Task 2

Rainbow Death

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!


Point of View:

Evidence:
"to pay a high price"
"tolling on the innocent and unborn"

Elaboration:
This poem was written in the point of view of a soldier.The poet feels sorry for those who were innocent yet were dragged in,we can see that from ,"Now thinking twice?Toll on the innocent and unborn."This shows what even the unborn was affected due to the agent orange. The poet, feels sorry for these people, showing that he is a person with a strong sense of justice, and does not approve of America's actions.

Situation and setting:

Point - Imagery - Cruelty of war

Evidence - "toll on the innocent and unborn".

"Generations untold WILL pay".

Elaboration:

The use of the word "toll" means that lives have to be sacrificed in order to win the war. This creates a sad setting in the poem that depicts many innocent people being killed just to win the war.

By emphasizing on the word, "WILL", it creates a harsh setting that depicts the younger generations paying the prices (having defects due to the agent orange) for what the older generations had caused.

Language/Diction:

??? (Don't have)

Personal response:

I feel that war is harsh and would always result in the loss of many innocent lives. The Vietnam War caused many innocent people to be killed and also caused the future generations to suffer as they face the effects of the Agent Orange. I feel that it is unfair for the future generation to suffer as a result of the older generation's foolish decision of starting a war and I agree with the poet that people should think twice before starting a war as war are not over when war are over. The effects of the war will remain and harm our future generations which are innocent, we should not make them pay for what we had done.

Task 1 (Rainbow death by Hubert Wilson)

Biography of Hubert Wilson

Hubert Wilson is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF security service. Together with a dozen or so school graduates, they were sent to Vietnam or other places in Southeast Asia in 1970. About half of them ended up in the 6924th Security Squadron, Da Nang, which is an Agent Orange(a type of herbicide) hotspot. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska along with the 6984th Security Squadron, which was a far more contaminated environment than Da Nang. After staying there for about 18 years, Hubert started to have unexplained headaches and limb pains. His central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progessive limb pains etc. No doctors have been able to diagnose the illness. Since his brain is still functioning moderately well although he has mobility issues, he has decided to turn to writing.


Rainbow Death

The poem, Rainbow Death, speaks of a modern day ingredient of warfare (agent orange) that has caused appalling death and suffering, not only to the Vietnamese, but even the USA themselves, which means both sides are affected. Agent Orange is contaminated with TCDD, which is very dangerous. During the war, about 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, with 500,000 children born with birth defects.

The purpose of writing the poem, Rainbow Death, is to remind everyone in the world that "wars aren't over when the wars are over". Although this sentence may seem contradictory, but it basically means that even though wars have ended, but the effects of the war still remains, which shows the danger of modern warfare. It will not only affect the generation at that time, but also affects the younger generation --> Newborn babies are either dead or born with defects. This also shows the danger of starting a war and tells people to think twice before starting a war.