African thunderstorm

• African thunderstorm


  Powerful, deadly storm representing colonialism, oppression, racism, injustice, and social turmoil faced by African people
• Title


  • Indicates the storm is of continental scale and significance, not just a local event
• Clouds and wind coming from the west


  Symbolises the western world (US, Canada, Europe etc.) bringing problems to Africa
• Clouds and wind


  • Moving rapidly, abruptly, and haphazardly, suggesting the chaotic and destructive nature of the problems
• Trees bend to let the storm pass, unable to stand up to its power
• The poem uses the thunderstorm as an allegory to represent the colonial oppression and social turmoil faced by African people
• The main themes of the poem are colonialism and its effects, as well as the theme of man vs nature used to illustrate the colonial issues
• African village children are screaming delightedly and these screams toss and turn in the din in the noise of the storm
• The storm is wreaking havoc


  Kids are screaming in delight
• The light is usually used to describe a pleasant kind of excitement
• Why are the children delighted in this storm? This is irony, perhaps dramatic irony
• Dramatic irony


  A special type of irony where something probably danger is obvious to the reader but not obvious to the characters in a text
• The storm is dangerous but the kids see it as something exciting
• In 2004, hurricane Ivan hit Jamaica. As a child, the author felt anticipation, excitement, and a kind of delight, even during the storm itself
• The children in the village are naively excited about the storm, hence the screams of delighted children
• The word 'screams' provides an undertone of anxiety, perhaps their delight soon turns to dread as they realize what the storm is capable of
• There is personification - the screams of the children are 'tossing and turning' in the din of the whirling wind
• The wind is so strong that it is drowning out the screams, people can't even hear the children screaming because of how loud the storm is
• The storm's power and noise is shown through alliteration and irregular line lengths
• Women with babies on their backs are darting about, running around trying to find some safety
• The language of madness reminds us of the 'madman chasing nothing' seen earlier, suggesting colonization has affected the people's minds
• The children's response to the storm

  Delighted
• The adults' response to the storm

  Terrified, going mad
• The babies seem to sense the danger, clinging to their mothers
• The rhyming couplet 'dart about in and out' suggests sporadic, quick movement
• How the trees respond to the storm

  They bend to let it pass
• How the people respond to the storm

  They do not bend, they fight back, run, plan, do not give up
• The simile 'clothes wave like tattered flags flying off' reinforces the idea of colonization
• The exposed, dangling breasts could be symbolic of sexual violation during slavery and colonization
• The 'jagged' and 'blinding' imagery of the lightning connects to the sharp, dangerous nature of the storm
• The 'rumbling, trembling and cracking' sounds refer to the loud noises and things breaking/shaking due to the storm
• The 'fired smoke' could refer to extinguished cooking fires, fireplaces, or even gunshots from white men
• The storm is personified as it 'pelts' and 'marches' on the African people