A Different History

Poet: Grew up in Pune, India Emigrated to US when she was 12 Was a writer-in-residence in Canada Now in Germany

Title: Her thoughts on how her childrens history (childhood) is different from hers Structure: 2 stanzas 1st stanza- describing how she was raised 2nd stanza- asking her children questions to prove her point informal structure no rhyme scheme Language: Personification: turn pages gently without offending the tree whose wood the paper is made the tree is personified to emphasise its importance it should be treated like a human long scythe swooping out the evil smile of the oppressor is like a scythe, foreshadowing that something bad will happen Repetition: a sin a sin repeated 4 times each time it gives a value that she was raised with a sin to shove a book aside Bhatt wants to emphasise that a lot of the things that we do on a daily basis was actually considered a sin when she was growing up Sound/onomatopoeia shove slam tosscarelessly these sounds created are not pleasant to the ear and is in contrast with the peace and tranquillity of the first 6 lines emigrated to India roam freely creates a very gentle, carefree atmosphere, readers can almost hear the sound of nature

Imagery: nature, garden emigrated to India gods roam freely: disguised as snakesmonkeys every tree is sacred creates a lively yet peaceful atmosphere, carefree life what we have done to nature we cut down the tree and shove slam and even toss carelessly aside we do not appreciate nature instead, we take it for granted as though it will grow infinitely After the British colonized India, the natives forgot their cultures and traditions and toss books around, slam and even shove a book aside with your foot Bhatt considers this sins because in the way she was raised, she had to be respectful and preserve nature learn how to turn the pages gently without offending the tree Bhatt is teaching her kids the values she grew up with Dont rip pages, scribble, or waste them She wants to implement these values in her kids And convey to them, nature is not for granted oppressors tongue murder torture cropped conqueror gives horrid images of the oppressors portrays them as evil, scheming, controlling the oppressors are the British when they colonized India during WW2 she is angry that her parents had to go through the torture yet she was raised learning English. The oppressors tongue is the language the British speak, English Rhetorical questions: Which language has not been the oppressors tongue? she wants to prove her point that most common languages we speak today are the languages that the oppressors speak the oppressors conquer weaker countries, make them forget their native language and that is how the conquers language grows the British colonized India, parts of Asia, parts of the Middle East, the French have done the same Which language truly meant to murder someone? in order for a language to be widely-spoken, the conquers must fight, and capture their enemy this will result in death which she describes as murder These questions are directed towards her children making think, is her upbringing better or worse than their own She asks them if the British have helped them in any way Have they preserved our traditions? No Have they killed innocent people? Yes Have they changed the way our kids are raised? Yes Bhatt is proud to be Indian and will strive to ensure that her kids are raised with the same tradition values (she was taught) implemented in them

Alliteration: scythe swooping scythe is usually used for cutting wheat in fields but she uses it here to show that their smile is for evil intentions Tone: Lines 1-6 very relaxed and carefree Great Panemigrated to India shows that India is a place that Greek Gods would go to, shows its importance Lines 7-18 a little agitated a sin repeated as though she is giving her children a lesson on traditions Lines 19-23 angry, frustrated Use of questions which support her point Lines 24-29 Mysterious as she wonders why they love that strange language Theme: The colonization of India took away their traditions and cultures Bhatt is expressing her thoughts Ironically, shes expressing them in English, which she supposedly detests Cultural identity and language (Greek gods and Indian gods are roaming around in India, the only place still considered traditional enough for Gods to live in) Another irony is that the Gods are free to roam, lots of freedom But we humans have so many rules, boundaries a sin to do this and a sin to do that