In The Midst Of Hardship Notes 334v3f

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP SYNOPSIS (OVERALL) In this poem, the poet tells of the situation of a farmer and his family. They come back at dawn after being out in the floodwater for a day and night. They are looking for their albino buffalo. They come back wet and hurt but they do not show any despair. They have been born into a life of hardship and have never complained. Now, they are in the kitchen and they joke and talk while preparing to relax with a smoke. SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA) STANZA 1 They returned home at dawn and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried. STANZA 2 They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it. STANZA 3 They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes. SETTING The setting of the poem is in the house. THEMES Stoicism in life Family love Acceptance of way of life

MORAL VALUES We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook. We must attempt to face and solve problems. Failure is part of growing up. Do not despair in the face of failure.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE Understanding and sympathetic Dismal Acceptance of situation

POINT OF VIEW Third person pint of view. LANGUAGE & STYLE Language is simple and easy to understand. The style is simple with no rhyming scheme.

POETIC DEVICES Imagery – Gives picture of poet’s thoughts e.g ‘soaky clothes torn’ and ‘legs full of wounds’ Alliteration – e.g. ‘but on their brows’ Symbols – e.g. ‘horrendous flood’ and ‘bloating carcasses’ Diction – e.g. ‘stove’ and ‘brows‘

SYNOPSIS (OVERALL) This poem is about a family who faces hardship whereby their son’s albino buffalo is nowhere to be found. A flood occurs and they go out to find the buffalo. They reach home early in the morning without the buffalo and yet there is no sign of despair in them. Meanwhile, they can still crack jokes and roll the cigarettes. SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA) STANZA 1 They returned home at day break and headed for the stove. This is probably because they were hungry. However, I have also received some s saying that they went straight to the stove to dry themselves as they were drenched with the flood water. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried. STANZA 2 They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. We know that the animals were already dead because of

the phrase ‘bloated carcasses’. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it. STANZA 3 They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes. This shows that they face difficulties all the time and this time there is no different. They have inner strength that makes them strong to face any hardship poses to them. SETTING The setting of the poem is in the house. THEMES Being resilience when facing hardship Family love Acceptance of way of life MORAL VALUES We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook. We must attempt to face and solve problem. Facing hardship is part and parcel of life. If we face a problem, do not feel despair.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE Understanding and sympathetic Acceptance of situation

In stanza 1, which lines indicate the suffering that the people endure while out in the rain? their limbs marked by scratches In stanza 1, why did the people approach the stove? They are wet and cold. In Stanza 2, who had to brave the horrendous flood? The father and the mother In your opinion, what might happen to the albino buffalo?

It drowned in the flood. How long did the heavy downpour occur? The whole day and night From the poem, what hardship did the villagers had to face? Flood What is the couple's attitude towards the problems they face in life? They are resilient in facing challenges in life. In your opinion, why did the boy love the albino buffalo so much? A child has unconditional love and he doesn't care much about its strange look.