Analyse how the text presented a positive OR negative view of humanity and/or society

Discrimination is a powerful force acting in our society today. It is defined as making judgments about a person's character based on unrelated factors such as their religion, sexuality, or the colour of their skin. Over recent years discrimination has steadily been becoming more obsolete, but in the 1960s United States, it was a major issue and one that affected many lives. In his film 'A Single Man', director Tom Ford focuses on the prevalent discrimination against homosexuals at the time to present a negative view of a society which so readily accepted and practised discrimination of gay people, largely due to fear of the unknown. Ford sets his piece during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the peak of America's cold war with the Soviet Union and of their society's hatred of communists, to draw parallels between the hatred of communists and homosexuals. Furthermore, Ford uses visual and verbal film techniques to show the effects of discrimination on central character George Falconer, a gay man living in Los Angeles in 1962. Through dialogue with characters he encounters and through clever use of framing camera shots, Ford uses George's isolation from a mainstream society who refuse to accept him for his sexual orientation as another way to cast a negative light on society.

'A Single Man' focuses on George Falconer, a gay man living in Los Angeles in 1962. After losing his lover in a car accident George struggles with his grief, and deciding to take his own life, lives one last day to the fullest. Eventually, through interactions with several minor characters, George realises he has something to live for and decides to keep living, only to die from a heart attack soon afterwards. The setting of the film is important when considering Ford's negative portrayal of the society George lived in. Ford sets the film during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which provides an appropriate backdrop to the film. Communists, labelled as "reds" were made out by the US government to be completely and irreversibly evil, resulting in their hatred by the majority of American Society at the time. Americans did now understand how these people subjected themselves to the rule of communist leaders, who the US government had given a very negative reputation through propaganda. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, fear and hatred of communists was at its absolute peak. This setting allowed Ford to draw parallels to the way a lot of mainstream American society also hated homosexuals. In the same fashion as the government turned Americans against communists, the churches turned Americans against gays. Homosexuality goes against the teachings of the bible, the core text of Christianity, America's most popular religion whose adherents included most of the country at the time. The churches dehumanised gays in the eyes of their followers, claiming their sexuality was, by the bible, unnatural, meaning that homosexuals themselves were unnatural and abnormal. Gays and communists were cast in a similar light due to powerful groups, the government and the church. By drawing this parallel Ford highlights the ignorance and discriminatory nature of American society at the time - that they could blindly hate so many people, purely based on sexuality, as much as they hated the enemy their country was at war with shows their hateful nature and stupidity to be manipulated by groups in a position of power so easily. By using the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop, Ford presents this society in a negative light based on their hateful nature and stupidity by highlighting their prevalent discrimination against homosexuals and comparing it to their hatred of communists.

Another way in which Ford has portrayed this society in a negative light is by showing the effects of its discrimination on George through the use of visual and verbal film techniques. He cleverly uses the framing of camera shots and uses dialogue to show George's interactions with several minor characters to show the isolation resulting from the constant discrimination he faces from society as a gay man. In the shot where George is in his bathroom using the toilet, he is looking out at the Strunk family, his next door neighbours. Filmed from outside, the fence and window frame his face very tightly, boxing him in with the glass between the world outside and his own little cocoon. Looking out at the Strunks, who are a stereotypical American, heterosexual family with a firm foothold in society, George appears to be on the outside looking in, implying that he is removed from society and forced into being part of an underground culture. By showing that the average American in society would discriminate against George, a character we sympathise with, Ford turns us against this society by making us take George's side and feel sorry for him, as he struggles to be accepted by people like the Strunks. Another example of framing to create the same effect is when George visits his safe deposit box in the bank. He is filmed from behind bars, which create a barrier between him and the outside world. Important to note here is that the bars resemble the bars in either a jail cell or a zoo exhibit. Ford implies that the discrimination against homosexuals was so intense that they could even be compared to criminals or zoo animals - Americans may have felt like gays had either committed a crime against society by being gay, or were abnormal and freakish that they could be put on show like zoo animals. These appalling opinions held by members of the society in question serve to increase our negative opinion of them.

Charly, who is herself in love with George, questions him about whether they could ever have had a serious relationship. When George replies saying that he had Jim, she says "No, no, a relationship", showing that George's friends also would not take his sexuality seriously. Finally, George has a dialogue with Jenny Strunk, the daughter of his next door neighbours in the bank. She shows him her pet scorpion inside a jar called 'the Coliseum', named because they feed the animal by putting other animals inside the Coliseum and watching it kill and eat them. She tells George "my dad thinks we should put you in the Coliseum too. He says you're light in your loafers". Despite not knowing George very well, Mr. Strunk goes as far as to suggest (although we can assume not very seriously) that they kill him. These three pieces of dialogue show us the discrimination George has to deal with in his society every day, making us empathise with him. Ford makes us take the side of George through the use of framing shots and dialogue, making society as a whole the source of George's troubles, showing it in a negative light.

Discrimination is still common in modern society, but was even more of a problem in George's 1962 Los Angeles. As a gay man he experienced it in full force at the hands of a society which refused to accept him purely based on his sexuality. Ford shows us this by setting his piece during the Cuban Missile Crisis and drawing parallels between the hatred of communists and gays by the same people in society. He also uses framing and dialogue to show the first hand effect of discrimination on George, the central character of the film. By using these techniques combined with setting, Ford shows us the blind hatred prevalent in many Americans at the time, casting a negative light on society. As a gay man George experiences society's malicious side in the form of discrimination first hand which is shown in this film, which tells us that a society which looked on themselves as righteous and good, in reality had many bad traits, one of which is prevalent discrimination. We can only hope that discrimination in our society continues to become less and less of a problem as the years go on.

For EACH of the texts, analyse how the writer used symbolism and/or figurative language to develop an important idea.

The idea of death is common to the short stories “The Silk” by Joy Cowley and “The Bath” by Janet Frame. Both writers explore this idea through symbolism and figurative language which creates imagery in the reader’s mind. “The Silk” finds a woman struggling to deal with the death of her husband, but ultimately presents death as hopeful, hinting at the possibility of a pleasant afterlife while “The Bath” find no hope at all as the eponymous bath becomes a symbol for a coffin, and feelings of loneliness and helplessness overwhelm the main character of the story, an old woman who finds herself stuck in the bath. To portray these contrasting perspectives on death, Cowley uses symbolism and Frame uses symbolism, metaphor and simile.

“The Silk” tells the story of Herb and Amy Blackie, in the days preceding Herb’s death. Both know his days are numbered, but while Herb seems to accept his inevitable passing, Amy struggles to come to terms with the fact that she is about to be without her life partner forever. She makes Herb’s pyjamas out of a special silk, an heirloom special to the couple that has belonged to them for many years. It is decorated with pleasant gardens that include “proud birds, irradescent blue” and trees that “swayed towards rippling water”. The blossoming gardens of the silk, bustling with life, are a symbol for their strong, loving relationship, which has itself blossomed over the years. Because of the strength of their relationship, Amy finds it difficult to deal with the idea of death.  However, at the end of the story when Herb has passed away, Cowley hints at the possibility that the couple might find themselves together again in some sort of afterlife. Looking at the silk once more, Amy notices something she has never seen before – “a man” who was “standing with one arm outstretched on the highest span between two islands”. This pattern is new on the silk, and Amy has never seen it before. She then realises that the figure is “beckoning to her”. This figure is symbolic of Herb in the afterlife, beckoning to Amy to join him. In this was the gardens of the silk become the Blackie’s afterlife. This leaves us with a lasting feeling of hope that makes us feel like Amy will eventually be reunited with Herb in the gardens of the silk. We feel like perhaps, death is not the end, but instead a new beginning.

This is, however, not the way Janet Frame sees death in “The Bath”. In the story, an elderly woman living by herself in a Dunedin house after the death of her husband 17 years earlier, decides to have a bath, as she is planning to visit her husband’s grave the next day. Unfortunately, she discovers she cannot get out of the bath and becomes very fearful, realising that there is no one to come to her aid and that if she could not get out herself she would die there. Getting into the bath is portrayed as a frightening experience through a simile, as the rim of the bath is compared to “the edge of a cliff with a deep drop below it into the sea”. The reader is shown a glimpse of life through the woman’s eyes, as tasks that we find simple and routine become difficult and painful. When she has finished cleaning herself, she again begins to feel frightened at the impending task of getting out of the bath. Frame uses a metaphor to show this, saying that “the flannel too, and the soap, were frail flotsam to cling to in hope of being borne to safety”. Again, the tiny bath is compared to the vast expanses of the ocean, as the flannel and soap become floating wreckage to cling to in hope of finding rescue. However, she soon realises she has to try get out of the bath by herself. After many failed attempts, and half an hour of time, she realises “If I shout for help”, that “no one will hear me. No one in the world will hear me”. As she realises she could die in the bath if she is incapable of getting out, she has a “strange feeling of being under the earth, of a throbbing in her head like wheels going over the earth above her”. Thus the bath becomes a symbol for a coffin, as lying in the bath, the woman feels like she is buried underneath the earth like she would be if she was in a coffin. She feels “imprisoned”, as the feelings of loneliness and helplessness overwhelm her. She has been without her husband for 17 long years, and her body has slowly become more and more useless. Ultimately it is implied that the woman would rather be dead than continue living like this, but the loneliness and frightening experiences involved with the bath still cause her to be afraid of the idea of dying.

In these short stories by two of New Zealand’s foremost writers, two sides of the idea of death are explored. Through symbolism and figurative language, “The Silk” explores death as a natural, peaceful, and ultimately hopeful idea, all the while hinting at the possibility of an afterlife in which Herb and Amy can be reunited in. Contrastingly, “The Bath” takes a darker approach, portraying an elderly woman who is so afraid of death that she continues a lonely, helpless existence which culminates in an incident in which, stuck in and unable to get out of her bath, she realises that her death is impending and could come at any time, even right there in that bath, if she could not get out of it. These two very different ways of looking at death provide an interesting contrast to each other , and in the end, it is up to each individual to accept death as it comes, in their own personal way.

Letter From Herb To Amy

My dearest Amy,
It is with fond memories in my heart that I pen this letter. These past days have sapped my strength to the point where I think that the only thing keeping me going is watching you working on the stitches of the pyjamas every day. I don't know how much longer I will live after you have completed them. I am truly sorry if I do not get the chance to say goodbye because of this. The final stitch you make will be the final stitch in the tapestry of my life. My time is done, and I'm only cheating my own fate by trying to fight against it. Like quicksand, the more you struggle, the farther down you go. But do know that I love you. With all my heart I do. Do you remember the night we met? Of course you do, what am I saying. It was back in '42. At the governer's do, don't you recall? I knew from the moment I saw you that we would be together for the rest of our lives. Ahh, such agreeable memories... In any case, my dear, I have noticed you looking at me with a hint of jealousy on your face, probably because of my connection with the silk. I must tell you something. When I saw that silk for the first time, it reminded me of you. All the way home it felt like you were with me. And when I wear those pyjamas into the grave with me, it will feel like you are with me. I must sound like a babbling old fool but that is the truth. But it does pain me to see the silk in this sorry, half-finished state, somewhere in between the original material and the completed design. If I pass away now, it would be an agonising way to go, never seeing or wearing the clothes that let me take you with me when I die.  That is why I'm holding on for all I can to see you finish them, Amy. That's why I might not have the strength to tell you a proper goodbye. So if I can't - goodbye, my dearest. Don't dwell on my end. Think instead of all our fond memories , our good times, and the strength of our undying love. I love you, forever.
Your dearest Herb.

Analyse how language techniques are used in at least two poems to show the poet's attitude or point of view.

The famous New Zealand poet James K. Baxter was renowned for his attitude towards middle class society in the country at the time he was writing. He held what he perceived as the average New Zealand family in low regard, as shown in his poem 'The Ballad Of Calvary Street'. In this poem he has used the language techniques of religious symbolism and  figurative language, and also uses a nameless married couple to present his attitude towards those living in the deadening sterility of the suburbs. Contrastingly, he shows an admiring viewpoint towards the eponymous feline in his poem 'Tomcat', which represents the poet's view, or perhaps idealised view, of himself. The rough-and-ready attitude of the cat disregards the conventions of modern society, instead lending itself to a freer and more down-to-Earth life. The poet shows us this admiration through the language techniques of metaphor and exclamatory statements.

Baxter ironically uses religious symbolism in 'The Ballad Of Calvary Street' to show his critical attitude towards the religiously hypocritical society he saw. He was raised in an Anglican family and so spent the first part of his life believing in organised religion, however he looked at the Catholic Church and saw a group of people following the faith out of duty rather than belief, in his eyes removing the spiritual meaning from organised religion. The poem is set in "Calvary Street", which shares a name with the hill on which Jesus Christ was crucified. This is an ironic comparison between the tribulations of Christ, which symbolise his love and devotion to his followers, and the meaningless lives devoid of love or devotion he sees around him. He makes another allusion to to the crucifixion of Christ, saying there are "trellises where bright as blood the roses bloom." The criss-crossing trellises represent Jesus' cross while the roses represent his blood. He then addresses the unconvincing devotion of the couple, and remarks that every Saturday,
"Mum takes down the family files and cover to cover she thumbs them through," making it sound like a chore. This also refers to the Bible, suggesting that the family looks through their holy text in a similar, dutiful manner rather than gleaming any actual knowledge from the pages. Later on the poet ironically quips that "women bear the cross of woe," meaning that they create problems for themselves by bottling up their emotions and resorting to passive-aggressive actions such as making sure the husband "will get no sugar in his tea." Baxter finds this lifestyle to be petty and tired, summing up the poem with "Why hammer nails?" referring again to Christ's crucifixion. He wonders whether the society he saw was what Jesus had envisioned, begging the question, was his death really worth the lifestyle he saw?

Additionally, Baxter uses figurative language to further the critical attitude he shows in the poem. He uses personification, metaphor and simile to show aspects of his couple's lifestyle which he dislikes. He uses simile, saying that "gnomes like pagan fetishes hang their hats on an empty tomb", referring to garden gnomes, the ultimate in kitsch suburban decor, comparing them to "pagan fetishes" in the way that they are so common in suburban back gardens that it seems as if all of suburbia has a fetish for them. The poet then personifies the gnomes, saying that they "hang their hats on an empty tomb." The empty tomb is a symbol of hope for Catholics and the fact that gnomes are using the tomb as a hatstand debases it to the point of mockery, showing again the faithless worship of the couple. Later on the husband finds a large parsnip in the garden which has a "flange"-like protrusion and shows it to his wife. She sees no humour and Baxter says "when both were young she would have laughed, a goddess in her tartan skirt," showing a common pattern he sees in which previously happy and joyous relationships are strained over the course of marriage by the deadening sterility of suburbia, causing lovelessness in the household. Part of the strain is the aforementioned passive-aggressive behaviour of the women, which is further explored through personification as the wife's "polished oven spits with rage," showing that she imbues this object with all of her anger instead of actually confronting her husband about any disagreements they may have. The poem finishes with a metaphor, Baxter saying that "Yin and Yang won't ever meet," referring to a Chinese symbol of unity as a metaphor for the couple. He suggests that their relationship is lost and they will never love each other as their lives have become too devoid of meaning.

Contrastingly, Baxter shows an admiring viewpoint towards the eponymous feline in his poem "Tomcat", using metaphor to show this. He sees the cat as a representation of himself, or at least his idealised self-image, in that it rejects the rules and conventions of modern society, cutting "across zones of the respectable" and living by its own rules rather than somebody else's. In this way Baxter perceives the cat's life as having meaning as everything it does has a purpose, in contrast to the lives of the couple in 'The Ballad Of Calvary Street.' He notes that the cat's coat has "flowers like round stars, badges of bouts and fights." The wound marks are seen by the poet as admirable in that the cat is sticking up for its own and defending its territory. This is a very masculine image but he then says that the cat "looks  female, Turkish-trousered" referring to a type of pants worn by women. He admires the way in which the cat can seem masculine one moment and feminine the next, not caring about the conventions of 'sticking to one gender' that society presents. The cat's "snake head" shows its rough and rugged appearance, showing its way of life in its gaunt, weathered look. The cat has evidently spent its life in action, fighting, running and otherwise living a life on the run. This unconventional lifestyle is seen by Baxter as the purer form of life when compared to the Calvary Street couple.

The poet further extends this admiration through his use of exclamatory statements. Punctuated with an exclamation mark, they provide a short respite among the chaos of "Tomcat." First he exclaims "He has no dignity, thank God!" which comes as somewhat of a surprise to the first-time reader, as conventionally a lack of dignity is perceived as a negative quality. However Baxter sees it as another part of the cat's free way of life.  Later he says the cat's head is "seamed on top with rough scars: Old Samurai!" The tomcat is likened to a battle-worn, veteran samurai, its years of experience showing on its head. These exclamatory statements are like small outbursts of though from the poet, commentaries not completely related to the poem. They represent Baxter's personal opinion on the tomcat as the poem unfolds. Through these short insights into his mind we clearly see the admiration he feels for the cat.

Baxter shows a disdain and disregard for organised society and religion in 'The Ballad Of Calvary Street' while simultaneously showing immense admiration for the animal in "Tomcat", that lives by its own rules and does everything for a purpose rather than out of duty. The poet's disdain for New Zealand average middle class society is shown through the ironic use of religious symbolism and figurative language in 'The Ballad Of Calvary Street,' while his praise and admiration of the tomcat is shown through metaphor and exclamatory statements in 'Tomcat.' These two poems work well together in showing us the way Baxter thought, and are both representations of the free spirit the poet was.