Tuesday 15 May 2018

ANALYSIS OF THE POEM "JUST SIT, OPPRESSOR, JUST SIT" ( Isaac Mruma) BY Samson Mwita



JUST SIT, OPPRESSOR, JUST SIT
Isaac Mruma
Just cross your legs
With the belly covering them,
Oppressor.

Just yoga there,
Smoking imported cigars,
A product of their toil,
Oppressor.

Just sit belching
Yesterday’s feed,
Stoop there and grin
At bones toiling in
Suffocation.

Count oppressor,
Spell out in your book of evils
Recording the toll of the unlucky
You have robbed.

When they sell their unga
To the lone fat you
And you clasp it tightly,
Hoarding
Their own property;

When you eat
As they die just rest.
The bullet of reawakening
Will raise you
From your nap,
For it is not in vain
That they will struggle.

The blows they register
Killing the greedy,
Butchering,
Mauling the unbelieving
The eaters,

You
Will present a case
For history to decide.

There  wakes enlightenment
To prod the backward
To struggle,
And you have to die
For the men you sucked
To live in harmony.

Power flows in the veins
Of the gallant,
Desiring alleviation.
For it is never in vain,
Oppressor,
The struggle to bury you
Continues.

INTRODUCTION
Just sit, oppressor, just sit” is an ironical and satirical title that tells the oppressor to keep on sitting while waiting for his doom (death).  The poem shows how the oppressor has become rich by exploiting and robbing the poor people whom he calls the unlucky. However, as they start gaining awareness they plan to fight the oppressor, kill him and bury him. So the persona says “just sit, oppressor” to awaken him that if he is so powerful, let him sit and wait for his own doom because the oppressed class is now determined to kill him. In other words “Just Sit Oppressor Just Sit” implies “rise up and run to rescue you life”

THEMATIC ANALYSIS
OPPRESSION AND EXPLOITATION
The title of the poem itself paints the picture of oppression. There is an oppressor who represents the high class members who are getting rich by robbing the wealth of poor people. The poet shows that the oppressor sits idly smoking cigar while the poor people work toiling in suffocation. He says;    Count oppressor,
Spell out in your book of evils
Recording the toll of the unlucky
You have robbed.
SACRIFICE AND REVENGE
The poet shows that those who are exploited, oppressed and robbed are ready to fight and revenge against the oppressor. They are so determined to use the bullet of reawakening (self awareness) to win their cause.
When you eat
As they die just rest.
The bullet of reawakening
Will raise you
In the penultimate stanza he shows that these people are ready for revenge as he says:
And you have to die
For the men you sucked
To live in harmony.

AWARENESS
Awareness is an important tool to bring about the liberation of the oppressed. If the oppressed people are not aware of the oppression and the ways to fight against oppression then there is no hope for their future. These people seem to be aware of the oppression; they have identified the enemy (the oppressor) and are ready to fight against him. He says;

There  wakes enlightenment
To prod the backward
To struggle,
And you have to die
For the men you sucked
To live in harmony.

They know that for them to live in harmony they must first kill the oppressor.
DETERMINATION AND COURAGE (GALLANTRY)
Although the oppressor seems to be a person from high class, the oppressed have decided to sacrifice themselves to fight him nevertheless. Because of the raising awareness among the oppressed they have power flowing in their veins and they are ready for change. He says;

Power flows in the veins
Of the gallant,
Desiring alleviation.
For it is never in vain,
Oppressor,
The struggle to bury you
Continues.

The poet however shows that the kind of struggle they use is a violent one. To fight against the oppressive high class sometimes violence is the only way. The poet says
The blows they register
Killing the greedy,
Butchering,
Mauling the unbelieving
The eaters,

CLASSES.
The poem contains two major classes. On one side there is the high class as represented by the oppressor. This is the class that exploits the efforts of the majority who toil but the products of their toil goes to benefit the oppressor. The second class is lower class – that of the poor ones who are oppressed and exploited. They are the ones who are involved in production but the fruits of their labour are exploited by the high class. He says;
Count oppressor,
Spell out in your book of evils
Recording the toll of the unlucky
You have robbed.


GUIDING QUESTIONS
a.    What is the poem about?
The poem is about the oppressor who has become rich by exploiting and robbing the poor people. However, as they start gaining awareness they plan to fight the oppressor, kill him and bury him.
b.    Explain the tone and mood of the poet.
The tone is serious, satirical and angry because of oppression and exploitation done by the oppressor. It creates a hatred, bitter, and angry mood towards the high class. That’s why the oppressed people are ready to fight.
c.    Who is the persona in this poem? How do you know?
The persona is a person from lower class (the oppressed) ones who is aware of oppression and exploitation by the high class. This is evident when he says Count oppressor,/Spell out in your book of evils/ Recording the toll of the unlucky /You have robbed.

d.    Comment on the structure of the poem.
The poem is a dramatic monologue in which the persona addresses the oppressor but the oppressor does not respond. There are 10 stanzas of unequal number of verses and uneven length of verses.
e.    What type of the poem is this?
It is a modern/freeverse poem. It does not follow all the rules of writing poems like regular rhyming scheme, there is variation in the length and number of lines in each stanza. It is specifically a Lyric poem as it expresses strong feelings of the persona
f.     Comment on the language use in the poem.
The language used is simple and easy to understand. It has made good choice of words that drive the message home easily. Such as oppressor, robbed, suffocation, they paint a picture of injustice but words like bullets, killing, butchering, mauling, gallant, struggle, paint a picture of sacrifice and struggle for change.
v  Figures of speech.
Ø  Exaggeration
Just cross your legs with the belly covering them.
Ø  Repetition
The word “oppressor” is repeated 4 times throughout the poem.
Ø  Barbarism.
When they sell their unga
“unga” a Swahili word which means flour.
Ø  Personification
Bones toiling in suffocation (bones cannot toil)
For history to decide. (History cannot decide)
Ø  Parallelism
Killing the greedy,
Butchering,
Mauling the unbelieving
Ø  Alliteration
That they will struggle.
g.    What is the message in the poem?
Ø  Sacrifice is very important to bring about changes.
Ø  Awareness is an important tool to liberate the oppressed.
Ø  The oppressors will one day come to an end so they should prepare for their doom.
Ø  Exploitation of the poor by rich class should be discouraged.
Ø  We should be courageous (gallant) enough if we want to win any struggle.
h.    Discuss the relevance of the poem to the society.
The poem is relevant to our society in a number of ways;
Ø  There is exploitation of the poor by the rich class
Ø  There is oppression of the lower class by the high class especially the rulers.
Ø  There are people in the society who are ready to sacrifice for the betterment of the majority.
Ø  In our society there are classes of the poor people and the rich ones.

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