Migrants Bruce Dawe Poem Analysis

PHYTHICAL JOURNEYS ARE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE

A physical journey is an act of travelling from one destination to another, which may seem like a rudimentary process at first, but are often far more intricate. Physical journeys may consist of challenges but may lead to a vast range of positive experiences to benefit the traveller. The two poems, ‘Migrants’ and ‘Drifters by Bruce Dawe and related text Journey to freedom by Hai-Van Nguyen are all successful texts which cleverly conveys the travellers journey’s resulting in a positive experience.

The first poem is Migrants by Bruce Dawe, which depicts a group of helpless migrants who are struggling to integrate into their new country. The idea of pjs being a positive experience is captured
in this poem as the migrants eventually become accepted into the community after facing a number of hardships. Evidence of positivity in the migrant’s journey is when the children “less often came home red-eyed from school” This alludes to the fact that the children once faced many difficulties such as bullying. Imagery and descriptive language was employed to emphasize the early obstacles faced by the young travellers. With the effective use to language techniques, it is indicated that the children and now facing less difficulties and are having a positive experience to finally be able to fit in with their peers. The migrant’s positive experience is further enforced with the quote “and they were…” This gives the readers the notion that the migrants finally arrived to their new homeland after a rough journey. The use of the ellipsis creates a pause to also suggest the unpredictable outcomes to be faced in the journey. From the quote provided it is apparent that the migrants have faced a difficult time travelling to the destination but the outcome was positive that they have made it to the new land safely. Another positive experience faced by the Migrants, is the fact that they were gradually becoming accepted into the community. This is evident in the quote “In which earth and water were being blent as it pulsed up in rich wells from underground”. Imagery and metaphor is used to reveal that the journey for the Migrant’s has ended as a positive and multicultural experience, in which the migrants and the locals accustomed to each other to form a national identity. From the examples and techniques used, it is seen that the Migrant’s journey first started off as a difficult one, but eventually accepted into the community benefiting them as good, learning experience for them.

The next poem is ‘Drifters’ also by Bruce Dawe, and it follows the life a very transient and nomadic family who are constantly fleeting from home to home, in search to find a better life. Throughout the journey, the family has endured many difficult hardships but did not give up because they still had hope of a positive future. Some examples of the challenges they have encountered is when the children were “getting wildly for no reason”. Paradox is used to highlight the family’s mixed perspectives and show that physical journeys in can be very unpredictable. Despite the fact that the journey stimulated mixed feelings, the kids still managed to remain strong and stay sane. The next quote is interconnected and shows the emotional challenges tackled by the children. “The oldest girl was in tears because she was happy here” and green tomatoes”. Imagery and descriptive language is demonstrated throughout the first quote to emphasize the constant rush of the family and the distress the family has to face, as they were not ready to leave yet. This quote leads to the picking of the “green tomatoes” in which a metaphor was cleverly utilized to suggest that the children were not ready to leave just as green tomatoes are not ready to be eaten or harvested. The obstacles and challenges dealt by the family are manifestations of the journeys complications before ending positively. In the last line, “make a wish tom, make a wish”. Repetition is used to signify an end to the long journey and highlight the sentimental aspect of it. After experiencing a long restless journey, the family could have possibly came to an end resulting in a better future for them..

In the related text, ‘Journey to freedom’ by Hai-Van Nguyen, embarks on the author’s parent’s journey from war-torn Vietnam to Australia as refugees look for a better life.
Throughout their journey they have faced some obstacles and barriers, which are manifested in the text through the use of language techniques. An example is evident in the quote “My parents have learnt that language barriers can be insurmountable as giant waves”. The use of simile highlights Hai-Van’s parent’s struggle to communicate with others due to their language disparity. This wasn’t as bad as it seems because it gives them a chance to open up a new learning experience which helps to benefit them throughout their journey, making a lot of it much less difficult. The repetition of “you” and use of inclusive language is very evident though out the text and that is because invite readers to experience the journey to give them a better insight and understanding of physical journeys. In the very last line, the author encourages the readers that, “we should listen to their words, hear their voices and document their stories”, Inclusive language is used to evoke a sense of community between the migrants, author and reader. From this text it is revealed that the author is tryinwg to cajole other people into being more thoughtful and that physical journey’s may have positive influences on other people as well as the
travellers.

From the Dawe poems and related text, we may learn that physical journeys may have many different positive outcomes regardless of all the challenges and obstacles entailed to the journey.