As we discussed in class, Olive Senior’s Hurricane Story, 1988 appears to be the last in a series of four poems, in which she explores certain sociological phenomena in Jamaica at different points in time.
Explain the function of any ONE (1) of the following concepts/motifs/literary choices in these four poems. Your explanation should include some examination of how the motif/choice evolves or changes as the poems progress from 1903, through 1944 and 1951, to 1988:
- the hurricanes themselves
- Jamaican Creole
- the personae (ie, point-of-view/perspective)
- the landscape/setting
Remember that we have Monday & Tuesday of next week off for Independence/mid-term, so this assignment reflects the amount of time you have in which to complete it (2 weeks). As such, the word limit of this one is between 300 – 400 words. PLEASE stick to the limit. Re-read your work, and if you find that you’ve gone over the limit, remove anything that is redundant or that is unrelated to the discussion at hand. Also, this is an intense assignment, requiring thought, reflection and study. Do not leave it until the last minute.
_______________________________________________
54 Comments
… okie.
:-S
um… I now seeing this! oppz
waiting for someone else to comment…
…
this is me commenting… good… now someone else comment (sensibly)…
I just want to make sure.. :s we’re not supposed to give evidence through quotes are we? Don’t want to make the same mistake twice :/
I think you definitely need to quote wherever you need to support a claim textually. However, I’d suggest that you don’t quote too heavily or you may find that you’re writing more than you need to.
the pattern that Senior uses in the four hurricane stories is that she begins each each story giving a brief description of the lives of the people whose lives is going to be affected by the hurricane.all poema are like beginigs of a story where the writer introduces the characters to the readers, then moves to the body of the story(the hurricane)and finally the conclusion(the result of the hurricane).the hurrricane is a turning point in all poemsand as the poems progress the impact of the hurricanes grow gradually. they mave from good to bad to worst to worse just as the setting move from rural in the first poem to urban in the second, migration in the third and then a shift back to urban in the fourth. what she does is that in every poem she’s giving the reader a hint of the change in the society between the period after one hurricane and the time leading up to the other. she uses a third-person point of view which is very important because the reader gets the sense that she wasnt intimately related with the hurricanes.they were either stories that were told to her or that she observe but didnt experience herself.A major theme that she used was economic status which is important to note because in the poems there was a move away from agriculture towards material things which is also tied into the change of the time period.
Well I’m gonna try something here
Looking at how the hurricane evolves in the poems, in 1903 the threat is not felt as great. The intensity or force isn’t so devastating.The signs are recognised and we see the build up of the hurricane- the wind rising,the postmistress’ warning,swallows,peachy skies,etc.There is no actual mention of the hurricane as a hurricane,it’s either as wind or storm.There’s much description of the preparations made,how they actually weathered the storm and how they dealt with the afthermath.The hurricane was mentioned throughout this poem.No technology was available,yet they were able to use their instinct and knowledge to pull through.
In 1944 extensive description was given of life before the hurricane.No predictions or preparations were made and only a breif mention of the actual hurricane was given, somewhere along the centre of the poem.Recovery efforts were much more than in 1903.More damage was done but they were still able to settle into a new routine.
The hurricane comes into the picture early on in 1951.A short description of life before is given and then it strikes suddenly.Plans for recovery and life afterwards are given greater focus.There are even more difficulties in restarting life and not everyone is able to adjust.
The story is similar for 1988, the sudden hurricane is a turning point in the lives of those it affects.Recovery in this instance never occurs.I see the short length of the poem as reflecting how quickly things went downhill.
Besides the first poem,the others have the appearance of the hurricane accompanied by a negative foreshading into its effects,getting more personal each time:
“In ’44 when the hurricane struck it all came unstuck”
“Though in 1951 after the hurricane struck they ended up sucking salt same as everybody else”
“When the hurricane hit, she ban her belly and bawl”
Suggesting the people are less able to cope,life worsens.The hurricane acts as the turning point in the poems,afterwhich things get progressively worse.Its harder for people to find themselves afterwards.1903 describes the physical aftermath-flooding,caved in roof,destroyed fields and the like.The other poems suggest a psychological impact as well,affecting individuals more severely,making recovery an inner struggle as well.The hurricanes also prove to be a test of character.Their unforeseen,unwelcomed presence is injected to test the strength of the bonds that exist and the true nature of the people(adversity does that).It reveals more of the society surrounding the personas than sunny weather would.
Y’all evil ppl waiting till last minute
But lawd… wat everybody waitin 4???
Olive Senior’s four hurricane stories have many common concepts running throughout. One of these is the hurricanes themselves. They caused considerable changes, in 1903, 1944, 1951 and 1988 and function as a turning point in all four pieces.
In hurricane story 1903, the hurricane is never mentioned but is referred to as “the storm” and only hinted at through illustrations of signs throughout the poem. It doesn’t have as powerful an effect in this poem as the others as they easily “put our lives back together” as if the hurricane was norm. However its continual presence in the poem shows its function as a process, yet a turning point showing that the persona is growing up and like she would learn to maneuver through the hurricane as well as life. Both of which test preparation made.
In 1944 “the hurricane struck.” This word emphasises that significant damage unlike the first where it isn’t even mentioned. The destruction of the “roof the fields the job” is physical and he “lost his shop.” But the hurricane also marks the completion of a social transformation, a turning point where the man loses his place as head of the house to the firm hand of the woman.
“The hurricane struck” again in 1951, but very early in the poem, distinctly marking a family’s turning point from “full of ambition” to “sucking salt”. This caused familial disintegration, insanity and possibly death. The hurricane acts efficiently here in it’s function by dividing contrasting events. Because it occurs so early a more shaking impact occurs throughout the rest of the poem than in 1944.
In 1988 the hurricane “hit” which possesses a similar connotation quite like struck although it sounds relatively milder. It functions well once more by distinctly showing contrast, but the damage to human life is most affective here. Though in the previous poem, death by drowning seems imminent for the boy, death by starvation seems more definite for this woman: “things so tight her breasts shrivel”. Unlike the other poems the hurricane has attacked one of the most basic human needs, food, through the loss of finance and there are no suggested alternatives such as going to the land or migrating.
The hurricanes in the poems become more and more damaging, leaving the people with less and less both physically and socially. From negligible, repairable damage to of even basic needs.
oops in the second paragraph I meant effect in terms of damage
The setting in each of the hurricane stories are quite different, they start from quite simple and easygoing and then get more complex along the way.The setting progresses from rural,simple agricultural life to urban city living.This progress is due to the changes in time and society,the hurricane stories range from 1903 to 1988,also the different settings show how easy or difficult it is to recover after the hurricane as we have discovered the simplier your life is the easier it would be to recover and pick up where you left off. In 1903 the setting and landscape that is described is one of rural and farmlife living examples are found through out the poem “living in the bush” and “grandfather drained his fields” in this poem we see how they prepared and how easy it was for them to recover because they didnt have all the lavish and extravaggant things someone in the city would have,everything they had came from the earth so even after hurricane has done it’s damage the earth is still going to be there. In 1944 the setting is a bit more urban because of the type of work the persona was doing he had a white collar job but his wife was woman who had farmlife in her so there were 2 contrasting settings here semi-urban vs rural but after hurricane hits we see the male person the husband being at a loss not being able to recover properly while his wife continues to what she is does working the land she finds it much easier to recover because she had nothing to lose in the beginning so once again rural farmlife triumphs, things of the earth prospered. In 1951 the setting is a bit diffcult to determine because we get no hint of rural living until we get to the middle of the poem but we also dont get any images of urban living we just see a family who was having a good life but after the hurricane hits it takes a downward spiral and nothing is really going the way they planned but after they have migrated to urban things started to work but it still doesnt and in a sense it seems as if they didnt recover from the hurricane in the way they would have liked. Lastly 1988 this has no hints of rural living at all it city living and trying to make it against the struggle but once again the hurricane hits and it hard to recover and the persona has to turn to different things such as drugs to escape the reality that things arent getting and she doesnt know when it going to get better..so from all of these poems you get the sense that farther from rural and the basics the harder it is to recover.
The setting evolves in the four different poems. In Hurricane Story 1903, the setting is more based on the use of land for survival. The grandfather goes into the forest to get the thatch to patch the house. This is the poem where most food is mentioned (‘cassava bammies’ , ‘chaklata balls…’). Its shows the priority at the time. The grandfather concentrated on draining his fields, evoke a sense of rural living.
Whereas in Hurricane Story 1944, there is a still a sense of rural setting, this is evident in the words ‘the barefoot country brothers’. However, it is a bit different that in 1903. In 1903, the investment in land seems to best solution. But in 1944 the gentleman seems to look down on the use of land as a means of survival. And whilst the grandfather in 1903 did most of the work in the fields the mother and the children in this situation did the working in the fields. While the father ‘couldn’t turn back to the muck when his hands had been clean for so long.
On the hand in Hurricane Story 195i there is no longer a desire to stay in the rural Jamaica lifestyle, the mother in the poem decides to migrate after the hurricane. While the father stays in Jamaica and farms. However, he too decides to leave stating that ‘so so farming can’t take us too far’. This shows that the priority placed on farming is decreasing. His abandonment of his homeland led to ‘his trees in his yard turning black from blight for her never came back to that piece of land’. Unfortunately, the life in America and England for the couple especially for the mother was not easy and let to her downfall.
Be that as it may, Hurricane Story 1988 shows a further change. It shows the need to survive not through farming but by travelling to ‘Haiti, Panama, Curacao, and Miami to buy shoes. There is also a desire to depend on smoking to help relief the stress of not being able to travel to get her shoes as a result of the hurricane.
In summary, the setting have evolved from complete dependence and satisfaction with toiling the land in 1903,there is a shift in the idea that migrating provides the best solution whereas in 1988 there is no dependence on land but on trafficking for shoes.
spelling error *let should be led’
The change in landscape/setting in Hurricane Story 1903 through 1988 shows a change in lifestyle and family, and also shines a light on the social/historical phenomenon occurring in each time frame.
In Hurricane Story 1903 we are introduced to an extended family living in a rural area surviving as farmers. This is a description of subsistent living/ farm life which was very common in the early 1900′s as people were still very much attached to the soil after slavery.
In 1944 we see the nuclear family living in between rural and urban lifestyles. There is still some connection to the land as the mother is described as a laborer however; the father against working the land strives to keep his white collar job. The want to shift from farm life to town life is evident in this poem and this was a social phenomenon at that time in the Caribbean.
Hurricane Story 1951 speaks of migration for the betterment of the family. There are many changes in setting in this poem. We are introduced to a nuclear family working as farmers, however after the hurricane the mother is forced to migrate to “cold” England and leave her family behind. After, the father leaves to the US and the son is left with the Grandmother. The description of England as “cold” can also represent the discomfort which came with migration and adaptation to a new society in those days.
The single mother in Hurricane Story 1988 shows the increasing responsibility of the woman in society. This poem is strictly urban living (working on the sidewalk) and there is also an element of travel. This represents the total shift from farm life as a popular lifestyle to urban living and the growing ease of travel.
The change from subsistence/rural to half rural half urban to migration and finally to a strict urban lifestyle is apparent in these poems. These social phenomenons are recognized by the change in lifestyle and location/setting described in the poems. When comparing the landscape in Hurricane Story 1903 to 1988 we can almost see a 360 degree change in the physical landscape and the social changes which occurred. There is no reference to any greenery or other natural things in the environment: fruit, provision, etc. in Hurricane Story 1988. Everything in hurricane 1988 is materialistic and this growth in materialism is seen as in each poem the family moves further away from nature.
It just looks long cause of the spaces
…
The hurricanes themselves are very important aspects of the poems in the series of ‘Hurricane Stories’, although they are not the center of attention in any of them.They express/show very important changes in the Jamaican society throughout four different time periods and also show how the lives of different characters were influenced or impacted by their destructive forces.
In Hurricane story 1903, we see a stable family structure and the role of the male and female well-established;during and after the hurricane,the grandfather acts as the protector and provider while grandmother acts as the nurturer.They both work together to make the best of everything and tthe family eventually gets back on its feet.So here, the hurricane, although destructive and daunting,only brings the family closer together.
The Hurricane also shows the importance of agriculture at this time.The family depends upon it for survival and bacause of it they are able to recover from the hurricane.
In Hurricane story 1944, we see a hurricane affecting another family very differently from the one in 1903.Both parents act as providers and protectors.After the hurricane however,the father loses his ‘white collar’ job and the mother becomes the ‘man’ of the house.She acts both as provider and nurturer.In this poem, we see a break down in the dependency on agriculture;the father is unwilling to go back to it as a source of income while the mother has no qualms about tilling the land since it is a way for her to take care of her family.Here the hurricane helps us to see also, a break down in the dependency of the female on the male.
Hurricane story 1951 shows yet another family being broken down.The family is well off but after the hurricane hits everything falls to pieces;again the mother takes on the responsibility of providing for the family and goes to England with the goal of becoming a nurse so that she can earn some money for her son and the father.
Things do not work out,she goes crazy and forgets all about her family.The father too eventually leaves for America and the son is soon forgotten.Again we see agriculure being abandoned. The mother leaves to find a job that can make more money;food apparently no longer has as much importance as it did 48 years before.The father too gives up farming because he thinks it does not earn enough money.
In Hurricane story 1988, the mother is the sole provider;there is a total absence of a male/father figure and absolutely no reference to agriculture.The mother sells shoes in her own little stall but the hurricane comes and everything is destroyed.With nothing to fall back on, she gives up hope and practically buries herself in marijuana.
The hurricanes bring out the facts that throughout these different periods women became more and more independent of men but seemed to suffer because of this independence due to the loss of support and (stability men usually help to achieve), and that agriculture lost its importance as the years went by;people became more interested in material assets. The hurricanes helped to bring these points to the fore.
Thank the lord me finally done!
In Olive Senior’s series of Hurricane Stories there has been a significant change in the setting during the course of the four poems. In the first poem Hurricane story 1903, the setting was of rural life in the country, where family and agriculture was very important for the family’s survival before, during and after the hurricane. In the poem it says “Grandfather drained his fields, shored up their lives against improvidence”. At the time in 1903, society was mainly focused on agriculture and material things were not very important and it was easy to recover from this hurricane.
Similarly, in Hurricane story 1944 the setting has an element of rural life. However, there is a transition to a more urban society where the father has a ‘‘white collar job’’ and refuses to do farm work to make a living because he believes it’s beneath him, where it says ‘’Every Sunday dressed the same way to flaunt his glory’’. This transition in setting from rural to urban shows how society changed and more options became open to people to move away from agriculture. After the hurricane hit and he lost his job, it was the persona’s mother who went back to the soil to sustain the family. By turning back to agriculture, this shows stability because the soil will always be there.
In Hurricane story 1951 the setting moves out of rural Jamaica to migration. After the hurricane, the parents left to make a better life for their child but ended up abandoning him in the end. The mother left to England with ambitions of being a nurse but found it difficult to adjust. The after the father migrated to America he found a new family and became a ‘’farm worker’’ to support them abandoning his own son. The society in 1951, after the hurricane people became ambitious for a better life and sought to migration as the answer.
In the final poem Hurricane 1988 there is a complete transition from rural to urban living in the setting. In this poem it’s a single mother working in the city to support her family. After the hurricane since she was not able to travel to but her shoes to sell, it was difficult to recover from the effects of the hurricane and hit hard times. The setting totally reflects how society changed since 1951 and how priorities change.
The poems, Hurricane story 1903-1981, there is an apparent change in setting as the poems progress from 1903, through, 1944 and 1951 to 1988. In 1903, the setting is that of an agrarian Jamaican country side. In 194, there is a shift to a more urban but there are still elements of agriculture. In 1951 the setting is more urban and there is the abandonment of agriculture. In 1988, the setting is completely urban and there is no mention of agriculture as in the previous poems. Firstly, in 1903 the setting is obviously rural. The is a strong family bond and tradition. There is a mention of variety of plants and poultry which indicates a dependence on agriculture. Secondly, in 1944 there is a shift to a more urban lifestyle but there is still elements of agriculture. The setting becomes more urban as we are told of the person’s/speakers father having a ” whit collar” job substantially this shift. On the other hand the other the mother is described as a higgler or vendor which shows that agriculture was still an important an important source or revenue Although it was not not an economic main stream as before, in 1903.
Thirdly, In 1951 the setting shifts/ed to a more urbanized society and there is an abandonment of agriculture.There is a nationwide migration as women traveled to England to become nurses, so to did the boys mother. The father also migrated to the U.S to pick fruits, (agriculture) but leaves his own lot of lot unattended and abandoned and abandoned.
Fourthly, In the 1988, the setting is completely urban and there is mention of popular shopping destinations of the time as the ” woman” is a trafficker. There is also The “bend down malls” which further hints at the this as an urban economically concerned society.
Lastly, as the time progresses the settings evolves from a very rural to very urban, they are therefore polarized. Interestingly, this “evolution” ironically causes a depletion in family values and also peoples abilities to cope with their respective adversities.
In Hurricane Story 1903, the landscape/setting is in a rural area, where livelihood is based on agriculture and its development and preservation. The function of the setting before and after the hurricane is to show that an agrarian lifestyle where self reliance is important, leads to a more stable foundation within the family, “and as we put our lives back together”, This shows that even after the hurricane the family’s bond and self sufficiency, the family was able to put their lives back together. In this poem the theme tradition is established where we see that more importance is placed on agriculture for self-support rather than materialism, “he opened his tin trunk, took his good clothes out and packed the corn in.” Therefore tradition is needed for life continuous, “time and time again”, which suggest passing down of traditional ways through generation. In Hurricane Story 1944, the setting is also in the rural area. Agriculture is not as dominant as in Hurricane Story 1903. There is a shift of values where materialism is more important, which leads to a break down in the family foundation. The setting’s function is to show that because of less agrarian lifestyle, when the hurricane struck, it was harder for the family to return to their initial situation, because there was nothing to fall back on for financial security, “ No job he could find, worthy of a man of his abilities”. This suggests that when the father neglected agriculture, he had nothing left for him to benefit from in the end. This supports the theme recovery becomes increasingly difficult as society becomes less agrarian lifestyle. As a result it was also the stepping stone in the breaking down of gender roles, the mother takes control.
In Hurricane Story 1951, the setting was in an urban area, where the family provision was based on materialism, but as material resources are limited, the family becomes economically distraught. The function of the setting is to show that because of limited materials, the family is forced to go to all heights to provide for oneself, “we’ll never get anything back together, unless we do something serious…plenty people going to England now…let me go…get big job.”, “so-so farming can’t take us too far…he set off for America” This further explains the theme, recovery becomes increasingly difficult as society becomes less agrarian lifestyle. Even though the family seems to have some sort of agrarian background, “farming can’t take us too far”, it was mandatory for the family to abandon that life for the urban life as time changes, in order to survive.
The personae in the Hurricane Story poems are predominantly the children or grandchildren of the protagonist(s), except ‘1951’ where the speaker is impersonal and omniscient.
In ‘1903’, there is a distinct feeling of togetherness among the grandparents and the grandchildren. Together, they “passed through the eye and out the other side” and after, “put [their] lives back together”. The perspective of the young children gives the poem a tone of childlike wonder and respect for the grandparents and for the hurricane itself. For example, “Thatch blew about and whipped our faces/ water seeped in, but on Grandfather’s bed/ we rode above it, everything holding/ together.”
The personae in 1944 is at first omniscient and the is the voice of the mother and father’s children. The persona could be at first omniscient because it is a story being told to the children, then becomes personal as the poem goes ‘back’ to the present (not sure of this). Though the personae are, like in 1903, young children, the tone is not as respectful. The father does not have the mystery that the grandfather in ‘HS 1903’ had. He is more exposed. The children pay their respect to their mother who gives them orders which they follow obediently. However, the family is much less attached to each other because the father is mostly absent.
‘HS 1951’ feels like a story because it is written entirely in the third person, as opposed to the other HS’s. There is a distance between story and protagonist which reflects the lack of connection between him and his life. He has no control over what happens to him. It could also reflect the disconnect between him and his parents. The only way to see all the characters is through an omniscient point of view because they are scattered across the world. Through this perspective we are able to see the mother and her son struggling to bridge the gap between them. They connect in spirit, but they cannot meet.
Like HS’s ‘1903’ and ‘1944’ the persona in ‘1988’ is the child of the protagonist. Unlike those poems there is no direct mention of these children/ this child. There is no ‘we, ‘us’ or ‘our’; the story is about the mother. Perhaps this reflects a complete break in connection between parent and child, a disconnection which was becoming stronger as the years progressed in the poems.
Sir, it was pointless to ask us not to wait til the last minute, no offence.
The landscape/setting in Hurricane Story 1903, 1944, 1951 and 1988 steadily changes and progresses and are closely linked. In “Hurricane Story 1903″ we meet a family living in a rural Jamaican setting in an agricultural landscape. The family here is dependent on agriculture for sustainance as it is their way of way.Also both parents were heavily involved in agriculture. An example of this is “Granny would extract milk from fallen coconuts, to make coconut oil to fry bammies…”. However, there is a steady change to this in “Hurricane Story 1944″,where we meet a family living in a more urban setting than rural as he rurualas he go off to work at “Solomon’s Drygoods and Haberdashery”.The father holds a “white-collar” job and as we learn from the poem and does not want to go back to an agricultural lifestyle after the hurricane even though it would be extrememly beneficial. However, it is the mother alone who works the field to sell in the market. Therefore, we still see aspects of agriculture for sustainace, but it is not heavily depended on as the father’s job was used to sustain the family. In “Hurricane Story 1951″ there is no evidence of the family living in rural Jamaica, though there is evidence that the father is dependent on agriculture as a way to make a living. But, we see that after the hurricane struck, the mother did not go to agriculture to make a living but took the opportunity to go abroad to study to be a nurse, to provide for her family. Here we see even less dependence on agriculture. The father continues with seasaonal agriculture as he moves to the United States; and it is at this point we see the great shift from the rural life to urbanization. The mother aslo takes up residence in urban England where she works as a cleaning lady in a Hospital. It is in the last series. “Hurricane Story 1988″, that we see the agriucltural landscape and the rural setting is absolutely dispelled. By this time the world is more globalized and there are many more opportunites to be successful and make a living, and its here we meet on a single mother who is merchant running her own business. With this job money is a major part of her business and therefore she does not look to the soil for sustainance. We spot the trend that even after the hurricane she does not seek agricultre as part of her recovery efforts, though in this case she turns to marijuana. There is a big change in the landscape as she is well-travelled, journying to “haiti, Panama, Curacao, Miami, whereever there was a bargain”. We see the urbanization here as she sell her goods at the “bend-down malls” located in the towns. This is very evident of the shift from the rural life.
In these series of poems we see that rural life is synonymous of an agricultural lifestyle and as families become more urbanized, less emphasis is played on maintaining the agricultual lifestyle as new entities are sought to make a living and provide sustainance.
In general, all four poems tells us of a different hurricane story and their impact on the persons to which the persona is focused on. The hurricane themselves are essentially important to look at. It is quite obvious that these poems were stories that the persona were told and did not experience herself. There is indeed a change in the progress of the poems from 1903 to 1988.
In 1903, it is told by the persona that the hurricane affected a family (extended), living in a rural area. The way in which this family prepared for the hurricane was quite traditional. Even through hardship, this family stuck together, therefore i think that the hurricane’s function in this story shows the closeness of the family in that day and age.
Further on in 1944, ‘closeness’ of the family diminishes just a bit, especially, when the hurricane strucked. Here we see the family (nuclear) crumbling after the hurricane. However there was still hope, atleast where the woman (mother) stands (“sunday she went to church and sang”).
Then again in 1951, to be breif, I basically think that the function of the hurricane here was to show that it can tear a family apart. This poem starts off by telling us of the ‘perfect family’, who eventually ”after the huricane struck they ended up sucking salt same as everybody else.” This family went from perfect to bad to worse to worst; seperation of the mother and father, leaving the child to bear the aftermath of it all, atleast that is what i think.
Finally in 1988, we see a mother and a child, whom the hurricane devastated. The mother here ‘ban her belly and bawl’ because for her all hope was lost after the hurricane strucked. I think the function of the hurricane here was to show how it can quickly destroy, leaving one with nothing not even hope of recovery.
Therefore, the hurricanes that took place in 1903, 1944, 1951 and 1988 were all symbolic/ all had a function, in realtion to family. The relationship for each of the family changes as the years progress, but not for the best.
word count: 360
The setting changes drastically as each poem progress.In Hurricane story 1903, the poem is based on an agricultural and rural lifestyle which benefits the family in the poem. For example grandfather drains the field to prevent misfortunes and grandmother make cassava bammies to nourish the children.Due to their dependence on the agrarian lifestyle they were able to recover from the storm.
Whereas in Hurricane Story 1944 a new social phenomenon is introduced.The father in the poem prefers his white collar job which is somewhat of a neccesity in an urban lifestyle. However when the Hurricane struck the family reverted back to the rural way of living and were able to recover from the hurricane.
In Hurricane story 1951 the Jamaican way way of living is flung aside for the purposes of migration to provide a better life for Margaret,Delbert and their son.However this was easily said than done and these people lives slowly deteriorated since agriculture was basically ruled out by them leaving.
Whereas in Hurricane story 1988 self reliance seems to be the key in this poem.Their is no mention of agriculture as in the previous poems and the mother is more focused on an urban way of living.As a result, she could not recuperate after the hurricane had hit.
In conclusion, the shift from rural to rural-urban,then migration an a strict urban lifestyle shows a gradual deterioration from 1903-1988.Senior addresses the sociological phenomenons that were plaguing the jamaican society throughout the latter part of this time frame.As time progressed people no longer focused on agriculture but on the materialistic aspects of society.Therefore this move to urbanisation reverses the family’s ability to cope with calimity. Its so sad that as time pass the family stability decreases due to this urban development.
In the ‘Hurricane Stories’, the setting of each story differs. In 1903, it was more of a simple life in a rural area, hence it was an agrarian society where agriculture was the main source of income and both grandparents were involved in agriculture. Thus, due to this type of living, the family was able to recover after the passing of the hurricane because they had food which they had stored in “Granpa’ tin trunk”; and they had land which meant that they were able to grow more food in order to survive the long term effect of the hurricane.
In 1944, there was a slight shift from the agrarian life in 1903. This is where only one parent was involved in agriculture as society as a whole was changing. This change was due to the establishment of “white collar” jobs. However, after the passing of the hurricane, the family was unable to fully recover because the mother had to make sacrifices in order to take care of the children and the father as he was left without a job.
Moreover in 1951, there was a shift from agriculture to urbanisation. This is where both parents were into agriculture, but after the hurricane passed, the family was unable to recover; thus they shifted to a more urban life- both parents left agriculture and migrated as a means to survive, but were not successful.
Finally, in 1988, there was no reference to agriculture at all. The setting was purely urban, and the trend in society was trafficking which depended on money. After the hurricane had passed, the family was unable to recover because “Imelda” had no money, her shoes were damaged and the remaining were “impounded at customs”.
Be that as it may, the setting in the ‘Hurricane Stories’ gradually changed from simple life to a more complexed lifestyle where recovery after the hurricane was difficult.
These poems are not about the hurricanes per se but about the life of the people affected before and after it has passed.
Hurricane Story 1903 the family is an extended type and follows the traditional roles of the family…the grandparents can be seen as living a decent life without any complaints before the hurricane and after the disaster has passed they picked up the pieces and moved on with lives… they didn’t look at the hurricane as being bad luck but simply something natural and took hold of their lives again… before the hurricane itself, we see how the grandparents prepared for it so the damage wouldn’t be so hard on them after.
Hurricane Story 1944, Senior shows us a great example of how the more time we spend on trying to make our lives better we often forget the other important things we need to be wise about… in this poem the family did not take the time to prepare for life after the hurricane therefore they couldn’t just pick up the pieces as easily as the grandparents had done in ’03… they also failed to stick to the traditional family role after the hurricane… the father loses confidence and becomes a drunk while the mother sticks to her role as nurturer and added to that became the breadwinner of the family.
Hurricane Story 1951, the family, before the hurricane impacted, was quite well off and after the disaster we see ‘the will’ to have a better life but complications prevent the family from achieving these dreams together. So the family breaks apart. The father leaves his land behind and a new life elsewhere… the mother becomes ashamed for having nothing to show to her son but herself… and in whole the traditional roles is damaged once again as in Hurricanes Story 1944.
Hurricane Story 1988, the mother is the breadwinner of the family… and shoes are her life basically because it’s what she needs to provide for the family… after the hurricane her shoes are destroyed and the mother then becomes depressed and decides that she will be a drug user for the rest of her life… just like the father in ’44 she loses confidence in herself and they both turned to drinking and drugs as a way to escape reality.
Senior shows us that in times past we were capable of surviving but as we progress we fail to keep that hold on our lives. I think the hurricanes are like tests to see how we would work things out before and after it strikes.
These poems are not about the hurricanes per se but about the life of the people affected before and after it has passed.
Hurricane Story 1903 the family is an extended type and follows the traditional roles of the family…the grandparents can be seen as living a decent life without any complaints before the hurricane and after the disaster has passed they picked up the pieces and moved on with lives… they didn’t look at the hurricane as being bad luck but simply something natural and took hold of their lives again… before the hurricane itself, we see how the grandparents prepared for it so the damage wouldn’t be so hard on them after.
Hurricane Story 1944, Senior shows us a great example of how the more time we spend on trying to make our lives better we often forget the other important things we need to be wise about… in this poem the family did not take the time to prepare for life after the hurricane therefore they couldn’t just pick up the pieces as easily as the grandparents had done in ’03… they also failed to stick to the traditional family role after the hurricane… the father loses confidence and becomes a drunk while the mother sticks to her role as nurturer and added to that became the breadwinner of the family.
Hurricane Story 1951, the family, before the hurricane impacted, was quite well off and after the disaster we see ‘the will’ to have a better life but complications prevent the family from achieving these dreams together. So the family breaks apart. The father leaves his land behind and a new life elsewhere… the mother becomes ashamed for having nothing to show to her son but herself… and in whole the traditional roles is damaged once again as in Hurricanes Story 1944.
Hurricane Story 1988, the mother is the breadwinner of the family… and shoes are her life basically because it’s what she needs to provide for the family… after the hurricane her shoes are destroyed and the mother then becomes depressed and decides that she will be a drug user for the rest of her life… just like the father in ’44 she loses confidence in herself and they both turned to drinking and drugs as a way to escape reality.
Senior shows us that in times past we were capable of surviving but as we progress we fail to keep that hold on our lives. I think the hurricanes are like tests to see how we would work things out before and after it strikes.
oh shoot just forget the first one
The four poems that we have read and analysed by olive senior, “hurricane 1903, 1944, 1951 and 1988″ all seems to be illustrating the social status of the families before and after the hurricane.
In each of the poems there is a theme of poverty that surface. In 1903 we met a family living in rural jamacia, this family main way of survival is agriculture. The roles of the family is divided between the grandmother and the grandfather, the grandfather is the protector and provider while the grandmother takes care of the children’s need. In 1944 we see a family where agriculture is not quite as visible as 1903 but still we see only one percent in agriculture and this is how the family survived.
In 1903 and 1944 each family recovers from difficulties by using agriculture but in 1951 and 1938 it is much difficult to recover as society becomes less agrarian. In 1951 the family was separated the mother and father both migrated to provide the family but instead the family seperates. In 1988 the mother is the only parent in the family and provides by running her own business but when things become difficult for the family it never recovered.
Another major issue arising in the poems is that of the male role in the family, as we have seen in all the poems as the male role declines in the family, less stable it becomes. in 1903 and 1944 the males were still active and this helps the family to stay stable. In 1951 the father abandon his family and this causeed the family to be very unstable, while in 1988 there was not any male figure in this family which made it the most difficult to coop with the situation of poverty.
The setting in Hurricane Story 1903,1944,1951 and 1988 function(among other things)to show what is important to the people at the particular time in question.the setting of the the poems in 1903 to 1988 have changed to incorporate not only the change in time, but also the change in people’s values.In 1903 we see the setting being agrarian and less developed in comparison to that of 1988.The main focus of the family in this poem is food for survival.In stanza one we hear the mention of ‘fowl coop’and in stanza two grandfather,’took his good clothes out and packed the corn in,’which lead us to the idea that their living was more subsistence living.
in 1944 we see a slight change in the setting, in that it is now less agrarian.We see this change not only in the physical setting,but also in the mindset of the people themselves.It is here that we see that the people’s values are begining to change.The father is trying to deny the fact that he came from a family wher ploughing the land was important;the wife on the other hand embraces her background of being a worker of the land,and it is this acceptance that causes the family to ‘pickup’after the hurricane.
In 1951 after the hurricane struck there was no mention of depending upon the fields for survival(althought hey had land-stanza 3 lines 8-9 and stanza 6 lines 3).Instead it is said ‘plenty people going to England now’.To them working for someone else is what is important,they no longer appreciate being self sufficient.We saw this change taking place with the father in 1944, but in this poem the father and the mother both share the same way of thinking,so the change is almost complete.
In 1988,we see what has been happening throughout the poems,the move from a process to a complete metamorphisis-a completely new culture.There is also the mention of modern technology having an indirect relationship with how the people cope after the hurricane, this further reinforces the change in people’s mindset.There is no mention of any land or farmlife whatsoever.There is a complete move away from agricultural sufficiency in 1903 to a new type of self sufficiency in 1988.
There is a change throughout the poems from being self sufficient to being dependent.when in 1903 the grandparents were able to depend on themselves for survival they were able to put their lives back together;but in 1988, when a new type of dependancy becomes accepted we see that there is no recovery,’lawd!Life so soak-up and no bail out.To raatid!’
The settings and Landscape of the different hurricane stories are a reflection of the time. In hurricane story 1903 it is set in an agrarian Jamaican rural society. In 1944 there is a dramatic shift in society this is partially due to the fact that hurricane story 1944 is 41 years after its predecessor. While in 1903 there was focus on agriculture this poem places emphasis on the on urbanization. This is the first instance we see of the rural to urban shift, while agriculture is still present but it is looked at in a derogatory manor. In 1951 there is still the presence of agriculture however we see that the father has chosen to neglect his crops in order to pick fruits in America. In 1988 there is no mention of agriculture but further emphasis o urbanization. For example the “bend down malls” and the fact there was mention of major shopping areas within the Caribbean.
With each poem the setting becomes more capitalist and materialistic.In 1903 we see that the grand parents care little for material things. In fact the grand father in hurricane story 1903 took out his clothes out of his tin trunk in order to put corn.
In 1944 we see that the pride of the father after loosing his employment causes him to do nothing. This is a reflection of the times as white collar jobs were now being available thus agriculture was seen as an undesirable profession.
1951 addresses the issues of mass migration which occurred at the time. This also shows the growing derogatory attitude to local agriculture as the father leaves his crops to pic crops in another country.
1988 is a true reflection of capitalist society and is the realization of a completely different society to that of the first hurricane story. In this we see the how the mother looses her lively hood after one hurricane. It show the first single parent family of the stories.
Throughout the different poems because of the change in setting the impact of the hurricane has become greater. This is because as the societies become more materialistic the have more to loose as a result of a natural disasters. While the family in 1903 were able to pick up where they left off before the hurricane, 1944 family had an unemployed father and the mother was in charge. 1951 saw the separation on the parents in order to pursue a better future for their son. While 1988 shows the complete loss of income and despair.
Olive Senior uses these poems to show that in “evolution” of society and need to control nature we become completely slaves to it. She also comments on the shift in family patterns as there is a shift from, patriarchal, to matrifocal to single parent.
The settings and Landscape of the different hurricane stories are a reflection of the time. In hurricane story 1903 it is set in an agrarian Jamaican rural society. In 1944 there is a dramatic shift in society this is partially due to the fact that hurricane story 1944 is 41 years after its predecessor. While in 1903 there was focus on agriculture this poem places emphasis on the on urbanization. This is the first instance we see of the rural to urban shift, while agriculture is still present but it is looked at in a derogatory manor. In 1951 there is still the presence of agriculture however we see that the father has chosen to neglect his crops in order to pick fruits in America. In 1988 there is no mention of agriculture but further emphasis o urbanization. For example the “bend down malls” and the fact there was mention of major shopping areas within the Caribbean.
With each poem the setting becomes more capitalist and materialistic.In 1903 we see that the grand parents care little for material things. In fact the grand father in hurricane story 1903 took out his clothes out of his tin trunk in order to put corn.
In 1944 we see that the pride of the father after loosing his employment causes him to do nothing. This is a reflection of the times as white collar jobs were now being available thus agriculture was seen as an undesirable profession.
1951 addresses the issues of mass migration which occurred at the time. This also shows the growing derogatory attitude to local agriculture as the father leaves his crops to pic crops in another country.
1988 is a true reflection of capitalist society and is the realization of a completely different society to that of the first hurricane story. In this we see the how the mother looses her lively hood after one hurricane. It show the first single parent family of the stories.
Throughout the different poems because of the change in setting the impact of the hurricane has become greater. This is because as the societies become more materialistic the have more to loose as a result of a natural disasters. While the family in 1903 were able to pick up where they left off before the hurricane, 1944 family had an unemployed father and the mother was in charge. 1951 saw the separation on the parents in order to pursue a better future for their son. While 1988 shows the complete loss of income and despair.
Olive Senior uses these poems to show that in “evolution” of society and need to control nature we become completely slaves to it. She also comments on the shift in family patterns as there is a shift from, patriarchal, to matrifocal to single parent.
Sir the second comment by Sheldon is the same as mine. My bad
lol lol 4got 2 sign out?
In all four poems there were two major changes that are very distinct, the family and their priorities when put along side each other the changes show how the society evolved in so many different ways.
In Hurricane Story 1903 the grand parents packed away things like corn, nutmeg, cinnamon, yam, sweet potato, etc. They carfully ensured that their family was safe and well taken care of. While in Hurricane story 1944 the motives were the same (keeping the family together) but was mostly the concern of mother, the mother’s means of keeping the family together was traditional while the father was quick to abandon the old ways. Hurricane Story 1951 their intentions was to provide for their son they both chose to go overseas and abandon their lands and ended up in three different worlds. In the last poem mention is only made of the mother who is trying to provide but it doesnt seem to be so much for the child but for herself to sustain her bad habits.
No matter what after the hurricanes in all the poems there was some form of struggle and as time changed and the society changed the way they dealt with it differed. It’s as if you can draw a time line and point out the distinct changes. The poems are so alike in one way yet differnt, as the years progress the families drift apart bit by bit after 1903, first the father, then father an mother then eventually the mother is on her own but there is the sense that she is physically there but mentally not there.
Senior’s Hurricane story poems all come together to make a very strong point about our society and what it has deteriorated to, all the basic things about the family seem to hav disappeared through the years. We can only imagine if Senior had a Hurricane story 2009 what it would be like.
In the four poems by Olive senoir the famlies in these poems all go through different stages of recovery if any at all.In 1903 the very first poem one can see that this family is all about preparation and responsilbility,each person in this family has there own role to play in preparing for the hurricane,we see that the granfather does the protection and the grandmother does the nuturing,while comparing to the other families in the other poems .one see’s that the roles of the family menbers decrease gradually,most of the time mainlt the male role decreases and the women are left to dominate,as we can see in the second peom huricane story 1944 in this family at the begining we see that the father started off as the dominat figure but later down we see that he gradually get s over thrown by the female figure.When compared to 1903 we that the family is not afraid to go back to the roots or the soil inorder to survive but in this poem one get to understand that the male figure in this poem is ashamed to just that because he thoght that he worked hard to get out from that aspect of his life after losing his job he did not like the idea of going back, he thoght that he failed himself because he didnot think that he would end up ike this.In 1951 one can see that both parents abandoned their role and their responsibility thinking that migration is better for their family when in truth it only made it worse for them .In these first three poems there mention of the male figure compared to the last poem 1988 there is none jus a strugglin woman tryin to make ends meet.One can see the drastic down fall from an extended family to a single parent family cause in 1903 althogh there is no mention of the parents there is mention of the grandfather,in1944 the father fades away gradually similarly in 1951 and there is no mention of the father all this shows the diminishing presents of the father figure in 1988.All this made me come to the conclusin that he female figure in these poems stands out.
The landscape/setting in Olive Senior’s Hurricane Stories evolves throughout the poems from very rural to more and more urban. Its function is to point out the changes in society and the effect of moving towards materialism. In Hurricane Story 1903 we see a family living a very rural life. Everyone does their part in preparation and help to recover after the hurricane has hit. It seems that in this poem the damage wasn’t as bad because they lived off the land which made it easier for them to recover. Furthermore, it seems that the children learn something and that alongside the bad good things come from this hurricane. In 1944 a step towards an urban life is being taken. The man has a white collar job and the woman works in the field. After the hurricane hits it is much easier for the woman to recover than the man because the man wouldn’t go back to farm life, however, the woman was used to it and she did what she needed to do to support her family. The man could not recover from the loss of his job because he was already so used to the material things it seems he felt he was too good to go back to such a simple life. In 1951 it seems to be yet even more rural than the previous poem. They move to bigger and more developed countries to better their situations and in turn move completely away from urban life and living from nature. After the hurricane hits it seems the woman and man have to leave their country and get “good jobs” to make a better life for them and their son. They are so intent on material things that they do not realise that by tearing the family apart things only become worse for their son and completely destroy the family. Finally, in 1988 the setting seems completely urban with no hint of rural life. The woman is so depressed after she loses her material things that she can only turn to drugs to escape real life. There is no hope whatsoever in this poem. The setting evolves from rural to completely urban in the last poem. With a move to materialism it seems increasingly harder for the family’s and later single parents to cope with the destruction because they have more to lose in each poem. Therefore, they feel less and less able to recover from the hurricanes.
In all four poems there is a struggle of some sort to get normality back .For that, the function of the “hurricane” is quiet prominent .The “hurricane” does not have to be an actual natural disaster but can be a symbol of hard and even harder times. The families mentioned in all four poems now have to reprioritize their life in order to keep their heads above water. In the poem Hurricane story in 1903 the family decided to throw out there clothes out of there protective case in order to store food. In this close food has a higher priority than the clothes this family is very practical. However in Hurricane 1944 their priorities seem to be a bit backward in the case of one parent. The mother of the family knew what had to be done and did it. The father of the family had his pride on the top of that priority list and for that the family suffered. He preferred to remain jobless until one of his statures was available. In the poem Hurricane story 1951 it is important to the family for their son to get a better life. To them it was abandoning this child to seek work in other country but this plan failed and the family was destroyed. Their intentions were good but it ended with a son who felt unloved and abandoned. In the last poem Hurricane story 1988 we meet a single parent mother who is basically drowning after the hurricane. She has given up on life and results to using drugs and alcohol to escape a life of poverty. In the last two poems the struggle of trying to get back the life that is somehow lost becomes more difficult where giving up is the best looking option.
In all four poems, the main idea evoking is the effect of hurricanes on families and their ability to pick up the pieces after the disaster strikes. The poems reflect the increasing difficulty in recovery as society becomes more agranian.The landscape is the poems represents a shift from the rural area to more urban areas. Families are moving towards a more materialistic lifestyle. In 1903, the family was actively involved in agriculture as a means of their survival. That changes in 1944,where only the mother is involved in the trade, and completely dissipates in the final two poems. The hurricane themselves are not really referred to as hurricanes, either a wind or a storm. It can symbolize the families facing financial problems and their inability to cope with them.
All in all, the poems illustrate women on a whole becoming less dependent on men and holding down the fort as it relates to the maintainence of their families. Even if in some cases they don’t succeed, as is evident in hurricane story 1951, when migration sends the mother crazy, the poems show women taking the iniative to do take up the role as the bread-winners where the men seem to fall short.
Well, I’ve been thinking(its a new hobby) and so far what I’ve come up with it is that the motif of the poems which is evident as they transition is separation from the land that binds and it’s consequences on family life(I came up with this is church. teehee). Anyways in 1903 the setting is definitely one of rural lifestyle, one where land is used to produce ones basic needs for every day life. The granddad and grandmother understand this importance of agricultural living and have adapted to it to well and are therefore not ashamed or embarrassed about toiling the land to reap its benefits. The land also keeps them functioning as a family. As we see in the poem they each have adopted roles in cultivating and contributing of the farm grown stocks. The grandfather goes about the hardworking task of bringing the crops in and Grandma prepares the raw material for family nurturing. We can see that looking to the land for their standard of living comes naturally and they are well humbled by it, proud even. The turning point of the hurricane did not affect them drastically because they had grown enough food in order to stock up on before the hurricane and were well prepared. Some might say they were only dependent on the land because of the rural lifestyle they were in but it’s not only that, it is comfortable atmosphere that they surrounded themselves in. The calming sense of family when the Senior speaks of Grandma making cinnamon flavored chocolate drinks for them in order to keep the children in upbeat moods. The admiration for Granddad who takes out his clothes and replaces them with food, this shows that he knows the importance of stocking up before the hurricane but also that materialistic things did not seem to matter much when it came to ensuring that the family’s needs come first. The writer also states that Granddad had magical abilities(not like Harry Potter though) but I think that its because he spends his time in the field growing his produce, studying the weather probably comes natural to him. Therefore he notices significant changes to it then it is possible that he can be able to detect the hurricane using his farmer’s institution and to a child this act might seem almost as if he were psychic. But through the land they were able to find stability in the household.
In 1944 the separation of male from land becomes evident. The father rejects it while the mother nurtures it to he advantage. We see the shift of roles where the woman
is left to do all the hard work for the sake of the family, while the man dismisses anything having to do with agriculture. Here we have pride acting as the cause of the father’s aggression toward the land. Whereas the grandfather and grandmother appeared proud and humbled by their abilities to work and toil the land to their benefit, this father was too proud to turn to land for any form of aid. He has a stable white collar job at a pharmacy and is on a pedestal above anything having to do with the land. I think his state of mind was, he had all this going for him, a classy job and his own bicycle, he was even admired by his brothers, why turn to the land when life was going in his favor. This also points out the development of society and that working for a white person in a top notch job overshadows ones social background.
His wife turns to agriculture, putting the land to good use to provide a healthy back-up to her husband but he does not appreciate it. She is trying to bring them together using the land because this is the only way she seems to be able to make an effort in order to help out the family financially, but instead of encouraging her he degrades her for it. The importance of the land in 1944 is that it is the main thing that is helping out the family. With it the mother was able to buy a house and continue to provide for her husband and children even after the hurricane. We also see the movement toward material things. The father owns a bicycle which he rides with utmost pride because he is able to show to his past brothers how much he has grown and achieved while they have yet to reach his success. The grandmother uses the land to nurture and provide nutrition to her family giving them the strength to face a new day while the father in 1944 scorns his wife for depending on the land. One side of the family had uses for the land and therefore although they weren’t as together a family as they were supposed to they were still sticking through the bad times and had even fallen into a routine of what they called their family lifestyle.
In 1951 the land was there but the couple did not depend on it. Migration separates them from the land, from their home, from their son. Its almost as if the boy signifies the land and its loss during their absence. The father here leaves his own farming grounds in Jamaica and goes away to America to work as a farmer. It is not as if he got away from the land but its as if the one back home wasn’t good enough unless he was laboring for a foreigner. The father tries with the son but eventually leaves him to his own troubles, which is almost similar to what he did to his Farming grounds. He just left nature to take its course over it not caring of the outcome, not appreciated what he has back home as his own but rather finding it better to work on someone- else’s. I think he finds it much better to be working on a white man’s land because it gives status rather than staying in Jamaica and working on his own because not much status can come from being labeled a ‘farmer’ there, while in this case he gets to go abroad, let persons think to themselves, ‘oh he gone overseas to do big wuk’ (lol, yay) Therefore land back home equal people seeing you as a raggedy farmer making ends meet, land far away and out of sight makes persons believe you’ve gone off to accomplish big things.
The mother is in England, trying to pursue her dreams but she has lost that connection with the land, her family and eventually herself. She tries to forget, separated by the sea. She is far from her homeland, her country and her son, both of which are two important things in her life which she should not be trying so hard to forget. Both are far away from her because of the sea yet in some weird, magical moment she can hear her son calling, hear home calling. ( I was thinkin’ to myself that it could also be Jamaica, yes, the island itself, calling out for its ‘ma’, the mother country. which is England where the mother was. Then again I don’t know why it would be doing that in order to explain it better so…) Anyways although the father is apathetic toward the land, as most males seem to becoming past hurricane 1944, the mother still has this nurturing feel to her. A calling within her that makes her crave land, her home, the place where her family began, where it still is and I think the bucket of water is significant because the line where it says she could hear the faint cries of her son is touching yet ironic in that they are separated by water at the moment and she is hearing his calls through over the water, which I think was her maternal instincts that she had tried to smother acting up, (and it was really sweet). But without the land to keep her balanced she was left to stand on the loose openings of the water beneath her feet as she searched for that stability.
In 1988 there is absolutely no mention of land and we see where material things means more to the woman than any other thing. She doesn’t really have any stability in her life, nothing much grounded. Men are not even referred to. Its as if men who themselves were created from dirt, tried their best to escape something that was a part of who they were as human beings. So far from the beginning we’ve seen women who have nurtured and done their best to protect their families no matter what, even the mother in 1951 had decent intentions when she left the country yet she had not accomplished them and did not want to return home a failure. In 1988 the women seemed to have bounced back when it came to being independent but the turning point of the hurricane had downtrodden her spirits and she left to apathetically rot away. For an independent woman she had no stable foundation and no other resources on which to rely on for provision in everyday life. Finally with the depletion of usefulness of argriulture life there came about a depletion within a household. Instead of staying home and working hard to build a life in their country by using the land to their advantage the man and woman in 1951 chose to migrate because to them they saw better opportunities, but their homeland was offering the same and it did not require long distances for the sake of the family. In 1988 the woman relied on travel to benefit her job yet although she appeared prosperous at first, it just did not seem to last.
holy jumpin firemen! I toooooooooootallly went over the word length. Oh Oh o_0′ I am sooooo sorrry,*hides*
why me *sigh
O_O oh my…
In all form of literature the setting/landscape plays a vital roll dealing with the plot of the story. In Senior’s Hurricane Story 1903 the plot is based in a rural background where the family is heavily dependant on the land for survival in every way imaginable. As the hurricane story saga continues to 1944, here we see the dependence on the land fading and the background seems to be less of a rural state but not yet completely urban. In Hurricane Story 1951 the setting is some what of a suburb and the importance of agriculture is almost non-existent. Finally in the last hurricane story which was in 1988 is set in a complete urban background where agriculture is a thing of the past and persons are solely dependant on materialistic things. As we look at the progressive change in the background from rural to urban we see the drastic change in focus of the people from an agricultural approach to materialistic things. This change makes recovery from the said hurricane harder each time until finally they are unable recover at all. It can be said that as the years progress and the more the landscape changes, the further away the families get from their roots and the more vulnerable persons become.
In Senior’s poems; Hurricane Story 1903, Hurricane Story 1944, Hurricane Story 1951 and Hurricane Story 1988. She tells stories of past hurricanes and how each of these hurricane has impacted on the lives of the people. Also, she emphasizes on the conditions and attitudes of the people before and after each hurricane.
In Hurricane Story 1903,we see the couple in this poem working together as a team. The family was an extended family in a rural setting, being dependent on agriculture and very self-sufficient. After the hurricane passes they were quick to overcome their hardship, this maybe because of their self-sufficiency and the closeness of the family.
In Hurricane Story 1944, there is a gap between the couple in this story, they are not as united as the couple in Hurricane Story 1903. The father in this poem has strayed from agriculture, however, the mother is still tied to the fields. The poem also has a suburban setting, and the father is working a white-collar job. After the hurricane the father loses his job and refuse to work on the farm. It was difficult for the family to overcome their hardship but through the mother’s hard work they were able to do so.
In Hurricane Story 1951, the couple in this poem was involved in agriculture but felt that it wasn’t enough to sustain them after the hurricane had passed. The mother migrates in search of better opportunities and the father does the same leaving the chilld behind. A diversification from agriculture leads to a breakdown in family values and an inability to overcome hardship.
In Hurricane Story 1988, there was no mention of a father in poem and no mention of agriculture. The mother was unable to overcome her hardship or we could say she gave up after the hurricane.
The function of the hurricane themselves in the poems vary but throughout I see a prioritizing whether before or after the hurricanes. I see the hurricanes bringing to light situation/ events and in a way sharing what is brought out from the storm.
In Hurricane Story 1903 the preparation for the hurricane is seen and brings through a sense of togetherness and organization. While preparation takes place, the priorities are easily noticed and we can easily see the well being of the family and its nourishment is thought to be most important. After the hurricane we see everything being held together from planning and we see the possibilities of new beginnings and strength through it all.
In Hurrican Story 1944, the hurrican came and caught everyone guard as it seemed they were too busy with the superficial, short term comings of life. It showed who was responsible and the basic harsh reality of things. The poem concludes with prioritizing a point which the hurrican alters the situation. It also showed a responsibility being adopted by these who didnt necessarily have to begin with. To me the hurrican brought light to a sad story bringing out strength.
Hurrican Story 1951 seems positive from the onlookers and as we read after the hurricane struck everything wasnt as positive anymore. Whether it was lack of preparation it seemed to highlight the important things in life; their ambitions to help make for a better future. After this hurricane the priority that they seeked to maintain or concentrate was a financial one, this was the wrong one. All a long love should have been provided, the hurricane shows their mistake.
In Hurricane Story 1988 there seems to be no thoughts of the possibility of a hurricane. When it hit, the reality hit twice as hard as means of getting money suffered and there was no back up.
Thr functipon of the hurricane is to show the wonders of preparation, how it helps to prioritize and highlight the changes that could have been made to the persons life. Overall the hurricane was there to make new, it would be up to the person now to have their priorities straight.
In the terms of the hurricanes there is a progression in deterioration of how the family handles the recovery process after the hurricane.In 1903 the father replants his field and the family quickly get on with rebuilding their lives. This because this family has a strong bond, therefore the recovery process is smooth.In 1944 it is not as smooth. The father loses his job and refuses to push on.The wife in this poem refuses to give up and pushes on to try and recover.There is not a smooth recovery as before. It gets worse in 1951, The family has good life but the hurricane hits suddenly and the family is unable to recover.The mother decides to migrate in search of a better life, so does the father and this does not work out,the family essentially disintegrates.In the 1988 poem after the hurricane strikes there isn’t any recovery at all.The only parent there is struggles and eventually completely gives up, there is no recovery at all.So there is the deterioration in the recovery process each year it gets worse until there is no recovery at all.
In Senior’s four poems the hurricane(to me) seems to represent not just a literal hurricane but rather it embodies a variety of problems the family faces.Its like a magnifying glass highlighting the flaws of the family institution. It takes us through an evolution of family and its values. With each change the hurricane sheds light on the inability of the family to recover as they become more modernized and negelct traditional ways of life. In this we see that as we stray from our cultural ideals, neglecting and eventually forgetting our roots and becoming more modernized we lose our ability to adapt using our natural resources and instincts. In hurricane story 1903, the hurricane was not referred to as a hurricane but a storm. I think this reflects how little it affected that first family, which appears to be firmly grounded in agriculture and traditional ideas. Although they appear to be the most primitive of the families presented,they are the only ones to make a successful recovery from the hurricane, as they were able to predict the storm without technology ,without the postmistress warning them but purely by learning their surroundings and using instincts.Depending on nothing but what the land offered and themselves.
From hurricane story 1944 and onward we see the total shift from agrarian lifestyle towards modern concepts. In 1944 agriculture was not completely disregarded, in fact it was the only reason that this family seemed to somewhat recover. The hurricane came striking them suddenly, if they were warned by natural signs(not mentioned) they had not taken heed. Unlike the previous family they wee unable to regain stability. In the first poem both male and female contributed to the recovery but in this poem the hurricane has underlined a social issue in the Caribbean society which is the lack of male dominance. In 1951, the hurricane again hit, just as a family is being established. Unlike in 1944 no recovery is seen. This very young family who it seemed had no gorunds in traditional ways of life were completely uprooted by the hurricane, the devastation lasted through their existance. In 1988 after the hurricane came again there is a complete inability to recover. Where as in the 1903 and 1944 food was not a problem because they relied upon renewable land for their food supply, here the family is completely modernized and unable to cope with the havoc the hurricane reaped.
I feel, the hurricanes in Senior’s poems function more as a device, showing the changes in the socail structures in Jamaica throughout the years. Structures such as Family and Gender-roles. It appears that the further the poems advance in years, the more devastating the effect of the hurricanes which in my opinion, is a clear indication of the breakdown of said structures. The family in 1951 was completely torn apart as a result, with the son commiting suicide and the mother becoming insane. In 1944 we see the complete neglect of patriarchal duties and domestic violence taking over. However, back in 1903, the family made ample preparations, did what they had to do and weathered the storm. In the end they came out fine, and more importantly, as a family. The hurricanes in these poems served to highlight the deterioration of these social structures.
dio i get in?
In “Hurricane Story 1988″ the hurricane played the role of a destructive force toward the persona’s life.In the past hurricane stories we have seen that as time progressed onward there was a decrease in the strength of the family and what the family can do. In “Hurricane Story 1903″ we see that the hurricane did not do much damage to the people of the family much. This is because they were able to work together to build their lives back together, pickin up the pieces of the puzzle easily. In Hurricane Story 1944 we see that its was difficult for the man to accept the fact that he has to survive some how without having a white collar job and the woman began picking up the pieces and we begin to see the family falling apart since the woman had no backing uo from the man. The pieces were not placed together as they should be. In Hurricane Story 1951 the parents went their separate ways trying to make it after the hurricane struct. This made it difficult for thehild and because of lack of communication the family broke down and never made it back together. Finally in Hurricane Story 1988 theren was no father figure in the family. Therefore when the Hurricane struct all the mother did was band her belly and bawl. She did not make no attempt whatsoever to try and put the pueces back together.
Sorry time is out…..
As I was saying before this computer rudely intyerupted my flow of thoughts now i cant remember where i was going with this…….. oh well here we go forgive me if am bot making much sense..
Therefore I think that Senior was using the Hurricanes as an element to bring certain iossues today to light and the wqay that the people of yesterday and the people of today changed. This brings social issues to light scuh as wahat family is and what it should mean. The way that families are today, seem like a lot of chaos and lack of unity. Everyone is for themselves and not stopping to help another.This leads to the fact that Senior was trying to make. The hurricanes was just a device ,as Jenique said, to compare thge family life and structure back then and now.
Thats all my mind is not functioning well today as yoyu can see my work is mixed up SORRY