"The rebel" by D.J. Enright, and "Festival"" , by Kenneth Wee.
'The Rebel' and 'Festivals'
"The Rebel" is written from a third person view. The poet is quite removed from his own poem. He cites a few situations, and is purposely adding an ironic twist to the poem, even as he is relating their behaviour in the given situations. He is also kind of stereotyping rebels, showing only one aspect of their behaviour. He is taking it as a given point that rebels almost always act the same, which is why he is alluding to this certain behaviour of theirs. The main focus of the poem is to show the difference between rebels and the other members of the general public. The poem is written with a clear point in mind to make, that is-to emphasize the need that society has for rebels, for even as the are making life tricky and, occasionally, quite unpleasant for others, rebels are required to maintain a continuous flow of new life and creativity-some varying ways of doing normal things that may be better or can just add some spice and additional interest.
"Festival", however, is written from a first person view, as seen from the use of 'I' and 'We' in the poem. It is also very much like a personal recount, the persona relates his own experiences and feelings during a Chinese festival, probably the New Year, for lion dancers and spring couplets [used as good luck charms to usher in a good year ahead (only used by the Chinese)] are mentioned. The focus of the poem is the differences, and yet ironic 'fake' similarities between the persona's generation and his/her grandparents, such as both generations have 'door gods', but the door gods for the older generation are for religious/protection purposes, while the door gods for the younger generation are merely their idols, and do not really have any special significance. The poet apparently means the obvious difference between the 'door gods' as a mocking pun. Although the persona and his grandparents are only about two generations apart, they seem to have a totally different conception of
"The Rebel" is written from a third person view. The poet is quite removed from his own poem. He cites a few situations, and is purposely adding an ironic twist to the poem, even as he is relating their behaviour in the given situations. He is also kind of stereotyping rebels, showing only one aspect of their behaviour. He is taking it as a given point that rebels almost always act the same, which is why he is alluding to this certain behaviour of theirs. The main focus of the poem is to show the difference between rebels and the other members of the general public. The poem is written with a clear point in mind to make, that is-to emphasize the need that society has for rebels, for even as the are making life tricky and, occasionally, quite unpleasant for others, rebels are required to maintain a continuous flow of new life and creativity-some varying ways of doing normal things that may be better or can just add some spice and additional interest.
"Festival", however, is written from a first person view, as seen from the use of 'I' and 'We' in the poem. It is also very much like a personal recount, the persona relates his own experiences and feelings during a Chinese festival, probably the New Year, for lion dancers and spring couplets [used as good luck charms to usher in a good year ahead (only used by the Chinese)] are mentioned. The focus of the poem is the differences, and yet ironic 'fake' similarities between the persona's generation and his/her grandparents, such as both generations have 'door gods', but the door gods for the older generation are for religious/protection purposes, while the door gods for the younger generation are merely their idols, and do not really have any special significance. The poet apparently means the obvious difference between the 'door gods' as a mocking pun. Although the persona and his grandparents are only about two generations apart, they seem to have a totally different conception of