Telephone Conversation- Wole Soyinka- S4- Readings in Literature- Global Voices- Uty qns & ans скачать в хорошем качестве

Telephone Conversation- Wole Soyinka- S4- Readings in Literature- Global Voices- Uty qns & ans

Telephone Conversation is a poetic satire against the degenerated and inhumane condition of black people in society. As the title suggests, the poem depicts a telephone conversation between a west-African man and a British land-lady who shockingly changes her attitude towards the man soon after he reveals his racial identity. It also grapples with the issue of racism that lurks within the minds of countless individuals. The poem is a scathing comment on the prevailing issues of racism and racist prejudices. Soyinka, through his poem, depicts a conversation between a white land-lady and a prospective black tenant and sheds a light on the prevailing racial discrimination and hatred in the society at large. The poem begins on a peaceful note with the conversation between the two people in which the African American man is looking for a place to rent. After considering the price, location, privacy and other relevant matters, he makes up his mind to consider the offer. Keeping in mind the incident of racial prejudice in the past, he decided to reveal his identity to the landlady. During the course of the dialogue, he straightway admits to the lady that he is black and does not want to waste his time and energy if the lady is going to refuse him on that bound. After realizing the racial identity of the person, the complete silence ensued for a while. The prospective tenant considered silence as the reluctant result of the inbred sense of politeness. The poet deliberately uses the imagery of “Lipstick coated, long gold rolled Cigarette-holder pipped” to showcase the higher social class of the lady. Undoubtedly, the poet‟s power of imagination enables him to visualize an affluent and sophisticated British land-lady belonging to the "progressive‟ and urban world on the other side. After listening to the landlady, all his assumption, as well as a figment of his own imaginations, were shattered into pieces. Keeping aside all the formalities, the landlady directly enquired from him that “HOW DARK…ARE YOU LIGHT OR VERY DARK?” For a while, he thinks that he might have misheard but later realizes that the lady is repeatedly asking the same question with varying emphasis. The questions turn out to be devastating for him as it represents a sense of racism. Therefore, he feels disgusted with the unexpected series of questions and fancies himself to be a machine, just like a phone. He can feel the stench coming out from her deceptive words and started seeing red everywhere around him. The emphasis of the lady, especially about the poet‟s colour, reflects her racial bias towards the prospective tenant. The sudden change in the tone of landlady clearly reflects her coldness and apathy towards the people belonging to a specific community. Perplexed and ashamed by the tense and awkward silence, the man tries to seek some clarification and thinks that the lady has given her the option to choose from. Understanding the intent of the lady, he himself repeats her question stating that if she would like him to compare himself with chocolate, dark or light. The usage of the metaphor such as spectroscopic not only depicts the psychological state of her mind but also shows her eagerness to find out what colour the poet was. After a while, the man answered her question that his skin colour can be pictured as “West African Sepia” as it is written on his passport. The lady remains perplexed, not wanting to admit to her ignorance, and confused as she was unable to understand the answer and preferred to remain silent for a while. Afterwards, she could not restrain herself and seeks clarification from the man “WHAT‟S THAT?” The man replies that it is almost similar to being a dark brunette. The insensitivity of the lady almost compels the man to break all the codes of formality. In a satirical tone, he mocks the lady by saying that he isn‟t all black, the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands are completely white. He knows that the landlady will never be convinced with his black complexion and he senses that she might slam down the receiver anytime. At his crucial juncture, he hits the final nail with an invitation to see his bottom; only to have the phone slammed on him. The poem, in a sarcastic tone, brings forth absurdity, human follies, racial hatred and discrimination that permeate into the society. By showcasing the absurdity of all prejudices, the poem mocks and criticizes the psychological state of women who rejects the rented accommodation to the man on the basis of his skin colour. Check these links for detailed notes: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/... https://portal.abuad.edu.ng/Assignmen... https://www.tutorialspoint.com/teleph...