Bruce Dawe - Americanized :: essays research papers

Bruce Dawe is strongly opposed to consumerism, as shown with his poem, Americanized. The poem is written in a predominantly bitter and dry t maven. The title itself is ironic. Bruce Dawe is Australian and has spelled the title using American spelling quite a than Australian spelling, with the s macrocosm replaced by a z. Stanza one(a) is set in the morning at breakfast time. It involves the mother and her nestling. preferably of the usual loving mother, we see a cold mother and one that is doubtful of her lover for her own child. Dawe uses cold language such as beneficence, beamed and laminex as comfortably has the pause after she loves him to signify this. The yoke are also conveyed to be separate from each other, symbolised by them being on opposite sides of the breakfast table. Stanza two shows us how the baby is well looked after, yet is lacking the affection that small children need. The child experiences a hidden passing spasm of loss. The mother blocks pop her chil ds cries. in that respect is a lack of contact and warmth between the pair. Stanza three again shows doubtfulness about the mothers love. We see how the mother locks her child in because she fears the modern world. She sees the world as dangers and especially fears workforce. Her fear of men is emphasized by the italics used. In the final line of the stanza, the mother puts her tidings on a plastic pot. This is somewhat symbolic of the consumeristic society i.e. fabricate and cheap. Stanza four is a metaphor. The mother trying to toilet train her tidings is a metaphor for people learning the rules of society and trying to adjust to societys ways. In this stanza, the mother is society and the child is individual trying to learn societys values. It is against the childs inbred instinct, yet the mother still tries to force it. In stanza five, the mother leaves the home base and leaves her son at home alone. The mother is said to be gain to nurse and invalid called the world. This is to do with the theory of consumption. The mother has gone out to consume materialistic items that will in turn keep the consumer-based preservation healthy. If she and the millions of other members of the consumer society fail to do this, the consumer economy will sicken. Stanza six-spot shows how toys and presents mark the childs life rather than love and affection.