• Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Tatamkhulu Afrika - Nothing's Changed

Extracts from this document...


From the reading of English writing what have you learned so far? Use three poems as examples. This cluster of poems contains a vast array of different poems from different cultures from all around the world. They give us an insight into the way other people live, think and conduct their everyday life. They are all highly meaningful and something can be found for everybody in every single one of them. Tatamkhulu Afrika - Nothing's Changed This poem depicts a society where rich and poor are divided. In the apartheid era of racial segregation in South Africa, where the poem is set, laws, enforced by the police, kept apart black and white people. The poet looks at attempts to change this system, and shows how they are ineffective, making no real difference. District six is the name of a poor area of Cape Town This area was bulldozed as a slum in 1966, but never properly rebuilt. Although there is no sign there, the poet can feel that this is where he is: "...my feet know/and my hands." Similarly the up-market inn, brash with glass and the bright sign ,"flaring like a flag", which shows its name, is meant for white customers only. ...read more.


The poet thinks that the alleged change is a pathetic attempt to beat back some of the racism that had been around under the apartheid. He thinks that there may as well have been no political change as society has not followed the trend, merely carried on oblivious. From this poem I have learned that the apartheid was a huge and radical infringement of basic human rights upon the black population of South Africa. I have learned that a small proportion of the white community tried to do much about the terrible regime in which they lived. Perhaps the most horrific thing that I have come across, is the fact that even after the apartheid was lifted, the same hatreds remained and it was as if nothing had changes, as was suggested in this poem. Island man- Grace Nichols The subtitle really explains this simple poem - it tells of a man from the Caribbean, who lives in London but always thinks of his home. The poem opens with daybreak, as the island man seems to hear the sound of surf - and perhaps to imagine he sees it, since we are told the colour. This is followed by simple images of the fishermen putting their boats out, the sun climbing in the sky and the emerald green island. ...read more.


We have a clear sense of the writer's world - in her culture water is valued, as life depends upon the supply. This is a culture in which belief in a kindly god is seen as essential. She suggests a vague and general religious belief, or superstition. The poem ends with a picture of children; naked and screaming. The sense of their beauty "highlights polished to perfection" is balanced by the idea of their fragility, as the "blessing sings over their small bones". From this poem I have learned that in other cultures basic resources, which we in the west take for granted are desperately needed. They rely solely on their gods to deliver the much-needed substances. If they do not receive these blessings then they will perish. From this cluster of poems I have learned so much about other people and other cultures, how they live, thrive and survive, I have shared the joys and miseries of men from South Africa to children of the Indian Sub-Continent. I have seen that to write great English you don't necessarily have to have to be English, to have ever lived in England, or indeed to ever have been associated with the country, you simply need inspiration. ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Tatamkhulu Afrika: Nothings Changed section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related GCSE Tatamkhulu Afrika: Nothings Changed essays

  1. Comparing how the themes of freedom and oppression are explored in the poems 'Caged ...

    They have now become desperate for their civil rights. From both poems we can understand that there is a very important message that needs to be delivered to all readers. I think that this will be more obvious if the poems are read out aloud, the message will be clearer, and it will be able to reach the nation faster.

  2. Compare 'Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan' by Moniza Alvi and 'Nothings Changed' by ...

    situation saying that nothing has changed as the barriers still remain although the government that put them in place has left power. The use of language by the poet also influences the poems mood. In 'Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan' her mood is one of confusion over her nationality

  1. Both Chinua Achebe and Tatamkhulu Afrika explore the dark side of human nature in ...

    The fact that the evil is said to be perpetuous I think means that he knows that evil will be never ending.

  2. &amp;quot;Nothing's Changed&amp;quot;, by Tatamkhulu Afrika, and the poem &amp;quot;Island Man&amp;quot;, by Grace Nichols. Each ...

    One technique the poet employs to suggest that the Caribbean lives "in him" is to use words that blend with another. An example is when the poet refers to the waves. She makes up the word "wombing" (line 5) where we might expect her to use "booming", which suggests that

  1. Did Saltaire change for the better?

    The main factor which has changed Saltaire is technology, it was originally used as a weaving factory but now, due to technology, it is used by other companies for computers and art., this has changed the structure of saltaire, new companies caused Saltaire to expand and now, the total opposite

  2. How effectively do Tatamkhulu Afrika and Chinua Achebe both convey their feelings and attitudes ...

    family and how the commandant at Belsen camp dose not wash his hands when buying chocolate (a luxury) for his child. There is imagery used in both poems to convey the feelings of the poet in a simple way. This paragraph has shown imagery used in both poems to show

  1. Poetry Coursework:Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes (Lawrence Ferlinghetti) ...

    Also Afrika uses the phrase 'amiable weeds'. Amiable means friendly and pleasant, however a weed is an unwanted plant that grows anywhere it wants. Amiable weeds implies that the white people invaded their country and sprouted everywhere but although this is how the country is at the moment, Afrika is

  2. In the following essay I will endeavour to compare the two poems. Nothing changed ...

    Most of it has never been built on. The poem was written just after the official end of apartheid. It was a time of hope - Nelson Mandela had recently been released from prison, and the ANC was about to become the government of South Africa. The poem 'An Old Woman,' is about a common enough experience, the experience of misjudging someone.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work