Model answer Sujata Bhatt A Different History

Discuss the main themes of the poem and the ways those themes are presented.
PLAN: Dual identity Great Pan emigrated to India, combination of Greek and Hindu mythology, Language oppressor s tongue, power of language (grand children love the strange

language & see it as a way to fit & have a better life), Great Pan: as a symbol of his culture and exemplifies how language can be used as a weapon, attempts to represent Indian culture and draw attention to the fact that through language, one can salvage one's own culture, descriptive vocabulary to tell the reader how language can be used to target its victims in a figurative sense. Colonization soul being cropped, unborn grandchildren love the strange language,

represents Indian culture, preservation of Indian values through history (title), The complex status of English - its beauties and colonial implications The ways themes are presented above mentioned imagery, language (diction), structure of stanzas (two linked parts)

Sujata Bhatt, who always thinks of herself as an Indian who is outside India , attempts to portray the themes of dual identity, power of language and colonization in her poem A Different History. To present these themes, she employs different techniques such as a descriptive vocabulary which is rich with lots of visual imagery, symbols of Gods to represent two opposing cultures, and even two different linked parts of the poem. Firstly, as a person who moved to USA and Germany from her motherland India which formed the deepest layer of her identity , she herself experienced the fear of losing her mother tongue . This obviously has given her a dual identity, where one has to constantly conform to other ways of life. This idea is depicted throughout the first eighteen lines started with a dramatic, defiant line that Great Pan is not dead . So at one level, this Greek God of nature has to live in harmony with Sarasvati: the Hindu Goddess of Art. Further, these two Gods can be considered as symbols to show the distance between Western and Eastern cultures. Since gods roam freely in India according to the poet, there is a way we should treat books to

Model Answer - Poetry / Grade 8 / Dept of Lit / Hiriya School / 2012 / Term 1

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avoid offending the Goddess Sarasvati. The poet continues elaborating how to treat a book perhaps to depict the constant pressure within a particular culture even though it is said to be free . Secondly, she draws attention to the theme of language in the second stanza of the poem. For her, language is in a way, a weapon to salvage one s own culture. To portray the theme, she asks some questions from the reader, perhaps to make them think more about the role of language. She seems to adapt to a sarcastic tone here as she ends the poem with the idea that the unborn grandchildren grow to love that strange language , which is the oppressor s tongue here. The personification of language as a person who is capable of murdering someone and who can crop the soul with a scythe adds more power to language. Probably she may be referring to her own experience; when the first generation moves to another country, their children tend to refuse to speak their language. In addition, the theme of colonization is also juxtaposed with the theme of language in the second stanza. Even though she seems to be critical of both Western and Eastern cultures by using a sarcastic tone as mentioned above, the title A Different History can imply that the Indian values are not totally lost. Great Pan has simply emigrated to India which provides the locals with some room to preserve their values, even though it will be a different history . Thus, Sujata Bhatt highlights the themes of dual identity, power of language and colonization using different techniques such as powerful imagery, descriptive diction, apt symbols an apt structure. Total number of words: 480

Model Answer - Poetry / Grade 8 / Dept of Lit / Hiriya School / 2012 / Term 1

Page 2