PRISHALINI RAJ 16A04: Poetry comparison essay

Both the poems “Chinatown- a rainbow place” and “Excerpts from Chinatown”
exemplify the cultural significance of Chinatown to Chinese people and how it
functions as an ethnic enclave representing the prospect of job opportunities and the
oppression and hardships that they faced. There are several similarities between
both the poems such as demonstrating Chinatown as a place of solace and hope for
the Chinese people in a foreign land. This idea of Chinatown functioning as a place
of solace is a common theme for both poems as they both recognize Chinatown as a
“haven” and a sanctuary due to the fact the familiarity of surroundings that allows
them to bond with each other. However, both poems differ in the way they portray
Chinatown. The positive image of Chinatown as representative of hopes and dreams
is evident in the title “Chinatown- A Rainbow Place”. However, “Excerpts from
Chinatown” paints a more negative image of Chinatown as it illustrates the hardships
that the Chinese people faced.

Both the poems are similar in expressing how Chinatown functions as an

embodiment of the Chinese culture, dreams and history and a place of solace and
comfort for the early pioneers. While both poems present Chinatown in a positive
light, the poems differ in terms of the progression of view their different sentiments
on Chinatown, where the poet in Poem A expresses Chinatown as a physical
representation of the sufferings that their ancestors faced as they struggle to make
sense of unfamiliar surroundings, the poet in Poem B expresses Chinatown in a
presenting Chinatown as a place for opportunity to form bonds and ties with one
another. In Poem A, the persona establishes a parallelism between the the
hardships that the early pioneers faced and the embodiment of these hardships that
the pioneers faced in Chinatown by explaining “testing ways return might be possible
against these homesick inventions, trace the traveller’s alien steps across”
Parallelism is employed here as the poet attempts to emphasize how Chinatown
conveyed the hardship that the pioneer’s faced. However, the poet then proceeds to
tell us that “and in between discover how transit has a way of lasting, the way these
Chinatowns grew out of not knowing to return or to stay, and then became home.”
This presents Chinatown as place of solace and hope and how the pioneers’ feelings
towards Chinatown transitioned into viewing Chinatown in a positive light, by
explaining how Chinatown functioned as a place of solace for these pioneers. This is
similar in Poem B, “Chinatown's heritage and colours will not fade or die, As long as
its roots and role steer clear of shifting sand.” This explains how Chinatown’s culture
and history was significant and represented the way in which Chinatown functioned
as place for opportunity. The way in which Chinatown acted as a reminder for the
hardships that the pioneers faced is also evident in the line “Tells a tale of early
pioneers, tinted red or blue but true, Of splendour in human endeavour, and glory in
sacrifice.” The use of visual imagery in this line brings out the idea of Chinatown
representing the hardships that they faced.

Both the poems are different on their outlook and perception of Chinatown, as
Chinatown- a rainbow place” portrays Chinatown in an optimistic way, while the
presentation of Chinatown “Excerpts of Chinatown” seems to embody the hardships
and struggles faced by the Chinese people rather than that representative of dreams
and future. Even though, both poems attempt to portray Chinatown in a positive light,
the way they do so is different. The presentation of Chinatown in a positive light can
be seen in the use of enjambment in the second poem. This can be seen in the first
stanza which says “Chinatown - the rainbow place, A rainbow of fresh hopes and
fervent dreams, Above dark clouds, grey skies and sombre haze, Upon this shade
and shelter the warm sun gleams.” The use of enjambment brings out the idea that
Chinatown was representative of continuous positivity and hope. The use of a
continuum in expressing the positive aspects of Chinatown, shows the progression
of the constant layering of positive connotations. This brings out the idea of
Chinatown as a sanctuary and haven for hopes and dreams that doesn’t end. The
presentation of Chinatown in a positive light can also be seen through the use of
visual imagery that allows the reader to visualize Chinatown in an enthusiastic way.
This can be seen through the description of Chinatown as “a rainbow of fresh hopes
and fervent dreams”. This description of visual imagery tied with concept of hope and
dreams can be seen through the idea of a rainbow, which has positive connotation.
The representation of Chinatown in a positive light is significant in bringing out the
comparison of Chinatown to that of a sanctuary. This is stark contrast to the
depiction of Chinatown in “Excerpts from Chinatown”. The use of “grafted on the
white devil’s soil” is a type of hyperbolic metaphor. In this phrase the poet is
comparing the locals in that land to that of devil. This is used in an attempt to bring
across the discrimination and racism that Chinese people faced in a pre-dominantly
white country. The use of enjambment in the second poem also brings across a
different meaning and effect from that of the first poem. The use of enjambment is
evident in “You scour these Chinatowns of the mind, translating them like sutras
Xuan Zang fetched from India, testing ways return might be possible against these
homesick inventions, trace the traveller’s alien steps across borders, and in between
discover how transit has a way of lasting, the way these Chinatowns, grew out of not
knowing to return or to stay, and then became home.” The use of enjambment brings
across the progression and hardships that the Chinese people faced in a foreign
land. The use of a continuum in enjambment demonstrates the prolonged process of
finally being able to be comfortable and find purpose in a land other than theirs and
finally being able to settle down. This exemplifies the hardships that the Chinese
people faced. The use of juxtaposition can also be seen in the way these
Chinatowns grew out of not knowing to return or to stay, and then became home.”
This demonstrates the transition between Chinatown being that of a temporary
haven to that of a permanent home and sanctuary, shows the gradual progression of
their deep attachment to Chinatown. Hence, the use of juxtaposition translates a
feeling of detachment to Chinatown to that of hope and connection. Thus, both
poems differ in their outlook of Chinatown and the deeper meaning behind
Chinatown.

Overall, both poems are inherently similar and different in nature. Both poems are
similar as they use Chinatown as a place of solace and comfort due to the
oppression they faced being in a foreign land. However, the way in which they find
solace and comfort is presented differently in both poems. The first poem, allows
Chinatown to be that of “haven” due to the hardships that the Chinese people faced.
While the second poem, illustrates the idea of Chinatown being as an opportunity for
jobs and creating bonds with one another. The second poem also adopts a more
positive tone through the visual imagery of Chinatown, than the first poem.