HOMELEARNING TASK Poety Rainbow Death

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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!
Hubert Wilson

TASK 1-
• Perform research on the poem and write a report
• Detail the conflict represented in the poems of my choice
This poem is based in the Vietnam War, were the US waged herbicidal warfare against the Vietnamese.
Agent Orange-
It is the code name for the herbicide defoliant contaminated with TCDD (tetrachlorodibenzodioxin). Agent orange is responsible for 400,00 deaths and disabilities and 500,000 children born with birth defects.
Agent Green-
It is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant, its name originating from the green stripe painted on the barrels to identify the contents.
Agent Pink-
It is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant, its name originating from the pink stripe painted on the barrels to identify the contents. It was used during the early “testing” stages of the spraying program before 1964.

Agent Purple-
It is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant, its name originating from the purple stripe painted on the barrels to identify the contents. It is similar to Agent Orange and his contaminated with TCDD too.
Other colours- Rainbow Herbicides
There was still Agent Blue and Agent White which was also used in the Herbicidal Warfare waged in Vietnam,
Herbicidal Warfare-
It is a form of chemical warfare with the objective of destroying the plant-based ecosystem of an area. In the Vietnam War, it was used to destroy the Vietcong’s forest cover and food supply.
Potpourri-
It is a mixture of dried naturally fragrant plant material. It is used in homes to give the air a pleasant smell.
Unborn-
Not born or brought to being used, to describe the foetus.
Task 2
1. Point of View
The poem is written from a bystander’s point of view, choosing to narrate the consequences of the Rainbow Herbicides by giving lamenting on its effects on the unborn.
2. Situation and Setting
The situation is America’s failure to foresee the effects of its chemicals. It is set in the modern world, after the Vietnam War, where the horrors and effects of war are beginning to set in.
3. Language/Diction
The poet chooses to use a playful sort of tone, almost mocking America’s mistake. The language used can only be understood by those who were affected by the Herbicidal War waged in Vietnam. Who is to understand what agent orange spray is unless your crops have been killed by it or that you have unleashed it?
4. Personal Response
The poet’s choice of words is splendid. With effective use of imagery, he is able to convey the message in a very ironic way. Using Rainbows, commonly associated with happiness, or even a pot of gold, is continuously shown to cause misery to the victims of Agent Orange. The last sentence wraps his entire poem up in a sleek way explaining everything. Almost like a micro-fiction, where the final sentence reveals all. When a person first reads the poem , he may be lost as a colour cannot kill a man, but the final sentence tells that the colour is merely a representation of the herbicide that can unleash horrors on the unborn.

Acknowledgements:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Green
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Pink
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbicidal_Warfare#Vietnam_War
http://www.answers.com/topic/agent-orange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potpourri
http://www.yourdictionary.com/unborn