History lesson two column note PDF

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Summary

Poetry unit of ENG4U analyzing History Lesson by Jeanette Armstrong...

Description

Observation

Interpretation

The poet, Jeanette Armstrong

Writes about the European colonization of North America (specifically Canada) and how it has impacted the Indigenous through their perspective.

Poem is written in chronological order

By writing the poem in chronological order from when the Europeans arrived in North America to the destruction and colonization, it is like you are experiencing it first hand.

Short lines

The short yet sarcastic lines contribute to the author’s bitter and exhausted tone.

“Out of the belly of Christoper’s ship a mob bursts”

Refers to Christopher Columbus. The mob would be the crew aboard the ship that sailed to the West. The use of the word “bursts” would indicate a more hostile mob. Why would they burst out of a ship instead of walk?

“Running in all directions Pulling furs off animals

Refers to what the Europeans had done after arriving. Along with an abundance of violence, a lot of resources were taken advantage of.

Shooting buffalo Shooting each other left and right” “Father mean well waves his makeshift wand forgives saucer-eyed Indians”

Uses Pigeon English - a way that the Europeans spoke to Indigenous peoples as if they were children. “Father” represents a priest of a church. The second line refers to the Europeans’ social power and how they believe that the Indigenous beliefs are wrong, hence the forgiveness.

“Pioneers and traders bring gifts Smallpox, Seagrams and rice krispies”

Verbal irony - these are diseases that were brought and spread by colonizers. The Indigenous peoples did not have any immunity to the diseases and many had died as a result.

“snap crackle pop”

Onomatopoeia - refers to the sounds of the Europeans’ weapons. With the use of weapons that the Indigenous were not familiar with nor had access to, they were forced to retreat and lose land. Along with the loss of land, the weapons also caused

pollution and the deaths of many people. “Red coated knights gallop across the prairie to get their men and to build a new world”

Refers to the RCMP and how they are colonizing North America, forcing the Indigenous peoples onto reserves.

“The colossi in which they trust while burying breathing forests and fields beneath concrete and steel stand shaking fists waiting to mutilate whole civilizations ten generations at a blow”

Colossi is someone or something of immense size or power. Based on the previous stanzas of the poem, the colossi in this poem is God/religion. The Indigenous are confused as to why their religion allows them to kill living things like forests and fields. There are also the mention of the Europeans fighting in battles and destroying the Indigenous lands. The use of the word mutilate has a negative connotation and means to violently destroy something. The settlers have destroyed generations of history, culture and families due to their greed of wanting land.

“glimpsed in a garden forever closed forever lost”

A garden is supposed to be beautiful, referring to the Indigenous land before the Europeans arrived. Now that they have, the garden has been closed. They have taken everything and there isn’t much left of the beautiful garden from before.

Lack of punctuation

With a lack of punctuation, it indicates that a sentence never stops, going on forever. In this case, Armstrong does not include any punctuation to indicate that the effects of colonialism have not stopped and continue to this day....