Theme: Progress Poem : ‘Reality’ Poet : Konai Helu Thaman

I am a big boy now grown up/

I have left school independent
IRONY- he is educated but But I am a fool still REPETITION- for emphasis
calls himself a fool A poor fool
With books and black boards ALLITERATION
IMAGERY- education has made his Casting dark shadows
life bleak/ miserable and he is On me
desperate for some hope in life. He I look for a little opening
feels suffocated. Of light
I hear people laughing IRONY- people mock him
What are you going to do now
RHETORICAL QUESTION
With your education and all?
There is the market place place for selling goods
Where the people
Sell their wares goods
menial labour/ job
Women chasing flies
From day old pies
I cannot do that upfront opinion
I have a certificate
persona is highly educated I passed with honours
English, Maths, History and Geography
I learnt them all
The laughter gets louder IRONY
I see my teacher
teacher engaged in
Sitting on a sterile rock IMAGERY & IRONY
unproductive work
Near the beach
RHETORICAL QUESTION – Selling green coconuts
persona is confused What do I do now?
An old man close- by whispers THEMATIC ENDING-
signifies person with skills “Come fishing with me today traditional skills are important
For you have a lot to learn
yet”
Theme 1 Progress

CLASS DISCUSSION

1. What does the term ‘progress’ signify?

It means development towards a more improved or advanced condition.

In the Pacific context, progress plays a significant role in terms of economic development, education,
tourism and trade.
Precolonial Pacific societies were more interdependent and communal in nature. They followed a traditional
lifestyle.
However, colonialization brought rapid changes to Pacific communities with the introduction of education,
government and the new religion.
Today modernisation and westernisation have become part and parcel of Pacific lifestyle and this is how we
have progressed.
2. What has contributed towards the progress of Pacific island nations?
- education
- government and laws
- trade links with other countries
- tourism
- technological advancements
- improvement in communication and infrastructure
- other economic activities
3. List the positive impacts of progress in the Pacific.
- economic growth, development, better standard of living, rise in GDP, equal rights for all, more job
opportunities, higher literacy rates
4. List the negative impacts of progress.
- shift from communalism to individualism, loss of traditional values, more focus on material acquisition, rise
in unemployment, more conflicts, exploitation of natural resources, rise in illegal activities
5. Suggest some ways to minimise the negative impacts of progress.
- people should practise integration of values- while adapting to modern lifestyle, people should still cherish
their traditional values.
- selective adaptability- adapt good ideas of progress and neglect the negative ones (those that don’t work in
Pacific context)
- practising sustainable development, learn traditional skills
About the Poet- Konai Helu Thaman

What is the Poem about?

• Effects of Formal Education in an Island Country

This poem is about a boy who upon leaving school with his academic qualification cannot find a
suitable job in the work force. He is frustrated, disheartened and perhaps even alienated as all his
education has come to nothing. His dreams of possibly a white collar job are shattered as he cannot
find an employment. He doesn’t like himself selling wares in the market. “I cannot do that”. Education
has isolated him from doing simple and humble things in life. During his time of confusion, he meets
an old man who invites him and says “Come fishing with me today/ For you have a lot to learn/ yet”.

Setting

Physical Setting- This poem is set in a Pacific island nation (mention of selling coconuts
near beach side). There is over-emphasis of formal education and blue
collar jobs are despised by youths.

Social Setting- The people on the island are living by doing blue collar job. There is high
expectation from educated people and they are mocked at for being
unemployed.

Time- The poem is set in the present time as it reflects contemporary issues faced by
Pacific islanders (unemployment).
Subjects and Objects

Persona

• Intelligent and hardworking.

• has recently completed school.
• Did quite well in school. (I passed with honours).
• Feeling frustrated and disheartened. (But I am a fool still/ A poor fool).
• Is disappointed and disheartened as he cannot earn a living with all the
knowledge he has gained in school. (With books and blackboards /Casting dark shadows –
feels society’s criticism and condemnation as he is unemployed).
• Too ashamed to sell in the market (sees it as beneath him) with people who
are not that well educated.
• Feels that what the teacher taught him in school was useless (sterile rock).
• is disillusioned by formal education.
• did not know what to do as he could not find a job.

Old Man

• not highly literate but skilful.

• representative of one who is knowledgeable in informal education or even
traditional skills like fishing, planting, weaving, etc.
• He offers the persona a way out of the “dark shadows”.
• He has a lot of knowledge to impart to the persona about how to survive in
life.
• Understanding and helpful because he helps the boy.
The Teacher

• is helpless, unemployed.
• ironical and contrasting character – he being a teacher sells coconuts.

Themes

Rising Unemployment

• Formal education does not guarantee a white collar job.

• This poem as the title suggests and depicts a frightening reality for many school leavers be
they graduate or otherwise. The education one receives in school does not guarantee a person with
a suitable job because of rising unemployment. Further, it may add stress, confusion,
disappointment and frustration to many people who have struggled for many years in school and
this may lead to disillusionment of the education system. It is a timely reminder to government to
create job opportunities for young people.

Dignity of Work

• Young people feel that white collar job is better than blue collar job.
 • It seems a general perception among educated people that some occupations are beneath them, like
selling in the market, becoming a fisherman, etc. This perception needs to be changed. Young people
need to realize that there is dignity in employment, regardless if one is a farmer or doctor. The fact
that one can make an honest living out of what they do is all that matters. In fact, today, it seems
that a lot of blue collar workers, like tradesman and farmers, make more money and find more
enjoyment in what they do when compared to white collar employees like clerks or even teachers.

Encourage Vocational/Informal Education

Serious consideration needs to be put into vocational/informal education, whereby one can learn a
trade or skill that will not only make them marketable in life, but also teach them to survive when
there is no employment, for instance, how they could make use of additional skills in order to survive.
Government needs to ensure that children receive a balanced formal and informal education that
effectively prepares them for the outside world. For e.g. not everyone can be doctors or lawyers, for
children who are not that interested in white collar employment, perhaps they need to be encouraged
to find a trade or skill from which they can make themselves marketable. All schools may need to also
provide vocational education for students who fall in this category.
Style
Clever Use of Language / Poetic Diction

Simple words are used to depict a common situation – that of being unemployed after graduation. It
is something a lot of people can relate, particularly today, with rising unemployment as more and
more are graduating and even more are being laid off.

Use of Contrasts or an Ironic Situation

Thaman is portraying a situation of a graduate who ‘passed with honours’ in all his subjects. He is
supposed to be smart and yet he is ‘a poor still a poor fool’ because inspite of all his academic
achievements he cannot survive in the real world.
Imagery

Thaman’s use of language is also effective in creating images of disappointed, disillusionment and
confusion. The mood and atmosphere of the poem comes out clearly with descriptions like ‘With
book and blackboards casting dark shadows on me’ or ‘I see my teacher sitting on a sterile rock’. It
seems that those have gone through the gates of learning institution have returned home with
hopelessness and nothingness.
Repetition

Thaman uses repetition to convey a point. Fool is repeated twice to convey an important message,
that is, if education is only academic then one remains a ‘poor fool’.
Effective Title

The title is quite apt, although it is a grim reality for many students today; the poem above offers a
solution, that is, through informal education. The title and the situation it represents allows readers to
reassess their priorities in school and helps students to make national well informed decisions as the poet
has allowed them to glimpse at what ‘reality’ is all about.

Symbolism

This is used throughout the poem effectively to represent different things.

• Dark shadows – symbolic of the persona’s frustrated and disappointment.

• Sterile rock – symbolic of all the knowledge learnt in the classroom being ‘sterile’
unproductive or useless when faced with the realities of life.
• Green coconuts – can mean many things to different people, for some it may mean an
incomplete education, as it has not prepared the persona for reality.
Mood / Tone

• The mood of this poem is sympathetic/ disappointed/ gloomy.

• The tone is skeptical/ ironical/ cynical
=Use of Questions

• Thaman uses questions to again depict the mood and atmosphere of the poem as well as
how the persona is feeling: “What do I do now?” shows the persona’s frustration and confused at
being in this situation as he succeeded academically.
• It is also used to depict how society/parents expect their children to find employment after
their education: “What are you going to do now with your education and all?”. They expect that
since one is educated, then they should be employed. When that fails to happen, the person feels
useless and ashamed as he has not lived up to his parents’/society’s expectations.