Analysis of the poems in Ms. Militancy Back-Street Girls is a poem that draws women to the independence enjoyed by men breaking all constraints. Meena’s women need not chain themselves by the rules anymore. They can act according to their whims and fancies. They need not confine themselves within the iron bars of culture and tradition. They have the liberty to play roles such as ‘sluts, gluttons, bitches, witches and shrews’. No manu can control them. They are independent enough to choose men as their husbands and “strip random men”. The poem liberates women from their subjugation and highlights them as we (women) are not the ones you can sentence for life (14).
Dead woman walking throws light on the hardships and emotional stress of the downtrodden, …show more content…
The poet lashes at the conventional belief of the people in making offerings to the Goddess Maari. She portrays Maari as the exploiter who extracts pleasure from the pains of her devotees, who are depicted as the dream chasers, the firewalkers(22).They burn and whip their bodies to satisfy Her. Maari represents the inhuman oppressors of the dalits who is appeased by the violent sacrifices of innocent people. Ms. Militancy, the title poem of the volume , is based on the heroine of the Tamil Classic Silapathikaram , Kannaki. Kannaki has been dedicated and loyal to her betrayal-imaged husband Kovalan even after his return from his dancer-mistress Madhavi. Though this displays the patriarchal dominance, the rage she shows at the death of her husband asserts her as a bold revolutionist. Such a militant woman is the woman that Meena Kandasamy dreams of. She is the role-model for the subjugated women to come out of their cocoons. Princess-in-Exile is about Sita who “walked out” of her place from her husband Rama, when her chastity was questioned. She indirectly avenges her husband for his suspicion on her. Likewise, Meena wants women not to follow the rules laid by the patriarchal …show more content…
Moon-gazers is a powerful rendition of the superiority of non-dalits over the dalits. The poet brings home the speechless predicament of the dalits through the analogy of a classroom situation. The teacher talks about a bird watching throughout the night. When a girl questions what the bird does on new moon days, she is laughed at. She could not get an answer but just staring at the limitless eyes of the teacher. Such is the fate of all the dalits remaining mute and spell-bound to the atrocities inflicted on them.
One Eyed, the short poem highlights various atrocities committed against the dalit women. Meena emphasizes the humanitarian attitude of inanimate things which human beings lack. The pot, the glass and the water quench the thirst of a person while the teacher, the doctor, the school and the press are indifferent to the needs of the people. The dalit woman Dhanam was
“torn in half”(41) when she tries to get a pot of water at the cost of her left
Dead woman walking throws light on the hardships and emotional stress of the downtrodden, …show more content…
The poet lashes at the conventional belief of the people in making offerings to the Goddess Maari. She portrays Maari as the exploiter who extracts pleasure from the pains of her devotees, who are depicted as the dream chasers, the firewalkers(22).They burn and whip their bodies to satisfy Her. Maari represents the inhuman oppressors of the dalits who is appeased by the violent sacrifices of innocent people. Ms. Militancy, the title poem of the volume , is based on the heroine of the Tamil Classic Silapathikaram , Kannaki. Kannaki has been dedicated and loyal to her betrayal-imaged husband Kovalan even after his return from his dancer-mistress Madhavi. Though this displays the patriarchal dominance, the rage she shows at the death of her husband asserts her as a bold revolutionist. Such a militant woman is the woman that Meena Kandasamy dreams of. She is the role-model for the subjugated women to come out of their cocoons. Princess-in-Exile is about Sita who “walked out” of her place from her husband Rama, when her chastity was questioned. She indirectly avenges her husband for his suspicion on her. Likewise, Meena wants women not to follow the rules laid by the patriarchal …show more content…
Moon-gazers is a powerful rendition of the superiority of non-dalits over the dalits. The poet brings home the speechless predicament of the dalits through the analogy of a classroom situation. The teacher talks about a bird watching throughout the night. When a girl questions what the bird does on new moon days, she is laughed at. She could not get an answer but just staring at the limitless eyes of the teacher. Such is the fate of all the dalits remaining mute and spell-bound to the atrocities inflicted on them.
One Eyed, the short poem highlights various atrocities committed against the dalit women. Meena emphasizes the humanitarian attitude of inanimate things which human beings lack. The pot, the glass and the water quench the thirst of a person while the teacher, the doctor, the school and the press are indifferent to the needs of the people. The dalit woman Dhanam was
“torn in half”(41) when she tries to get a pot of water at the cost of her left