26th January 2014
GCSE English: 'An Unknown Girl' Analysis
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In the evening bazaar
Studded with neon
An unknown girl
Is hennaing my hand
She squeezes a wet brown line
Form a nozzle
She is icing my hand,
Which she steadies with her
On her satin peach knee.
In the evening bazaar
For a few rupees
An unknown girl is hennaing my hand
As a little air catches
My shadow stitched kameez
A peacock spreads its lines
Across my palm.
Colours leave the street
Float up in balloons.
Dummies in shop-fronts
Tilt and stare
With their western perms.
Banners for Miss India 1993
For curtain cloth
And sofa cloth
Canopy me.
I have new brown veins.
In the evening bazaar
Very deftly
An unknown girl
is hennaing my hand
I am clinging
To these firm peacock lines
Like people who cling
to sides of a train.
Now the furious streets
Are hushed.
I’ll scrape off
The dry brown lines
Before I sleep,
Reveal soft as a snail trail
The amber bird beneath.
It will fade in a week.
When India appears and reappears
I’ll lean across a country
With my hands outstretched
Longing for the unknown girl
In the neon bazaar.
Moniza Alvi
MonizaAlvi successfully presents her feelings of Cultural Identity and loss throughout the poem of ‘An Unknown Girl’. Her Cultural Identity is the connection she seems to have with India and its culture and she has a feeling of loss because she is no longer in contact with this culture partly because it is being overrun by the Western one.
The author successfully presents her feelings through images of the country. Firstly, she does this through repetition. The phrase ‘in the evening bazaar’ is repeated three times during the poem. This repetition highlights the fact that India is the place that the author wants to stay and has a real connection with in her heart. This repetition also highlights her feeling of loss of the Indian Culture due to the fact that the poem ends with the phrase ‘neon bazaar’, not ‘evening bazaar’. The fact that the bazaar is now neon suggests that the Indian culture has been westernised and because of this she has a feeling of loss because she can no longer experience the traditional Indian culture, instead only the Western one.
She continues to present her feelings in this method when she says, ‘Banners for Miss India 1993…canopy me’. This metaphor illustrates how the Western introduction of the ‘Miss World’ has invaded India and has cloaked it in its influence. This metaphor particularly illustrates her loss of the Indian culture as it has been shrouded by the ‘canopy’ of the Western culture as so is no longer as dominant and accessible for her. Not only can this phrase be interpreted in this way, but the ‘canopy me’ could also be seen as India protecting the poet and all the things around her representing India. This interpretation really highlights the cultural identity of the poet with India and how her life almost relies on India and its culture.
Thirdly the writer continues to present her feelings through images of India through the lack of run-on lines. Immediately before the writer introduces the influx of Western culture within India she says, ‘Colours leave the street float up in balloons.’. This sentence is not a run-on line as it ends with a full stop, as this full stop suggests the finality of the colours leaving the street. The metaphor ‘Colours leave the street’ refers to the Indian culture leaving the street and being replaced by the Western culture. As the word ‘colours’ refers to the Indian culture it illustrates how the culture of India is exotic and beautiful. The finality of this action helps the writer to successfully present her feeling of loss with the Indian culture as it has permanently left the street and so can never be experienced again. The metaphor presents the writer’s cultural identity with India as it illustrates the exotic nature of the country and therefore the fact that it should be explored and savoured as something very much different from the Western world.
MonizaAlvi also presents her feelings through the way she feels about having her hand painted. The author writes, ‘She is icing my hand’. The metaphor which particularly presents her feelings is the word ‘icing’. Icing is a form of decoration and beauty; however it is temporary and won’t last long. The fact that icing is a temporary form of decoration helps the author to present her feelings of loss with the Indian culture, as the henna (something synonymous with Indian culture) is only temporary as so cannot be savoured, remembered and experienced forever. Also, later in the poem the poet writes, ‘a peacock spreads its lines’. This links with the icing being a form of beauty as the peacock is the exotic and beautiful bird of India. This connection that the peacock has with both beauty and India illustrates the writer’s feeling of having a cultural identity and connection with India.
Finally, the writer uses the phrase, ‘I have new brown veins.’ particularly well to present her feelings. Once again the writer uses a metaphor very successfully. This metaphor is used to illustrate the fact that the henna, and particularly India, has become part of her blood and body, and without the country and its culture she will no longer be able to live. This really highlights her feeling of cultural identity with India. The point is enhanced by the fact that it is a very short sentence (not a run-on line) which creates a greater impact on the reader about the writer’s feelings and also demonstrates her sense of pride about being part of India.
Overall Moniza Alvi successfully presents her feelings of cultural identity and loss through both images of the country and the way she feels about having her hand painted.
The author successfully presents her feelings through images of the country. Firstly, she does this through repetition. The phrase ‘in the evening bazaar’ is repeated three times during the poem. This repetition highlights the fact that India is the place that the author wants to stay and has a real connection with in her heart. This repetition also highlights her feeling of loss of the Indian Culture due to the fact that the poem ends with the phrase ‘neon bazaar’, not ‘evening bazaar’. The fact that the bazaar is now neon suggests that the Indian culture has been westernised and because of this she has a feeling of loss because she can no longer experience the traditional Indian culture, instead only the Western one.
She continues to present her feelings in this method when she says, ‘Banners for Miss India 1993…canopy me’. This metaphor illustrates how the Western introduction of the ‘Miss World’ has invaded India and has cloaked it in its influence. This metaphor particularly illustrates her loss of the Indian culture as it has been shrouded by the ‘canopy’ of the Western culture as so is no longer as dominant and accessible for her. Not only can this phrase be interpreted in this way, but the ‘canopy me’ could also be seen as India protecting the poet and all the things around her representing India. This interpretation really highlights the cultural identity of the poet with India and how her life almost relies on India and its culture.
Thirdly the writer continues to present her feelings through images of India through the lack of run-on lines. Immediately before the writer introduces the influx of Western culture within India she says, ‘Colours leave the street float up in balloons.’. This sentence is not a run-on line as it ends with a full stop, as this full stop suggests the finality of the colours leaving the street. The metaphor ‘Colours leave the street’ refers to the Indian culture leaving the street and being replaced by the Western culture. As the word ‘colours’ refers to the Indian culture it illustrates how the culture of India is exotic and beautiful. The finality of this action helps the writer to successfully present her feeling of loss with the Indian culture as it has permanently left the street and so can never be experienced again. The metaphor presents the writer’s cultural identity with India as it illustrates the exotic nature of the country and therefore the fact that it should be explored and savoured as something very much different from the Western world.
MonizaAlvi also presents her feelings through the way she feels about having her hand painted. The author writes, ‘She is icing my hand’. The metaphor which particularly presents her feelings is the word ‘icing’. Icing is a form of decoration and beauty; however it is temporary and won’t last long. The fact that icing is a temporary form of decoration helps the author to present her feelings of loss with the Indian culture, as the henna (something synonymous with Indian culture) is only temporary as so cannot be savoured, remembered and experienced forever. Also, later in the poem the poet writes, ‘a peacock spreads its lines’. This links with the icing being a form of beauty as the peacock is the exotic and beautiful bird of India. This connection that the peacock has with both beauty and India illustrates the writer’s feeling of having a cultural identity and connection with India.
Finally, the writer uses the phrase, ‘I have new brown veins.’ particularly well to present her feelings. Once again the writer uses a metaphor very successfully. This metaphor is used to illustrate the fact that the henna, and particularly India, has become part of her blood and body, and without the country and its culture she will no longer be able to live. This really highlights her feeling of cultural identity with India. The point is enhanced by the fact that it is a very short sentence (not a run-on line) which creates a greater impact on the reader about the writer’s feelings and also demonstrates her sense of pride about being part of India.
Overall Moniza Alvi successfully presents her feelings of cultural identity and loss through both images of the country and the way she feels about having her hand painted.
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