The TED video above is a rather inspiring video, one that portrays William Kamkwamba’s struggle to feed himself and his family. At the young age of 14, he faces the challenge of his life; to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger in a time of severe famine. In order to extricate himself from the problem, William pursues him education with a fierce passion, especially in physics. It was then that he stumbled upon the mechanics of building a windmill. It was a glimmer of hope in his life, for it could pump water and generate electricity. The pumping of water allows for irrigation, providing for water for his crops. However, he had no materials at hand, and had to gather bits from the scrapyard. Coupled with his uncanny ingenuity, William managed to build a windmill, which he later upgraded it with switches and a circuit breaker.

Rather than focusing on William’s life story, I believe that this video has something deeper to share with us, that inherently, all of us have the potential to succeed as long as we are determined, hardworking and to never give up despite failures.

Difficulty rating: *

Children in the Darkness

In this post, I will be moving on to the more in-depth analysis on Children in the Darkness. The poem will be analyzed accordingly based on Point of View, Situation and Setting, Language/Diction and Personal Response.

I. Speaker/POV

The speaker is evidently the author of the poem, who has a bird eye view/image of the situation. He relates his experiences in war to the poem, to depict the sad fates of the children in war. Essentially, his views are mostly based on social life, with a slight hint of politics.

II. Situation & Setting

The poem could have a few settings, depending on how you look at it. We can regard it as an allusion of the author’s war experiences in Vietnam, triggered by the news report and related to in the poem. On the other hand, we can regard it as a depiction of the child in the news report, with a few of his war experiences added in.

In the poem, it depicts the lives of children in war; how they are raised to fight and die eventually. It creates a sense of hopelessness, which is introduced in increasing levels. Some signs of contrast can be observed as well, more prominently from the third and fourth stanza.

Stanza form: Quantrain

III. Language & Diction

In the poem, the author utilizes several figurative writing devices to make the poem flow as well as to land emphasis on certain parts of the poem.

“There are children in the darkness

Who have not seen the light

There are children in the darkness

Who someone will teach to fight”

There is a use of pun in this stanza, whereby the words darkness and light represent something other than their literal meanings. The denotation of darkness would mean wickedness or evil. Hence, it hints at the background and quality of life of the children in war. These children are surrounded by soldiers, and with no one to teach them, they have learnt to survive the hard way. Other than that, the word light means radiance. However, the word light in the poem can mean happiness and salvation for them. Thus, there is a contrast between darkness and light.

“Chalk and blackboards will not be

To this door there is no key

From this life they can not flee

And these children are not free”

In this stanza, there is a use of metaphor, such as “To this door there is no key”. It depicts the life of the children in war and their sufferings as a door, whilst the key represents help and solutions. However, it states clearly in the poem that there is no key, which gives off a sense of pessimism, showing that there is no help for these children.

“Could we simply light a candle

Could we give them half a chance

Could we teach them how to read

Could we teach them how to dance”

This stanza compromises of mostly rhetorical questions, whereby the author questions the readers. For example, “Could we teach them how to dance” allows the author to question the reader, and makes the reader empathize with the children trapped in war. Other than that, there is also a use of pun. For example, “light a candle” represents something else other than its literal meaning. In the poem, it means to light up the child’s path, and give him guidance.

“Or will a war consume them

Their body and their soul

Will their life and blood be poured

Down some endless thirsty hole”

This stanza is rich in the use of metaphor and puns. In the first line of the stanza, the word “consume” means to devour something. It is an especially strong word, and in this poem, is used as a pun. Other than its literal meaning, this poem uses the word “consume” to describe how many children are being engulfed and wrecked by war, mentally and physically. Also, there is a use of metaphor in the third line of the stanza. There is a direct comparison between the life and blood of the children between water. In the poem, it is used to depict how the lives of children are easily lost. Furthermore, the phrase “endless thirsty hole” is another example of metaphor as it compares war with an endless and thirsty hole. It shows that war is endless and forever consuming life.

IV. Personal response

This poem depicts the hopelessness and life of the children trapped in war time. Through the use of metaphor and puns, it evokes reactions and sympathy from the reader. In the poem, it describes the sufferings of the children, and contrasts it with the lives of normal, school children. Personally, I feel that this poem is especially important in reminding us of the impacts of war. Many children are being sacrificed and consumed by war, when they could have a better life through education. When reading the poem, I can empathize with the children in war, and appreciate everything that I have now.

Difficulty rating: *

Children in the Darkness

In order to attain full understanding of a poem, it is essential that we can relate and understand the background and inspiration of the author.

Below is my agenda for this report:

· Inspiration for this poem

· Critical analysis of this poem based on the author’s inspiration [Theme: Conflict]

I. Inspiration for the poem

Name of author: Henry M Bechtold

Inspirations:

· Vietnam war of 1967-1969

o Quote, “I was in Vietnam in 1967 - 68 and again in 1969. I go back often because my soul lives in Vietnam and I go back to visit it from time to time.”

· News report: Image of a child in the midst of a war

o Quote, “I looked at the TV and the news was on. I did not know what the news reader was saying but in the background was a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle. This poem flowed out. The words just came to me and I typed as fast as I could to get it all down.”

II. Critical Analysis on the conflicts and meanings of this poem

This poem is certainly one of anguish, felt for the innocent children stranded in a land filled with war and death. In the poem, the author uses some contrasting ideas and lives of children around the world. He compared between the lives of the children in the war, and the lives of children living in peaceful countries.

“There are children in the darkness

Who have not seen the light

There are children in the darkness

Who someone will teach to fight”

In the first stanza, the author foresees the fate of children in the war. In the last line of the first stanza, the author gives the reader a hint to the fate of the children, where they will be raised to fight in the war for survival. Trapped in a war-like situation whereby survival is compromised, these children have since lived in the darkness. They are unable to see the light, which in this case refers to happiness and bliss.

“Chalk and blackboards will not be

To this door there is no key

From this life they can not flee

And these children are not free”

The poem then transits to a sense of hopelessness. In the first line, it says that the children will not be taught in schools, and there is no way out of their plight. This can be inferred from the second line, whereby the author notes that there is no key to their door. This statement can be backed up by the following two lines, which states that the children will not be able to flee from their fate, and are not free.

“Could we simply light a candle

Could we give them half a chance

Could we teach them how to read

Could we teach them how to dance”

VS

“Or will a war consume them

Their body and their soul

Will their life and blood be poured

Down some endless thirsty hole”

In the third and fourth stanzas, there appears to be a contrast between the children trapped in a war-like situation and children having a proper education. In the third stanza, it begins with past tense, implying the impossibility of the children in war having a proper education and receiving guidance. It elaborates more on the theme hopelessness, and in increasing levels. In the fourth stanza, the author starts with “or”, thereby showing that there is a stark contrast between them. Compared to stanza three, stanza fourth portrays the harsh reality of the children in the war. They shall be consumed by war, physically and mentally. The endless thirsty hole refers to war in itself. Its endlessness and craving for death and destruction.

“Back into the darkness

From which there is no flight

Back into the darkness

Into which there shines no light”

In the last stanza, the author concludes the poem with a feeling of desolation. The stanza, in terms of the message and meaning, resembles stanza two. Hence, it strengthens the poem’s main theme and ends off in a mournful and sad tone.

Source: http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html

This video is a geography ace project done by Lim Jing Yu (16) and Samson Sim of Hwa Chong Institution, 2P2. Through this project, we hope to highlight the importance of wind turbine by introducing its benefits and limitations. It is crucial that viewers take note of what this video has to say and play a part in saving the Earth

That's my geography ace video that I have done with Samson:) Enjoy!