Term 2 e-Learning Task 2

Hi all,

This is Task 2: An Analysis of the poem. In case you want to read the poem again, here it is:

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light There are children in the darkness Who someone will teach to fight   Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they can not flee And these children are not free   Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance Could we teach them how to read Could we teach them how to dance   Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole   Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light Henry M Bechtold

Okay, now for my analysis:

1. Point of View
The poet, being a soldier once himself, is anti-war, and he feels that war is unfair. He says that children are "in the darkness" and "have not seen the light"; the children are forced to be soldiers and learn how to fight, and do not know about what typical kids do (read, dance, etc.) War is seen to be "dark", and the children are trapped in war; "[they] are not free", have no freedom, and they cannot escape. He also mentions that the children are not even "[given] half a chance", let alone a chance, to experience life as a typical child, not knowing how to "read" or "dance". The children's "body and soul" are instead "[consumed]" by war, their whole "life and blood" left to drain on the battlefield.

2. Situation and Setting
In the poem, there is imagery of children being taught how to fight and take up arms during the Vietnam War. The contrast between "darkness" and "light", as well as its repetition, emphasizes the hopeless situation the children were in. War is portrayed as a "dark" place, cruel and depriving children from freedom, while other places free of war would be bright and cheery, with children with freedom and living their typical child lives.

3. Language/Diction
The poet uses various literary devices to emphasize the dire situation the children were in. Firstly, he repeats the phrase "Could we", emphasizing that the children are deprived of freedom and their usual child life. The imagery of a locked door with no key further shows how the children could not escape war. The personification of war consuming the children's "body and soul" emphasizes how cruel war was, and the contrast between "light" and "darkness" is similar to the contrast between war-free countries and war-struck countries: war-free countries are bright like "light" and cheery, while war-struck countries are "dark" and gloomy.

4. Personal Response
I feel pity and sympathetic for the children in war-struck countries. They have to face the hardships and harshness of war at such a young age that I doubt we can endure. They are forced to go to war for the sake of their country when they should obviously be enjoying their childhood in school or at home. In all, the poem evokes a strong feeling of pity for the children in war-struck countries in me.