LEAVING BY M G VASSANJI

      M G Vassanji is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, a memoir of East Africa, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He is twice winner of the Giller Prize (1994, 2003) for best work of fiction in Canada; the Governor General's Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize. The Assassin's Song was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Prize, the Writers Trust Award, and India's Crossword Prize. His work has been translated into Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and Swahili. Vassanji has given lectures worldwide and written many essays, including introductions to the works of Robertson Davies, Anita Desai, and Mordecai Richler, and the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. In June 2015, MG Vassanji was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts. (Photo: Mark Reynolds)

      M G Vassanji was born in Nairobi, Kenya and raised in Tanzania. He received a BS from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, before going to live in Canada. He is a member of the Order of Canada and has been awarded several honorary doctorates. He lives in Toronto, and visits East Africa and India often.

Upanga had the highest concentration of Asian communities within Dar es Salaam, with residents of Indian and Arabian descent. These areas are also famous for the colonial houses and mansions built in Indian, Arabic and European styles.

Synopsis

Leaving is set in Tanzania. It is a story of a woman  who raises her five children alone after the early death of her husband.After her  two elder daughters get married and the eldest son acquires a job,the mother focuses on the two younger ones, Aloo and the youngest (the narrator). Aloo is in his final year in school and the girl is in university.She pins all her hopes on them that they will have a better education.She sells their store and moves them to Upanga.The place is quieter and provides a better environment for them to study.The return of Mr Datoo, a former teacher inspires Aloo to think of furthering his education in America. He wants study medicine. He starts writing to American universities to get the necessary information .He is not keen on studying agriculture in a local university.He is offered a place with a scholarship in the California Institute of Technology. However,his mother would not allow him to accept the offer,citing finances and fear of losing him as the reasons.Finally,on the advice of a school officer,the mother relents and accepts the idea of allowing Aloo to leave home for a different sky.The narrator,for the first time,sees her mother as a person and not just as her mother-someone who has always thought only of the children's welfare.Aloo's first letter was a graphic enthusiastic account of London but to the mother,she is uncertain of his return.

Plot
1. Exposition: Mother and her two children move to Upanga
2. Rising action: Aloo writes to universities in America
3. Climax: Aloo is offered a scholarship to study in America and discusses the offer with his mother
4. Falling action: The family goes to see Me Velji and mother allows Aloo to go to America
5. Resolution: Aloo leaves for America 

Character and characteristics
Main characters:

 

1. Aloo

• youngest child in the family-doing his final year in school.
• a good student who does well in school examinations,straight As.
• is inspired by a former teacher who returns from America for a visit to think o furthering his education overseas in America.
• not keen on studying agriculture at a local university
• diligent-writes to universities to get necessary information for further studies
• ambitious-wants to study medicine
• extremely happy when offered a scholarship to study in California Institute of Technology
• spirited and courageous-willing to do part-time work while studying
• tries to convince other that he will definitely return to his homeland after his studies
• obedient-willing to accept mother's decision-does not speak about overseas education and prepares to study agriculture locally
• could not suppress his excitement when mother finally allows him to go overseas
• writes from London to mother-letter so full of excitement creates doubts in mother's mind about the future.

2. Mother

• mother of the five children and runs a store in Uhuru Street-single-handedly raises five children after early death of husband
• Aloo's mother became a widow at thirty-three and had refused ever since to marry for fear that the next husband would ask her to take her children to the 'boarding'
• thinks of the children's future-willing to sacrifice for them -closes down the store and moves family to a quieter part of town-better environment for studying-a big change for her
• ambitious about her children's education-wants them to do well
• afraid to let youngest son go for overseas education-afraid he might not return home,take a European wife or forget his roots
• at the same time wise or understanding about situation-children have to grow up and leave home one day-but hopes to hold on to them as long as possible
• loving and caring-take steps to ensure youngest son leave for further studies with a happy frame of mind
• after receiving letter from Aloo who writes letter from London-feels unsure that Aloo will return to hometown in Tanzania

Minor characters
1. Aloo's sibling (narrator)

• second youngest in family and studying in a local university
• supportive of and understands Aloo's needs to study overseas and not in local university
• loving and caring of mother and understands mother's refusal to allow Aloo to study overseas
• observant-observes mother's face and sees her as a person and not just as their mother-recalls mother's worried unsmiling face looking after them in her own

2. Mr Datoo

• a former teacher in Aloo's school-came back from America for a visit
• it was his visit that inspired Aloo to think about his future-of studying overseas in America

3. Mr Velji

• a school officer who gives an objective comment about Aloo's studies overseas
• knows that Aloo will get a good education but fears mother may lose a son
• has an understanding look when he reads the content of Aloo's letter from London

Themes
1. Mother's love
2. Separation from loved ones
3. Seizing opprtunities
4. Sacrifice/Selflessness
5. The importance of education
6. Fear of the unfamiliar
7. courage and strength to stand up to one's principles
8. determination brings success
9. parental sacrifice for family members
10. .letting go of family members to let them become independent
11.  willingness to gain new experience and exposure

THEMES  AND EVIDENCES FROM THE STORY

1. Separation

 The story deals with the theme of separation between Mother and her children.

- “And why do you want to go away, so far from us? What kind of son are you? You want to leave me and go away to a foreign place? Won’t you miss us? Are we so unimportant to you? If something happens…” (page 34)

-“But if you send him, you will lose your son… It is a far place, America.” (page 37)

 Mother is sad having her children leave home.

-My two sisters got married, and Mother was sad to see them leave home. (page 31)

 Mother finally lets Aloo go to America with a heavy heart after a lot of thinking.

-“If you go away to the moon, my son, what will happen to me?” Mother asked, smiling. (page 38) -“Promise me… promise me that if I let you go, you will not marry a white woman.” (page 40)

-“And promise me that you will not smoke or drink.” (page 40)

2. Ambitiousness

 Aloo wants to study medicine instead of studying agriculture.

-He wanted to study medicine, but they gave him a place to study agriculture. Aloo was not interested in farming; he wanted to live and work in the city. (page 33)

-“Agriculture?” He laughed. “They can forget it!” (page 33)

-Mother was not made of stone. She knew how Aloo felt about studying agriculture. (page 36)

 Aloo considers studying abroad instead of just studying in a local university.

-All through the rest of that year he wrote to universities in America, finding their names in books. (page 32)

 Aloo still wants to further his education in America even though he has no money.

-Of course, it was expensive, but could he perhaps win a scholarship to pay for it? (page 32)

-Aloo’s hopes began to look unreal. She was right; he would need much more money than that.

(page 34)

-“Can’t we borrow some money?” he asked. “I’ll work in America. Yes, I’ll work in a restaurant or something – I know students can do that. I’ll send the money back!” (page 34)

3. The importance of education

 The story revolves around studying and continuing education.

-Firoz, my older brother, did not finish his last year at school, and no one was surprised at that. He was working in the office of a big shop. (page 31)

-By now I was at university, living there during the week and coming home at weekends. (page 32)

-All through the rest of that year he wrote to universities in America, finding their names in books. (page 32)

 Mother wants her youngest two children study hard instead working early.

-Mother’s hopes were now on the youngest two of us, Aloo and me. She wanted us to study hard and not spend time working in our store. (page 31)

 Aloo is excited at the prospect of continuing his studies in America.

-Could he perhaps get into an American university? (page 32)

-All through the rest of that year he wrote to universities in America, finding their names in books. (page 32)

-Could he get there? Was he good enough? (page 33)

-Aloo could not believe it at first. He read the letter again and again. Then he asked me to read it. When he was sure there was no mistake, he was so happy. (page 33)

-“It’s something, isn’t it?” whispered Aloo. He could not hide the excitement in his voice. “They teach everything there,” he said. “They send rockets to the moon…” (page 38)

4. Selflessness

 Mother rather works alone by herself at the store without the help of her two remaining children.

 -She wanted us to study hard and not to spend time working in our store. (page 31).

 Mother does not remarry so that her children can be under her care.

-In the years after his death several men asked her to marry them, but she always refused to marry again, because of us. Children of a first marriage cannot stay with their mother in a second marriage; they are sent to a children’s home. (page 38)

 Mother finally lets Aloo study abroad even though she wants him by her side.

-“Promise me… promise me that if I let you go, you will not marry a white woman.” (page 40)

5. Fear of the unknown

 Mother and Mr. Velji fears that Aloo will not return once he goes to study in America.

-“If you go away to the moon, my son, what will happen to me?” Mother asked, smiling. (page 38) -“Promise me… promise me that if I let you go, you will not marry a white woman.” (page 40)

-“But if you send him, you will lose your son… It is a far place, America.” (page 37)

  Mother worries that Aloo will pick up bad habits while being in America.

-“And promise me that you will not smoke or drink.” (page 40)

Moral Values
1. Hard work and patience will be rewarded
2. Good education is very important
3. we must not let opportunities pass us by.
4. We must be grateful to our parents.
5. We must try not to be judgmental about the things we do not understand

SPM BASED EXCERCISES

TEMPLATE FOR THE RESPONSE

PARAGRAPH 1 : INTRODUCTION

………(title of the story)……………by ………………..(name of author)……………is the short story I learnt. This story is about ………………….( a short synopsis of the story in three to five sentences  sentences). The …….(recycle the question here)……………………………………… There are many ……………………(  sate the main ideas)………………………..................................

PARAGRAPH 2 : BODY 1

                The first reason why , ……( state the FIRST MAIN IDEA). This is because …………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when……………….. (provide evidences with key word from the story). ……………………………………..(write 3 evidences)………………. As we can clearly see now, ……..(link the cause to an effect)……………………………

PARAGRAPH 3 : BODY 2

                Next, …..( state the SECOND  main idea)…………………………. This is because………………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when…………………….(provide evidences from the story with key word from the story). ………………………….(write 3 evidences) It is as clear as day that………………….(link the cause to an effect)………………………..

PARAGRAPH 4 : BODY 3 

Lastly, …..( state the THIRD  main idea)……………. This is because………………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when…………………….(provide evidences from the story with key word from the story). ………………………….(write 3 evidences) Now we can see  that…………….(link the cause to an effect)…………………………………………………

PARAGRAPH 5 : CONCLUSION

I hope…………………………………………………………………………………………… 

or 

In my opinion…………………………………………………………………………………………

or

In a nutshell,..........................................................................................................................................

or

In conclusion …………………….........................................................................................................

(restate the question and the main ideas)

SPM BASED EXCERCISE

1. The following are the short story and drama studied in the literature component in English Language.
Short Stories - Tanjung Rhu by Minfong HO
                      - Leaving by M.G.Vassanji
Drama           - The Right Thing to Do by Martyn Ford

Choose any one of the text above and answer the question below.
Everyone has someone that they admire." With close reference to the text, which character do you admire the most?

MODEL RESPONSE

         Leaving by M.G. Vasasanji  is the short sory I learnt. This story is about Aloo a young boy who wants to pursue his studies in America. Aloo is the youngest child in a single-parent family. Aloo is a bright student and he is inspired to go to America after his ex-teacher Mr Datoo talks so much about America. His mother does not take him seriously until  a well-known university, California Institute of Technology offers him a place there with full scholarship. Seeing her son's determination, finally with heavy heart, Mother relents to Aloo and allow him to go to America. There are many characters that I admire in the story. The character that I admire the most is Mother because she is determine , caring and loving and selfless.

      The first reason why I  admire  Mother the most is  because she  is a determine woman because she always put her children first. She is a single mother with five children. Her husband passed away when she was thirty-three.   This is shown in the story when she chooses to stay with her children rather than remarry and loses them. She sold her shop after her daughter Razia was married. She wanted her sons the narrator and Aloo to study hard. She moved from Uhuru, a noisy and busy palace to Upanga. She became a tailor in Upanga. She hoped  for the two youngest children, her flesh and blood to to excel in their studies. Upanga was a quiet place, with wild land and  tall trees was a perfect place for her sons to study. As we can clearly see now Mother is a determined woman because she  always put her children first.

      Next, Mother is loving and caring. She feels sad when her children leave her. She finds it difficult to let Aloo go to America. This is shown in the story when she told Aloo that she cannot afford to send him to America. Three thousand shillings was a large amount of money.  Aloo was very upset. Aloo was the apple of her eyes. Seeing her son's disappointment, Mother sought advices from Mr Velji. Mr Velji was very impressed when he learnt that Aloo got  flying colour results in his examinations. Mr Velji told Mother that going to America would be good for Aloo's future but added that she might lose Aloo as he might  not return to Upanga. She decided to let her son to go to America after listening to Mr Velji advises. It is as clear as day that Mother is a loving and caring person. 

    Lastly, I admire Mother because she is selfless because she allows Aloo to go to America. Mother asks Aloo to show her the prospectus of the university. Aloo eagerly shows her the prospectus and tells her he can learn everything there. This is shown in the story when she thought deeply about the offer Aloo received. Aloo was a very ambitious boy who wanted a better life for himself. He did not want to venture into agriculture in the local university. He sought for a better opportunity and was ecstatic to receive the scholarship to study in California Institute of Technology. He hungered to learn more. Letting Aloo to go to America depicts her selflessness as she knew he would be devastated is she refused him. Mother also feared that Aloo would pick up negatives habits. She sternly warned Aloo not to marry with a white woman and stayed away from smoking and drinking.  Even knowing that she might never see him again, Mother decided to let him go to America. Now we can see that Mother is selfless because she allows Aloo to go to America.

      In a nutshell, the character that I admire the most is Mother. There are many various reasons why I admire her  such as  she is determine , caring and loving and selfless. The character teaches me to be determined, caring and loving and selfless. 

2. The following are the short story and drama studied in the literature component in English Language.

Short Stories - Tanjung Rhu by Minfong HO
                      - Leaving by M.G.Vassanji
Drama           - The Right Thing to Do by Martyn Ford

Choose any one of the text above and answer the question below.
Everyone fears separation." With close reference to the text give reasons write on the theme of  separation.

MODEL RESPONSE

         Leaving by M.G. Vasasanji  is the short sory I learnt. This story is about Aloo a young boy who wants to pursue his studies in America. Aloo is the youngest child in a single-parent family. Aloo is a bright student and he is inspired to go to America after his ex-teacher Mr Datoo talks so much about America. His mother does not take him seriously until  a well-known university, California Institute of Technology offers him a place there with full scholarship. Seeing her son's determination, finally with heavy heart, Mother relents to Aloo and allow him to go to America. There are many themes  that is potrayed  in the story.  One of the theme is fear of separation. Mother fears that as the children grow up they will leave the family home.  

      The first reason to be highlighted is Mother does not want to be separated from her children.  Her husband passed away when she was thirty-three. She becomes  a single mother with five children at the age of thirty three. This  is shown in the story when she chooses to stay with her children rather than remarry and loses them. She sold her shop after her daughter Razia was married. She wanted her sons the narrator and Aloo to study hard. She moved from Uhuru, a noisy and busy palace to Upanga. She became a tailor in Upanga. She hoped  for the two youngest children, her flesh and blood to to excel in their studies. Upanga was a quiet place, with wild land and  tall trees was a perfect place for her sons to study. As we can clearly see now Mother fears of being separated with her children  because she  always put her children first.

      Next, Mother feels upset about being separated with her children. She feels sad when her children leave her. She finds it difficult to let Aloo go to America. This is shown in the story when she told Aloo that she cannot afford to send him to America. Three thousand shillings was a large  amount of money.  Aloo was very upset. Aloo was the apple of her eyes. Seeing her son's disappointment, Mother sought advices from Mr Velji. Mr Velji was very impressed when he learnt that Aloo got  flying colour results in his examinations. Mr Velji told Mother that going to America would be good for Aloo's future but added that she might lose Aloo as he might  not return to Upanga. She decided to let her son to go to America after listening to Mr Velji advises. It is as clear as day that Mother fears separation but relents to Aloo's dreams.

      Lastly, Mother fears of the separation with Aloo. Mother asks Aloo to show her the prospectus of the university. Aloo eagerly shows her the prospectus and tells her he can learn everything there. This is shown in the story when she thought deeply about the offer Aloo received. Aloo was a very ambitious boy who wanted a better life for himself. He did not want to venture into agriculture in the local university. He sought for a better opportunity and was ecstatic to receive the scholarship to study in California Institute of Technology. He hungered to learn more. Letting Aloo to go to America depicts her selflessness as she knew he would be devastated is she refused him. . She feared of the unknown especially the Western  countries and people. Mother also feared that Aloo would pick up negatives habits. She sternly warned Aloo not to marry with a white woman and stayed away from smoking and drinking.  Even knowing that she might never see him again, Mother decided to let him go to America. Now we can see that Mother fears the separation because she might not see Aloo again.  

      In a nutshell, everyone fears separation. There are  various reasons why Mother  fears to be separated from her children because she loves her children very much. Mother fears that as the children grow up they will leave the family home.  

      

3. The following are the short story and drama studied in the literature component in English Language.

Short Stories - Tanjung Rhu by Minfong HO

                      - Leaving by M.G.Vassanji

Drama           - The Right Thing to Do by Martyn Ford

Choose any one of the text above and answer the question below.

 With close reference to the text write about a character that you admired. Provide evidences from the story/drama to support your choice.

Template with model response:

Paragraph 1	i. State the name of the story  ii. State the character that you have chosen.	The story that I have studied is Leaving by M.G. Vassanji. The character that I admire in the story is Aloo’s mother. There are several reasons why I think she is an admirable character. Two of the reasons are she has foresight for her children and selfless.
Paragraph 2	Synopsis of the story	The story is about a family that lives in Tanzania. The family comprises of Mother and her five children, Firoz, the Narrator, Aloo, Razia and Mehroon. The main character, Aloo, has just completed his secondary studies. He obtained straight As in his examination and and he has a dream to study in America.  He applied to various universities there and he was offered a scholarship to further his studies in Medicine at the California Institute of Technology in America. Since Aloo’s mother is a poor single parent, she had to face some challenges in fulfilling her son’s dream.
Paragraph  3	· Reason 1          has foresight	Aloo’s mother has foresight in raising her children well. She had a store at the busy Uhuru Street. She sold the store and moved to Upanga, a much quieter part of Dar es Salaams city. She did this to avoid her children spending time working in the family store. Instead, she wanted them to concentrate on her studies. Her plan has paid off when Aloo succeeded in obtaining straight As in his school’s final examination. This makes her an admirable character.
Paragraph 4	· Reason 2 selflessness	Another trait that is to be admired in Aloo’s mother is selflessness. She lost her husband when she was only 33 years old. Since then, she had a few marriage proposals but she turned all of them down. The tradition was that she would have to send her five children to a children’s home once she remarries. Aloo’s mother did not want to lose her children so she sacrificed her own happiness. Because of her selflessness, she was able to raise her children well. Aloo scored straight As in his final examination, the Narrator is studying at a university, Mehroon and Razia are already married, and her eldest son, Firoz, is working in the office in a big shop
Paragraph 5	· Reason 3 overcome her inner fear	The last trait in Aloo’s mother that makes her admirable is her ability to overcome her inner fear. From the story, Mother was initially adamant not to let Aloo further his studies in America, a place which is very far from where they live.  As a single mother, she was scared that Aloo will leave and not to return. As they are poor, she also feared that she was unable to face the challenge of raising the money for Aloo’s ticket and some expenses for him to go to America. However, when she realised that Aloo was very determined with his plan, she managed to overcome her fear and changed her mind. As the result, she decided to let him go and helped him pursue his dreams. At the end of the story, Aloo was on his way to America.
Paragraph 6	Conclusion	From the reasons stated above, one cannot help but conclude that Aloo’s mother is a truly admirable character. I hope to be like her. I have learnt about mother's love from the story.

A POISON TREE BY WILLIAM BLAKE

William Blake was born in 1757 and was originally an engraver. He began adding text to his engravings in the form of poems and he was interested as much in the presentation of poems as the poems themselves. In 1789 he published an illustrated set of poems called Songs of Innocence and in 1793 followed this with Songs of Experience (from which A Poison Tree comes). The following year, he combined these two sets of poems, publishing as Songs of Innocence and Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.
The first set of poems is, therefore, generally hopeful and positive while the second set tends to be more negative and pessimistic.
Blake was a deeply religious man and this shows in the moral nature of his work. His poetry was not really well-regarded during his own life. Today he is regarded as a man ahead of his time and he is now thought of as a major poetic writer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-x87gWZKd8

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I waterd it in fears,

Night & morning with my tears:

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night.

Till it bore an apple bright.

And my foe beheld it shine,

And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole,

When the night had veild the pole;

In the morning glad I see;

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGcQsciSp_I

Linda R. Ranieri

West Chester University

Explication of William Blake’s

"A Poison Tree" (1794)

William Blake’s "A Poison Tree" (1794) stands as one of his most intriguing poems, memorable for its vengeful feel and sinister act of deceit.  Blake wants to impart a moral lesson here, pointing of course to the experience we gain in our human existence at the cost of our innocence. With this poem, he suggests that holding a grudge (suppressed anger left unchecked) can be fatal to the self as well as the object of wrath. Through images, punctuation, and word choice, Blake warns that remaining silent about our anger only hinders personal and spiritual growth, making us bitter, and that a grudge left unchecked becomes dangerous, even murderous.

 Stanza 1 :

Blake comments on the need to confront a problem if peace and happiness are to prevail. When the speaker "tells" his wrath, it "ends," but when he "tells it not," his anger "grows." Like an apple seed falling onto fertile soil, the speaker’s repressed anger germinates and becomes the one obsession in his life. In the first couplet, Blake conveys the image of a plant being uprooted, nipping in the bud (as it were) a misunderstanding between the speaker and his friend. In sharp contrast, the speaker holds back from admitting anger to his foe in the following couplet, allowing it to fester within. With simple language, Blake neatly establishes the root of the poem, ending this first stanza with the foreshadowing "grow" (4).

Stanza 2:

It depicts the speaker’s treatment and nurturing behavior towards his internalized wrath, as he tends to it like a beloved plant; here, Blake stresses the "wrath = plant" metaphor that is inherent to the poem. His anger becomes a living entity that he "waters" and "suns" with "tears" and "wiles," and making it to grow "both night and day" (9), hinting at his unfolding scheme against his foe. In describing his attentive care towards this wrath/plant, the speaker unintentionally reveals his unnatural obsession with getting revenge, while pointing to the slowly emerging anger as a force of its own that slowly consumes the speaker.

Stanza 3:

The speaker’s vigilance results in "an apple bright" (10) in the third stanza – similar to the apple from the Tree of Forbidden Knowledge, this fruit stands at once as a harbinger of danger and a tantalizing temptation for the speaker’s unsuspecting foe. The speaker becomes the Serpent that tempted Eve, capitalizing on and exploiting the Deadly Sin of Envy by allowing his foe to "behold its shine" (11). The crafty speaker brags about reading his foe’s mind: "And my foe beheld it shine, / and he knew that it was mine" (11-12), implying the ease with which he could fool his enemy by taking advantage of his foe’s natural curiosity and covetousness. Blake ends this stanza with a comma instead of a period, accelerating the fatal line of action into the fourth and final stanza, filling the reader with dread and anticipation.

The foe falls for the ruse, deceptive in his own right as he stealthily slips into the speaker’s garden to steal the shiny object (and proving the speaker’s suspicions right). Blake combines the acts of breaking and entering and of theft into the word "stole" at the end of Line 13 (an ironic line choice, too, if one is superstitious), with no ending punctuation that would let the reader hesitate or stop for a breath.

And my foe beheld it shine,

And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole

When the night had veiled the pole:

(Lines 11-14)

Stanza 4:

When taken together, these four lines powerfully sweep the reader into the poem’s climax. Under veil of night, envy and curiosity get the better of the foe – as the speaker foresaw – sneaking into the garden as darkness envelopes the "pole" or tree, implying that whatever the foe’s intentions, they will remain unknown. The reader waits with anticipation and dread for the final blow, knowing what will come yet wanting to see how ends. Blake further adds to the drama by ending Line 14 with a colon, setting up the reader for what s/he thinks will be the poem’s most powerful image.

Yet the reader does not learn what happens to the foe. The final image conveyed in the last couplet is of the foe lying "outstretched beneath the tree" (16), breaking the poem’s flow of action by flashing forward to the following morning. With the dawn comes the poem’s resolution: the speaker is "glad [to] see" his foe dead, apparently from ingesting the poison apple. The speaker seems satisfied that his scheme of deception has worked, getting rid of his source of wrath by poisoning it with his unchecked anger and desire for revenge.

But why does Blake omit the murder scene from the story? Perhaps he wants to emphasize the murderous means the speaker has taken to avenge himself of his enemy. More accurately, Blake reflects the speaker’s frame of mind in this omission: as he wants to kill his enemy, he also wishes to kill his conscience, blotting out the act of murder as he blots out the source of his irrational anger. The speaker realizes he is morally wrong, but gets so caught up in the moment and the seeming brilliance of his scheme that cannot stop himself from seeing it through. Unchecked anger drives the speaker to commit this murderous act, anger he cannot or refuses to acknowledge from the start of the poem. The mortal sin of murder will forever stain his hands – he cannot go on with living unless he suppresses the event, as he did his wrath.

"A Poison Tree" is a  confession without actually naming or describing the crime itself. The speaker takes the time to brag about how he implemented his plan, without admitting his crime. Thus this poem’s impact lies in the dangers that can arise from allowing one’s anger to grow unchecked and take over our minds, hearts, and souls, like a wild plant in the garden of our experience.

Summary

This meditation on the nature of wrath offers two ways of dealing with on an offence. When the speaker is angry with his friend, he told the friend of it and his “wrath did end.” However, when he was angry with his enemy, he kept the anger hidden, allowing it to grow. His wrath, which is watered “in fears” and sunned ‘with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles,” grows into the poison tree of the title. The tree bears “an apple bright” that the speaker’s enemy desires; the greedy enemy takes the fruit, even though he knows it belongs to the speaker, and eats it. 

The next morning the speaker is glad to see his “foe outstretch’d beneath the tree.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zgknv4j/revision/1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zgknv4j/revision/2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zgknv4j/revision/3

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zgknv4j/revision/4

                 

A helping hand:
1. wrath
belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
2. foe
a personal enemy
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
3. deceitful
marked by deliberate deceptiveness
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
4. wile
the use of tricks to deceive someone
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
5. bear
bring forth
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
6. behold
see with attention
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine.
7. steal
move stealthily
And into my garden stole
8. veil
to obscure or conceal
When the night had veiled the pole
9. pole
one of two points of intersection of the Earth's axis and the celestial sphere
When the night had veiled the pole
10. outstretched
fully extended especially in length
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LULU BY CHARLES CAUSLEY

The Poem

What has happened to Lulu, mother? 
What has happened to Lu? 
There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll 
And by its side a shoe. 

Why is her window wide, mother, 
The curtain flapping free, 
And only a circle on the dusty shelf 
Where her money-box used to be? 

Why do you turn your head, mother, 
And why do tear drops fall? 
And why do you crumple that note on the fire 
And say it is nothing at all? 

I woke to voices late last night, 
I heard an engine roar. 
Why do you tell me the things I heard 
Were a dream and nothing more? 

I heard somebody cry, mother, 
In anger or in pain, 
But now I ask you why, mother, 
You say it was a gust of rain. 

Why do you wander about as though 
You don't know what to do? 
What has happened to Lulu, mother? 
What has happened to Lu?

Meaning of Lines

Stanza 1

The persona is questioning her mother about the mysterious and sudden disappearance of Lulu. An old rag doll and a shoe was left behind 

Stanza 2

• The persona saw that the windows are wide opened and the curtains are "flapping free" in the wind. The persona also notice her money-box on the dusty shelf is gone.

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Stanza 3

• The persona asks the mother why she is hiding her tears. The mother crumples up a note (most probably from Lulu) and throws it into the fire. Mother then tells her child that it is nothing at all. The persona does not believe her.

   

Stanza 4

• The persona tells that she was awakened by "voices late last night" and heard the sounds of an "engine roar", probably a car starting up and being driven away. The mother lies that the child was only dreaming.

Stanza 5

• The persona insists that she had heard someone cry "in anger or in pain". The mother says it was just "a gust of rain".

Stanza 6

• Puzzled about the mother's distraught behavior, the narrator wants to know why the mother is pacing about, uncertain what to do. The use of "Lu" is an affectionate shortened form of "Lulu
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What Has Happened to Lulu?

Subject matter

It is a poem told in a child’s voice about his older sister running away.

A child is asking his mother what has happened to his sister, Lulu. There is nothing in her room, and her money-box has gone, with only an open window and an old rag-doll left behind. His mother is crying and burning a note. He thinks he heard voices and a car in the middle of the night, but his mother tells him he was only dreaming.

Form and structure

The poem is a ballad. written in four line stanzas where the second and fourth lines rhyme. This regular and simple form seems appropriate for the voice of the narrator, which is of a young child.

It is a first person dramatic monologue that is addressed to the mother of the narrator. It is almost entirely written in questions, both reflecting the age of the speaker and his puzzlement at what has happened to his sister. The form suggests the child’s innocence, while allowing the reader to read between the lines and understand what has happened.

Language and Imagery

Imagery

The image of the abandoned bed is the main one, described by the child narrator. The inclusion of childhood objects such as a rag-doll and a money-box emphasise the youth and innocence of the run-away Lulu. They are contrasted with the roar of the car engine heard in the night and the grown-up world that the narrator does not understand, emphasised by the constant questions. The curtain can be seen as a metaphor for Lulu’s new freedom, contrasted by the dust on the shelf that represents her previous life.

Sound

The doubling of the sound in ‘Lulu’, together with the high level of repetition of both the name and its shortening in the poem, create a strong echo of the sound – which is also the rhymed sound in the first and last stanza. This is quite a childish sound, and helps to create the plaintive note in the child’s questioning.

Attitudes, themes and ideas

The poem takes an approach that makes the reader work to figure out what has happened. We have to piece together the clues given in the poem. This is in contrast to the apparent simplicity of the poem provided by the ballad format and the child’s voice. Doing this also puts the reader in the position of the child, who does not understand what is going on. We, like the narrator, have more questions than answers. The tone is one of puzzlement.

What Has Happened to Lulu? 

It deals with themes of grief and love. The mother is grieving over her lost child. The fact that the child has run away does not make the grief less significant. The confusion of the narrator about his or her parent’s reaction also tells us something about the nature of grief.The poem also considers how we deal with children, in dismissing what they have heard or seen. The child narrator has some valid knowledge of what has happened, but his mother tells him he dreamed it. The poem raises the question of how the child can react, when he has been told nothing is the matter, when clearly it is. Ironically the mother does not know what to do, as the final stanza makes clear.

Setting

Place

·         Probably in England as the word "money-box" is a typical British word.

• Lulu's room
• The fireplace

Time

• In the past

Themes

1. The end of childhood and the loss of innocence

• Lulu is probably a young teenager. 
• She ran away based on the note that her mother crumpled.
• She took her savings "money-box" to start a new life with a man who drove her off in a "engine roar".
• She left her childhood behind.

2. Parent-child relationship

• The mother and Lulu relationship could have been a tense and strained one.
• Lulu is a rebellious teenager.
• She dislikes her mother's restrictions on her freedom and emerging interest in the opposite sex.
• She keeps secrets from her mother.
• The mother and narrator relationship is less dramatic.
• The narrator is obedient and respectful to the mother.
• The narrator loves the mother very much and observe her pain and distress.

3. Grief and love

• The mother is grieving over the loss of her child, Lulu.
• The mother clearly loves Lulu.
• The narrator loves the sister as she called her by pet name "Lu".
• The narrator is worried about the sudden disappearance of the elder sister