Search for My Tongue and Presents form My Aunts in Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Search for My Tongue and Presents form My Aunts in Pakistan Essay In this essay I shall compare the ways in which each poem describes being part of two different cultures. The word culture is a religion or a belief you belong to or something shared by people. A culture can be a Somalian culture in which we like to eat rice however I am also a part of British culture which I like to eat fish and chips. In my opinion I think it is important to belong to a culture because it represents you and what you do in your life. If you are part of more than one culture you will have a clash. The moral of a Muslim culture says dont steal furthermore the school culture, kids may tell you to steal. We have been looking at these two poems exploring these themes. The first poem is Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan. This tells the story of a teenage girl who does not feel comfortable in the Pakistani clothes sent to her by her relatives but prefers wearing denim and corduroy, which are her everyday clothes in England. The second poem we have been investigating is Search for My Tongue. It examines about a young adult that forgot about her two tongues which means her two languages. The poet testify that she forgot her native tongue which is Guajarati and knows her foreign tongue on the other hand she feels uncomfortable talking at the same time using both languages. Although the poem is using the same metaphor, one talks about a young teenager who is confused in her own thoughts. The young teenager cannot decide whether she is more British or Pakistani. The other poem called Search debates about mother tongue and foreign tongue. A mother tongue is the language that you were born with alternatively a foreign tongue is a language that you learn by yourself. Even though the poems have many differences, theyre also equivalent because they both use a metaphor, which means when something is represents things we cannot see, hear, touch, taste and smell because they are abstract. An example would be a fire which symbolizes anger or exasperation. However, the metaphors are conflicting in each poem. In Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan it is clothes that show her identity and her culture; whilst in Search for My Tongue it is tongue which represents her language. I will introduce the poem by demonstrating how Moniza Alvi develops that idea that the young teenager is torn apart being half British and half Pakistani through her feelings about clothes. At first, the clothes from her aunts are brilliant; she describes the salwar kameez an exotic peacock blue. An example would be they sent me a salwar kameez peacock blue. In this quotation she is suggesting the peacock an exotic bird that has beauty and confidence which contrasts with her feelings. Blue suggests peace, which contrasts her inner conflict and her low self esteem. An example would be a fractured land. In this extract she is feeling another side of her identity she tries to imagine how it might have been if shed lived in Lahore instead, and wonders would she have been more or less at home or still feeling torn apart from two cultures which are the Pakistani culture and the British culture. However, the clothes can also hurt her, for example, candy stripped bangles snapped drew blood. In this quotation she is sensitive and fragile because it indicates her. The word blood suggests her cultural identity which is Pakistani culture. The word snapped specifies that she has been torn apart from two different cultures. The clothes make her feel awkward for example satin silken top was alien. In this extract the girl in Present feels that she is alien and alien implies she does not belong in this world. The word alienated is a use of oxymoron because alien and sitting room does not go together. The poet us oxymoron because you should feel at home when you are sitting in the sitting room however the girl in Presents she feels uncomfortable sitting in her living room wearing her Pakistani clothes. The clothes remind her that she is half-English, which makes her feel uncomfortable and at the same time, she says the clothes are radiant in the wardrobe. Even though she isnt wearing them, they seem full of light and beauty compared with her other things. She is drawn to the flourishing colours. The girl in Presents form My Aunts in Pakistan feels that she would be more relaxed in her everyday English clothes. An example would be I longed for denim and corduroy. In this quotation she is showing that she really likes the British clothes. Denim and corduroy symbolizes British clothes. They are dull and normal unlike beautiful satin silken clothes. This tells us that her Pakistani clothes which are stunning contrast with her lifeless British clothes which were bought from MS. As her English friend dont like her Pakistani clothes, for example, did not impress her school friend. In this extract the English people are shown not value Indian culture. The girl internalises this idea. Her English friend does not like the bright colours of Indian clothes she likes the dull English clothes. However, the girl in Presents admires the delicate way the clothes have been made. An example would be I admire the mirror work. In this extract she tries to see her identity in the Asian clothes drown to her beauty. It also shows her mixed feelings about her heritage; she loves it and hates it at the same time. The opening part of Search for My Tongue is that the girl feels like she is making you imagine having a voice. An example of this would be I have lost my tongue. In this extract the tongue represents her language she has lost part of herself. Tongue sounds more physical and more painful. This is similar to Presents because it connects to the candy stripped bangles she is sensitive and fragile which connects to Searchso both of the poems we can see that they are in pain. In Search for My tongue a powerful image shows the awkwardness of having two languages. An example would be two tongues in your mouth. In this quotation she feels awkward in her mouth. As two tongues are in her mouth she feels muddle up and confused as she cant talk English and Guajarati at the same time. This is similar to Presents because the girl feels that her clothes have clung to her. It connects with Search as both show awkwardness. Also, they both suggest that the main characters have to make a choice between two cultures. You cant have both. As the poet feels it is impossible to combine both languages. For example, you could not use them both together. In this extract she suggests having two tongues puzzle you. This is similar to Presents for the reason that the girl does not feel right with Pakistani clothes she likes wearing her dull every day clothes which are denim and corduroy. The poet sometimes feels she is losing her native language. An example would be I thought I spit it out. In this quotation she feels that she is rejecting her native language and she is feeling that she is losing it. In contrasts with Presents she does not feel comfortable wearing her Pakistani clothes. Both of the poems have similarities which they are both lost and dont know what culture they are from. The two poems are also different in their use of structure which means when something is laid out or it makes something clear. Sometimes, structure is hidden. It is important to understand the structure because the poet lays out the poem so it emphasis the poem. An example would be when the poet uses rhythm and rhyme. We notice that then the other normal rules. In Presents Form My Aunts in Pakistan, she uses symmetrical structure she does not follow a path she follows her thoughts and memories as the girl is confused. The poet shows the flow of her thoughts as how one memory triggers another. First of all the poet starts of talking about her salwar kameez. Then she goes of and talks about her mothers jewellery then she goes back to her birth place which triggers her thoughts about her real culture which is Pakistani culture.