From looking closely at the two poems 'Nothings Changed' by Tatumkhulu Afrika and 'Charlotte O'Neil's song' by Fiona Farrell, it can be seen that both poems protest about the inequality of rich and poor. However it could also be suggested that 'Nothings Changed' is also protesting about racism. 'Nothings Changed' tell us of the poverty and struggle of the black people versus the distinguished lives of the whites. 'Charlotte O'Neil's song' shows a young girl servant who suffers inequality at the hands of her rich employer.
This poem, unlike 'Nothings Changed', does offer some hope for the future as the girl is to move to a better life. The first poem I am going to look at is 'Nothings Changed' by Tatumkhulu Afrika. The poem shows a society where black and white and thus rich and poor are divided. In South Africa at the time this poem was written there were laws called the Apartheid system which kept black and whites apart.
The area of South Africa where the poem is set is Cape Town where the blacks live in poverty, while the whites live a sophisticated life. The poet in the poem is protesting about the inequality that existed within this situation.The poem starts by showing the poor conditions that the black citizens are expected to live in at, 'District Six'. The poet gives the impressions that this area is run down and is a slum the poet shows this by saying 'seeding grasses' and 'cans trodden on'. The poet also says 'no board says it is' this means that the whites haven't said where the black people should live but everyone knows that is where they are supposed to live. The poet shows is anger of the inequality by saying that every part of his body resents the inequality within his own country.
In the third verse of the poem we see the white's area of Cape Town where there is complete contrast to the deprived black residential area of the town. The are is 'brash with glass' with bright lights as a simile tells that are, 'flaring like a flag'. The whole area the poet tells us has 'Port Jackson trees' and 'Haute Cuisine' and makes the black area look like a slum. There is a 'guard' to keep unwanted black people out. Again the poet says that, 'no sign says it is' a white area but due to the inequality of the area its obvious.As the poet looks into an up market restaurant he notices the sophistication within where there is 'white.
.. inen' and a 'single rose' on each table. In contrast we see the type of place that the blacks are supposed to eat a 'working man's cafe ' that sells 'bunny chows' to be eaten from a 'plastic table's top'. The contrast here is obvious and the poet shows us this way of pointing out the inequality under the Apartheid system that was in operation at the time.
In the final verse of the poem we see the angel of the poet who has suffered years of discrimination within Cape Town, South Africa. He says that he wishes he had 'a stone, a bomb, to shiver down the glass'.Here he has enough of the inequality, where the comparisons of the two situations are obvious and extremely unfair. He then gives us repetition in the line 'Nothings Changed' which stresses the fact that even since he was a boy the situation hasn't got any better and the blacks are still treated as second class in their own country. The other poem I am going to write about is 'Charlotte O'Neil's song' by Fiona Farrell.
'Charlotte O'Neil's song' can be seen as similar to 'Nothing's changed' as both poems show inequality of rich versus poor, where the rich are allowed to treat the poor disgraceful.We see in 'Charlotte O'Neil's song' how a young girl is treated badly by her rich employer. The girl has to work hard while the employer lives a life of luxury, as in the rich versus poor situation in 'Nothing's Changed. ' Charlotte says, 'I scrubbed till my hands were raw.
' We se how the pampered employer 'dined at eight and slept till late. ' We also see in the poem that the employer talks to Charlotte in a horrible way. The rich employer talks to charlotte as if she is lower than he is he says that 'the rich man earns his castle and the poor deserves the gate.After the second verse of the poem the tone changes as Charlotte does not seem to be able to accept her position any longer. She says that she will no longer have to be taking the bad behavior from her employer; 'I'll never say 'sir' or 'thank you ma'am and I'll never curtsey any more.
' Charlotte can now be seen to have New Hope, as she is to move to a new country where she thinks she will have a better life. Charlottes shows her bitterness towards her employer in the repetition of this line 'you can open your own front door'Both poems can be seen to show inequality of rich and poor, with 'Nothing's Changed' also showing the inequality of racism. We see in the poem that there is little hope for the future as 'Nothing's Changed' in the country since the poet was a boy. The anger of the poet is made obvious as he wishes, via a metaphor, that he could destroy the Apartheid System. However, in 'Charlotte O'Neil's Song' we do see some hope for the future, as charlotte is to move to a better life.
In this poem we clearly see the narrow-minded attitude of the rich employer.
