Task 2 - Rainbow Death

Analysis of 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

Point of View: This poem was written in the first-person account by Hubert Wilson, a Vietnam War Veteran who has served in the USAF Security Service previously. This poem shows his thoughts and disapproval of how America handled the war in Vietnam, which affected him as well since he took part in the war and witnessed the horrors of it.

Situation and Setting: The situation in the poem is dire. Due to the usage of Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant, a lot of Vietnamese lives have been wasted, and this was something unexpected (America did not foresee). Even though America carried out such actions to deal with their enemies and make them suffer for their actions (expecting others to pay a high price), they did not realise that they were actually committing the same atrocity as their enemy since they had also killed many innocent civilians with their weapons (toll on the innocent and unborn). However, they are not bothered by the deaths of the Vietnamese people (o

mnipotent and disregarding who will mourn)

. America was said to be a respectable country yet it actually brought such untold suffering to the innocent civilians (all the deceit continues to spread), the power and authority that it held has changed its nature (n

efariously America led astray). The issue is not settled yet, there will be people seeking for revenge as well as people suffering once again (g

enerations untold WILL pay), and all these was just because of Agent Orange, the herbicide capable of mass slaughter (e

xecrable effects of agent orange spray)

.

Language/Diction: Hubert Wilson makes use of words with negative connotations to enhance the mood of the poem and to show his disapproval e.g. nefariously, mourn, dead, execrable. The poem follows a rhyme scheme of a-a-b-b-c-c as well to allow a smooth flow from the previous line to the next one.

Personal Response: I find the poem pretty interesting. Because the various weapons used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War were all named after colours, hence the title "Rainbow Death". Also, the way in which Hubert Wilson capitalized WILL was to emphasise that no matter who started the war, both sides will ultimately be at the losing end since both the victorious and the defeated would

certainly

have to pay the price. This also tells us that nothing good comes out of a war and that we should avoid it no matter what since the only thing it brings is bloodshed.