HEIR CONDITIONING

by M SHANmughalingam

Grand dad did you breathe

before air cons were invented

was it hard staying

alive without modern inventions?

Grandma weren’t you flustered

as you fluttered with paper fans?

Could you communicate before

faxes and long distance calls

became basic necessities?

Grandchild we lived

before your age. Because

of our ignorance,

we did not know

pollution, stress, traffic jams

destruction of forests, streams and hills

we feared God and nature

now nature fears you and

money is your new God.

Setting

The poem is written in a twentieth century setting as there are references to modern gadgets such as air cons and faxes. The problems mentioned in the poem also allude to current problems faced by today generation. These include stress, pollution and traffic jams. The dialogue could have taken place in the living room or any place that allow two parties to discuss certain issues.

Persona

There are two personas in the poem. They are the grandparents and the grandchild.

Theme

The poem is concerned about the price one has to pay for progress. With the development, one has to face many problems that can affect the quality of life. The younger generation has to face greater challenges in life because they have many wants. The poet highlights the challenges in the present world and attributes them to our own greed and materialistic ways.

Modernisation comes with a price

Differences in time between two generations

Spirituality vs. Materialism

Traditional vs. Modernisation

Wisdom vs. Ignorance

Moral values

1. We must love our environment.

2. We must be God-fearing.

3. We must not be greedy and materialistic.

4. We must use our knowledge for our own good.

5. We must be grateful with what we have.

6.Progress and development bring about advantages and disadvantages.

7. Present days values are different from yesterday.

8. Greed can lead to destruction.

9. The younger generation has different values.

10. Preserve the environment.

11. We must pay a high price for development.

Structure

This poem consists of two stanzas.

First stanza - 9 lines

Secopnd stanza - 9 lines

Tone

This poem has a rather serious and sarcastic tone. This is because the use of all these technological appliances that are supposed to make our lives more comfortable is actually destroying the world we live in.

The tone of the grandchild (line 1-9) poses question. The tone is puzzle. The grandchild saw nothing good of those times. The tone here is “ignorant, and looking down”. Blatant with a series of stupid questions. The tone is anticipation of trivial answers.

The tone of the Grandparents (line 10-18) reflect a “more experienced” that the grandchild did not have the privilege and contrarily should not look down towards.

The tone argues that despite the grandchild‟s “backwards” view towards them, wonderful experience is evident at the time. The tone here also suggests wisdom, as a sharp contrast to the ignorance.

The tone here suggests their perception of wrongful ideas followed by youngsters today.

Alliteration

Alliteration is used to reflect the sound of the wind from her grandmother‟s paper fans The repetition of similar consonants at the beginning of words put close to each other.

Example: Consonant: /f/

Grandma weren‟t you flustered

As you fluttered with paper fans?

Pun

Pun is used as an irony as the usage of air-conditioner is causing harm to the nature as we enjoy the cool air.

Example: Heir conditioning and air-conditioning

Heir

An heir is a person who will legally receive money, property or a title from another person, especially an older member of the same family, when that other person dies; someone who now has the responsibility for dealing with a problem or situation that existed or was created earlier.

Condition/ Conditioning (INFLUENCE)

It is to train or influence a person or animal mentally so that they do or expect a particular thing without thinking about it.