Thematic Study of "Vulture" poem by Chinua Achebe

 

Hello Everyone,

I am Hinaba Sarvaiya, a student of The English Department at MKBU. In this task given by our Yesha Ma'am. This blog is based on Themes of "Vulture" poem written by Chinua Achebe. 

 I learned a "Vulture" poem by Chinua Achebe. And then I read a "Andha Yug" Andha Yug

Play by Dharamvir Bharati, and I read 

 gujarati translated given by Aniruddhsinh gohil. In the poem description of vultures with their characteristics and living habits. In the Poet referring to two things of birds, birds are the harbingers of morning and death and dooms which refers to the news of death. The book also shows that after the war of Pandavas and kaurava and kaurava dies in war. Started play with reference to vulture. This dialogue like: 'નમી જા, છુપાઈ જા, નરભક્ષી છે, એ ગીધ ભૂખ્યા છે…' in poem commandant who killed many Jews people that represents his cruelness. That is a contrasting image of vulture and commandant. We have to study as part of Ecocriticism. Both works show humans and nature, who represent their own nature of life. 

About Poet:-

Chinua Achebe is the father of modern African literature. Since the publication of Things Fall Apart in 1958, he was credited with being the key progenitor of an African literary tradition. In his writings one of his passions is that 

“African peoples did not hear of culture for the first time from Europeans; … their societies 

were not mindless but frequently had a philosophy of great depth and value and beauty… they had poetry and, above all, they had dignity”.

                     -(Ojaide 2013: 150)

About Poem:-

‘Vultures’ is one of the famous poems of the Nigerian poet Chinua Achebe. It is a dark and somber piece that focuses on the Belsen concentration camp and a commandant who works there.

Themes Of The Poem:-

#Ecology-vulture

-Part of nature-vulture vs human

-Helps in cleaning dirt vulture

-Destroyed the nature -commandant

In Ecocriticism studies on both sides are anthropologie centric and ecocentric. Anthropology is centred on humans and ecocentric is centred on nature. Ecocriticism is a relationship between humans and nature. Both are part of Ecocriticism. We have to look at the theme of ecology presented in this 'Vulture' poem.

First we see two types of nature: first is the human who is the commandant and the second is the vulture who is the bird in the poem.  

Poem started with a gloomy atmosphere like the words 'grayness' . It shows that a very dull and lifeless atmosphere is created. First focus of nature is that it's very gloomy. It's presented as something bad. The next word in the poem is 'harbinger'. Harbingers means something going bad. We see that the vulture also symbolises death. 

"Dawn unstirred by harbingers" in the poem line. Dawn is represented to be a symbol of new Beginning, but in this poem the vultures negate this positive side. Vultures are associated with evil. This creates a sinner atmosphere. In the poem we see that first vulture representing the evil side of his nature.  

They are sitting on the "broken bone of a dead tree" ; this metaphor suggests that the tree is like a carcass itself. And here we see that the bleached branches mean human bones. Vultures have to be picked clean. Means vultures are eating the body of human it's show their evilness. In the poem we see that the vulture presented the evil of their habit of eating human bones that show the ugliness. This also conveys an image of a violence death, thus emphasising the evil nature of the vulture. They feed on death and their presence seems to cover their evil nature. 

"Mate his smooth based in head, a probble on a stem"

Pebble is appropriate, as the vulture's head is small in comparison to its body. And dump and gross emphasise that the birth is ugly or disgusting. But we see that in the ecology angle that we got it to vulture's is part of nature. 

In here we can see that vultures represent an ugly or disgusting description of them. Poet described how the vulture had, the day before, fed on dead animals. Other words like 'cold telescopic eyes' emphasise that their eyes are devoid of emotion. This gives them an evil quality. 

"Strange indeed how love in other" strange reflection on something is suggested and stopping to think. It shows that poet's not show the two sides of the vultures and his inability to understand the fickleness of love. Love is given human characteristics. Love is able to stay in such an evil place. It's A sharp contrast to the rotting corpse and death mentioned in the first stanza of the poem. The poet is emphasising that love makes people turn a blind eye to the evil nature of their partner.

In two stanzas of the poem we see that the centre of vulture presented the evilness of ugliness. Vulture's clean human bones show that evilness of itself in the poem. 

The third and fourth section of the poem focus on the love a concentration camp commandant shows to his family, having spent the day burning human corpses, he buys his child sweets on the way home and how even in the most evil person, love can take shape.

In the poem centre of anthropology. Here the commandant is a centre. Achebe identifies the charnel house as the belsen concentration camp where Jews and other prisoners were killed and their bodies were often burned. "Human roast" refers to the victims in the concentration camp as if they were being cooked. This is a shocking phrase, very visual and descriptive. Here we can see the unpleasant side.

"Clinging rebelliously" suggests that the smell refuses to go away even after the commandant has left the camp. He tried unsuccessfully to get rid of it. He may have washed but the smell still clings to him.

The commandant hairy nostrils are like the vulture's feathers. Both creatures are ugly but both are capable of love.

"Pick up a chocolate" shows the different side of the commandant. He describes how this repulsive man will stop at a sweet shop on his way home to buy some chocolate for his children. He creates a different picture of this Dominic man who has children who he spoils and loves and who are anxiously waiting for his arrival. 'Daddy's' creates the image of father's love in the poem.

Achebe presents us with two alternative conclusions to draw from the behaviour of the vulture and the commandant. 

We should be happy that God has put some tenderness in the small cold part (icy caverns) of the cruel heart. Further poet's described the loss of hope with the word 'despair' for commandant. His softer side is a "germ" for him. Poet says that even the familiar life and affection can be felt by the cruel heart but through there would always be an eternal evilness in it. 

Difference between the vultures and the commandant: vultures feed on corpses. That is their instinct. It is not something that they choose to do. The commandant is not acting on instinct. He has the ability to choose. He chooses to be evil.

#Nazism:-

Another theme in the poem is Nazism. Nazism is a political ideology rooted in the nineteenth-century German racialist movement, emerging in the context of Germany's defeat in WW1, the counter-revolutionary movement, and the rise of fascism in Europe. In the poem we can see the belsen concentration camp. In this camp Jewish prisoners are torturing by the authorities people. They are not torture of phisical but also torture in mentally. They tried as animals. 

In this poem we can see that the poet expresses the love a concentration camp commandant shows to his family. Having spent the day burning human corpses, he buys his child sweets on the way home. The poet comments on the strangeness of love existing in places where one would not expect. The final section ruminates on how even in the most evil person, love can take shape.

#Vulture as Metaphor :-

Vultures symbolize death and decomposition. The poet tells us that these symbols of death and evil, who eat the decaying corpses, can have a loving side. This image of love contrasts with their evil nature. bashed-in head – another image of violence that creates a terrifying/ugly picture of them.

#Humanism:-

"Harm falls most in mans destroying way"

                         -John Clare

In this poem we can see that the first poet described the vulture as ugly, then the love of nature. Vulture is sitting in the ‘broken bone of a dead tree’. It shows that they fed on dead humans. It represents the violence or evil nature of vultures. They are harmful for nature. But we see at the centre of the concentration camp how the commandant survives on dead bodies. It is very ridiculous. Here we can see that humans have lost their humanities, not the birds.  

#Scavenger:-

We saw the theme of Scavenger. First we looked at the food chain concept. We looked at the image of Food chain.

Food chains were first introduced by the Arab scientist and philosopher Al-Jahiz in the 10th century and later popularized in a book published in 1927 by Charles Elton, which also introduced the food web concept. 

We looked at the image of the Food chain. We got the idea that how everyone depends on each other. One became the food of the other.

Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by consuming dead animal and plant material. In the poem we can see the vulture feeding the human dead bodies. It's the natural process. But in the poem they are represented as more evil or violence than humans. Difference between the vultures and the commandant: Vultures feed on corpses. That is their instinct. It is not something that they choose to do. The Commandant is not acting on instinct. He has the ability to choose. He chooses to be evil.

Click here to see Thematic Study of "The Piano and The Drums".

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