had to face?

Flood

What is the couple's attitude towards the problems they face in life?

They are resilient in facing challenges in life.

They face the adversity calmly.
They were able to accept the problem with an open heart and mind.

In your opinion, why did the boy love the albino buffalo so much?

A child has unconditional love and he doesn't care much about its strange look.
He likes it because it is unique and one of a kind.