Meditation on Yellow by Olive Senior Essay

Olive Senior is a Jamaican poet who explores Caribbean history. Her poetry often conveys her displeasure of closure and the suffering Caribbean people endured. conjecture on Yellow explores the colonization and exploitation process carried out by the Europeans. This poem strong conveys Senior discontentment as it relates to the exploitation of the land and the Amerindian tribe. It through the single-valued function of symbolism, manner of speaking and repetition the brutality of colonization is conveyed. Symbolism is used to portray the harsh reality of colonization. In Meditation on Yellow yellow is emblematic of the innocence of the Amerindians and the purity in their mind and soul upon encountering the Whites. This is far-famed in the formulate but we were peaceful then child-like in the yellow dawn of our innocence. The fact that these Amerindians had no idea of what was to come their way and that they offered the best of what they had to the Europeans makes this encounte r even more sad and advantageous.Furthermore, yellow is symbolic of sickness and infection. This is reflect in the minds of the Europeans as it was infected with the yearning for wealth and power. Due to this infection the Amerindian we glum into slaves, the land was exploited and the Europeans began colonization. The use of symbolism conveys the extremes which these two set of people existed, the Amerindian being kind and subtle and the Europeans being cold-hearted and greedy. Seniors use of language is certainly a powerful tool in expressing her displeasure as it relates to the enslavement of the Amerindians. Throughout the poem she uses sarcasm and humor which highlights her mocking and belittling of the Europeans. The phrase had I known I would have brewed up some yellow fever grass and arsenous oxide is an example of sarcasm. In this phrase in that respect is a contrast between the gesture of hospitality of heathenish which is the fever grass and the bitter sinister inten tions of killing the Europeans with the arsenic poison.The sarcasm continues in the phrase in spite of the differences in our skins, our piss was exactly the same shade of yellow. This highlights that regardless of ethnic and racial differences we are all(a) the same. The striking, crude comparison stresses the need for equality and for readers to take note. Furthermore Olive Senior educates us that these Amerindian displayed passive voice resistance as they deliberately burnt the bread of the Europeans since they we treated badly. The phrase for which management apologizes certainly indicates they there was no remorse or sorry for these actions. The use of sarcasm highlight Seniors abhorrence towards the colonization process and her view on the Europeans.Repetition is also used to place emphasis on the greedy and materialistic nature of the Europeans. This type of repetition is known as anaphora. The delimit but it was prosperous in your mind gold in your eyes gold in the c rown .. gold the prise highlights the obsession these Europeans had with gold and their gluttonous nature. Moreover, their unreasonable wants and desires are also highlighted through repetition. This is noted in the line want it strong wan it long want it black want it black want it blue jet want it dread.Additionally there was repetition in the in line fluid was you armor money the cross of your Lord silver the bullet I bite This repetition emphasizes the many different forms of silver and the destruction that the silver symbolizes . The silver was representative of Iron Age Technology and represents the Europeans armed forces superiority over the stone age Amerindians. Collectively the repetition of these lines alerts readers of the suffering these Amerindians endured to please the cold hearted Europeans. The use of these techniques clearly depicts Seniors displeasure and the unfortunate struggles of colonization.