Week 8
This is my analysis:
This week, the poem “Kidnapped” written by Ruperake Petaia has captured my attention.
In the first stanza of the poem. “I was six…Mama was careless…she sent me to school…alone”. This sentence easily portrayed the lonely life of Petaia when he was six and how his mother does not care about him enough as he thought she would be. I think the loneliness not only came from school but also came from himself. As mentioned in the third stanza, “Mama and Papa loved their son and ransom fees…Mama and Papa grew poorer and poorer...Kidnappers grew richer and richer…I grew whiter and whiter”. He felt lonely maybe because he hated to see his parent’s struggle to pay the huge amount of tuition and he lost his identity cumulatively. I think there’s a possibility that he’s sad because he had to grow whiter and whiter because the education is the tool for the society. The huge amount of ransom money only earns a certificate. On the other hand, I think maybe he does not approve it because he does not want to colonist countries lost their identity in the British educational system as well.
According to the name of the poem “Kidnapped”, I thought the poem is about how the poet is being kidnapped by the kidnapper. However, the “kidnapper” is just a metaphor referring to the colonial education system. I found the poem really interesting of how the poet is using a different angle to approach the depth. For example, the poet used ransom fees to refer the tuition. This is really interesting about how we know ransom fees are to refer something that we pay to release the hostage. The hostage will possibly die if we do not pay the ransom fees to the kidnappers. The poet made this British education system a big deal and scary as like a kidnapper. I personally think I can appeal to it at some point. Because I have been through it when I was a child in school. Education is always being an important role in my life, my parents barely have time to spend with me because they need to work and earn the tuition for me. I study whatever my teacher told me to and I have no time to do anything else. I feel like I am like a robot without emotions. I was being kidnapped by the school. I need to learn so many subjects that I do not like and my parents need to pay so much money for those subjects, especially after school. Because what I learned in school is apparently not enough to pass the exam, I need a tutor to reinforce my learning.
This is my creative response:
This is the original poem:
Abandoned
I was eight when
Parents were apart
They dropped me to school
Alone
Without regards
and phone calls
I was told
‘we are orphans’
I was abandoned by parents
and my beliefs
and my wishes
I was guided by a philosopher
Many being placed in
One small classroom
Within crowded
And scorching atmosphere
Listening and writing
Without stop
Without rest
Exhausting and enjoying
Assignments were needed
At school
After school
Family visited when names
Were on the reward board
Family were getting
further and further away
My D-Day approached
Closer and Closer
I grew wiser and wiser
Speech on the stage
The claps and hurrahs
Earned from stage
The diplomas
were hold by the principal
Each one was handed
Each time was excited
Reflection:
In this week, I wrote one poetry bases on Kidnapped by Ruperake Petaia. The original poem is to mock the British educational system, but my poem was actually to enjoy the educational system. I picked a different angle to write my poem; my parents were not much loving person to care about me, all they did is to make me study. I initially hated the educational system made such big deal to make every child feel obligated to obtain the high degrees. When I realized, only the academic achievements can attract my parent’s attention; I never tried hard to achieve my goals. When I grew, I started to like and appreciate the educational system. It made me be wiser and better person. I think many don't find education interesting and usually failed to approach it. I think Ruperake was unwilling to approach the education is mainly because it was British education. I couldn’t agree more about how different educational system can ruin the local culture. What I wrote is what I felt about education, I like to learn new things although it is challenging and much more to approach. I can appeal how different educational can ruin the culture because of the language. But now it is different because people can learn more but not to lose from various culture as well as education.
Reference:
Ruperake, P (1980), A Pacific Anthology. Ed. Albert Wenbt.