Home-based Learning Online Lesson Task 2

Selection - "Rainbow Death" by Hubert Wilson

                 Difficulty Rating: **

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!

Task 2:

1. Whose Point of View

Statement: The poet wrote this poem in the Point of View of a war veteran. 

Evidence: The poet is recounting what happened during the war. This is supported by "Reflective about all the illness, birth defects ad prematurely death". 

Elaboration: This showed that the poet reflected upon the war, how the deceit caused by Agent Orange continued to worsen.  

2. Situation and Setting

Statement: The situation is that the war created chaos in the people's life, deforming and taking away the life of many people . It took place in Vietnam.

Evidence: The poem suggests "Toll on the innocent and unborn".

Elaboration: It showed that the impact of the war not only affected the soldiers who were fighting the war, but also innocent peoples that did not take part in the war.

3. Language/Diction

Statement: The last word of the odd sentence rhymes with the next sentence. There is also personification.  

Evidence: This includes "unborn", the last word of the 5th sentence and "mourn" of the 6th sentence, "astray" and "pay" in the 9th and 10th sentence. For personification, it is supported by "America led astray" and "America did not foresee".

Elaboration: The personification showed America being compared with humans, being led astray and not foreseeing.   

4. Personal Response

Statement: I feel that the war was cruel and the effect of war was disastrous.

Evidence: The war caused "illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" and "execrable effects of agent orange spray".  

Elaboration: This showed that the agent orange caused extremely unpleasant effects of the people during the war.