Task 2- LA E-Learning

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!

By Hubert Wilson

1. Point Of View

The poet has close contact with Agent Orange. This can be seen through the phrase "America did not forsee". the fact that he knows something that his country did not forsee shows that he has contact with Agent Orange. Also, only if he has contact, or even close contact, would he know of the "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!". The poet is angry about the "illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" people Agent Orange spray has caused, knowing that "Generations untold WILL pay".

2. Situation and setting

The setting may be during the war, or after the war, but we know that it is definitely after Agent Orange has been used, which is why the poet states that "America did not forsee" the horrific effects it would have on the victims, such as " Illness", "birth defects". We know that America is the one at fault from "America did not forsee", and the poet is very emotional about the mistakes that the Americans have made. He may be feeling guilty as well because he was with the Americans. He knows that this big mistake that the Americans have made will cause "generations untold" to make up and pay for their mistakes.

3. language/ diction

The title of this poem is a oxymoron, "Rainbow Death". Rainbows are commonly associated with "the calm after the storm", "Beauty", "serenity", and related "peaceful" words. However, death is commonly associated with darkness, gloom and sadness. So in this case, Rainbow does not refer to the real rainbow but rather, the series of "Rainbow Herbicides" that were used during the Vietnam War, "Agent Orange", "Agent Purple" and "Agent Green" being a few of them. Therefore we can say that "Rainbow Death" is a assortment to killer herbicides that leaves nothing but death in its wake.The poet uses " death potpourri". potpourri means a mixture of dried flowers and leaves used to make a room smell nice. "death potpourri" is an oxymoron because death is not associated with pleasant smells.

4. Personal Response

In this poem, the poet does not introduce the subject of his poem- Agent Orange, straightaway. Instead, he tells me about the unforseen and horrific effects the culprit had on humans. He tells me that America had made a mistake in using this unknown object and causes me to feel uncomfortable hearing him describe the culprit. He succeeds in conveying his message that Agent Orange is a terrible weapon that America made a mistake in using, and that future generations must pay for this costly mistake