"Refugee Mother and Child" - Poem Analysis

"REFUGEE MOTHER AND CHILD"  -  POEM ANALYSIS

Introduction:
"Refugee Mother and Child" is a poem written by Chinua Achebe, a famous Nigerian writer. The poem is a simple, but vivid description of the life of people (especially women and children) who are stranded in refugee camps during turbulent times. The poem is poignant due to its artful usage of imagery and simple language. The pitiable state of such people is depicted evocatively; while strongly emphasizing on the unconditional love of a mother towards her child, which knows no end.

Poet:
The poet, Chinua Achebe is a famous Nigerian writer. He grew up in Africa during the colonial rule. His works are heavily inspired by the pitiful situation of the native people during the colonial rule. The same can be observed in this poem too; as he touchingly speaks about the hapless state of refugees in a camp during wartime.

Structure:
The poem is written in freestyle. It is not structured i.e., not divided into stanzas. It has no particular metre, rhythm or rhyme scheme. The style of writing is similar to prose. The lines of the poem form complete sentences on their own. Only the spacing between the lines gives the "poetic feel" for this piece of work.

Language:
The beauty of the poem lies in the sheer simplicity of its language. It is not "too heavy" or grandiloquent. The poem is written in layman's language; which makes it effectively tug at the heartstrings of the readers. The clever usage of daily life words to create powerful allegories is the highlight of the poem.

Mood:
The poem has a very melancholic air. The graphic depiction of the wretched living conditions of the people in the refugee camp, coupled with the sentimental narrative of a mother's tender love towards her child; makes the poem quite a tear-jerker.

Speaker:
The speaker of the poem is the poet himself. The poet speaks as a third person i.e., one who just observes everything from a distance, without being a part of it. The poem is thus a third person's / onlooker's narrative of the pathetic life of refugees in a camp.

Tone:
The tone of the poem is quite dramatic as the poet makes use of a number of powerful allegories to drive home his point. The tone is sad but influential. The poet seems quite passionate and emotional as he narrates the plight of the refugees and the helplessness of the affectionate mother.

Backdrop:
The poem takes place in the backdrop of colonized Africa, wherein the natives are subject to untold sufferings due to the frontier rule and freedom struggle. The setting of the poem is a refugee camp, somewhere in Africa. The exact location of the camp is unknown. Or, it can be taken as a generalised description of any and every refugee camp in Africa.

Characters:
The central characters are a mother and her son. Although there is a passing reference made to the other refugees in the camp, the spotlight is on one particular mother and her child. The poet specifically speaks about this one particular woman and her son in a refugee camp as this woman is apart from the rest because she is still able to nurture maternal feelings towards her almost-dead son, even in the inhuman atmosphere of the refugee camp.

Theme:
The underlying themes of the poem are the hellish living conditions of destitute people in a refugee camp and maternal love which shines forth even in such inhuman conditions. The various nightmarish consequences of destitution are touchingly painted in words. Malnourishment, disease, death, lack of care and attention are all commonplace in a refugee camp. Death perennially looms overhead in such places. Maternal love and care, which is universally accepted as the purest and unconditional form of love; is also scarred by the hellish life in there. The pathetic state of living has hardened the hearts of mothers and they do not care for their children or even cry at their death. The poem speaks of one woman showing maternal affection towards her son and painfully conveys how such a normal act of daily life stands out as something special and unique in the abhorrent ambience of the refugee camp.

Imagery:
The poet makes use of highly effective and heart touching imagery in the poem. The poem is full of such word pictures; which makes the poem powerful and heart-stirring. The most notable feature of the poem is that the imagery used in the poem is raw, realistic and blunt. It is not too exaggerating or highly picturesque. It is real and grounded.

The first image used by the poet in the opening line is that of Mother Mary with Baby Jesus. That image is universally accepted as the ultimate portrait of motherly love. The poet wisely uses that image to highlight the love of a mother towards her child in the poem; as he says that the sight of a mother with her dying son in a refugee camp surpasses even the image of Madonna with the Holy Child.

Next, the poet uses words like "unwashed", "washed out ribs", "dried up bottoms", "laboured steps" "blown empty bellies", etc. to give the readers a clear picture of the helpless state of the children in the refugee camp. These images bring the living conditions of the refugee camp people before the eyes of the readers distinctly.
Further, the poet uses the image of a ghost to speak of dead hopes, dreams, and happiness of the people in the refugee camp. He says that the mother had a "ghost of a smile". The word ghost is used to imply that the smile is not true or real; it is just a " ghost" of the smile.

Then, the poet speaks of her son and says that he has "rust coloured hair on his skull". This makes it evident that the boy is on the verge of death; his hair seems to be rusting and his skull can be seen.

Finally, the poet compares the act of a mother combing her dying son's hair to that of putting flowers on a grave. It is to show that a simple act of combing hair; which would have been a daily affair in normal life; is a rare occurrence in the refugee camp. The way a mother is combing the hair of her dying son tenderly; it looks like she is paying her last respects to him i.e., putting flowers on his grave. This is the most haunting image used in the poem.

Thus, the poet uses powerful imagery carefully, without any exaggeration, to make the poem as realistic and moving as possible.

Summary:
The poem opens with the image of Madonna with the Holy Child. The poet says that not even that image could equal the image of a mother's tender love and care towards her child which is obviously dying. She would soon have to forget about the child and move on with her life, but she still cares for the child with tenderness.

Then comes the heart-wrenching description of the refugee camp and its inhabitants. The air in the place is described as being "heavy". It is pungent with the odour of unwashed children affected with diarrhoea. It shows that the children are all ill with diarrhoea, but they can't be taken care of or even be given a bath in the refugee camp. The children are so malnourished that their ribs are "washed out", their bottoms are "dried up", their bellies are "blown empty" and struggle in "laboured steps". This says that they are all just skin and bones, their ribs stick out from their bodies and even walking is a struggle or hard work for them.

The mothers of these children had stopped caring for the kids a long time ago. Disease, suffering, death - all these had become a matter of normal everyday life in the camp. The living conditions were so horrific that it had forced even mothers to harden their hearts towards their own children.

But, one woman is different from the other mothers. She has not hardened her heart towards her dying son. She still loves and cares for him. She had a "ghost of a smile" between her teeth and a "ghost of motherly pride" in her eyes. This conveys that her smile is so weak and pale that it does not even appear like a real smile. She is trying to put on a smile, but the hurricane of sorrow and suffering behind it makes the smile look haunting. She has motherly love and pride in her eyes like any other mother, but it is also not real, it is merely a shadow of what would have been real motherly pride.

The mother, with a "ghost of a smile" and a "ghost of motherly pride", is combing the rust coloured hair on the skull of her son. The words "rust coloured hair" show that the boy is severely ill, as his hair looks rusted; while the use of the word "skull" shows that the boy is nearing his bitter end as his hair seems to grow out of his skull, instead of his head. While she is combing and carefully parting her son's hair, the mother's eyes are so full of emotions that the poet says that she was "singing in her eyes".

Finally, the poet says that a mother combing the hair of her little son is a normal act of daily life. Every mother does it before her son has breakfast and leaves for school. This routine act of normal life looks ominous in the camp; it looks like the mother is putting flowers on the tiny grave of her son. The comparison drawn here is that both the acts show a loving mother doing a final act of love and kindness towards her child.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the poem " Refugee Mother and Child" is a very realistic and moving poem, which leaves the reader in tears over the deplorable state of living of the refugee and also over the gut-wrenching scenario of a mother tending carefully to her dying son.


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