"On The Other End of The Line"
Born in Abeokuta, which is located in Southwestern Nigeria, Wole Soyinka is honored for his literature. He is known for speaking out about politics, and has faced consequences, such as exile, as an outcome. Soyinka 's literature maintains popular topics such as racial prejudice, social justice, and political corruption. One of his famous literature works, "Telephone Conversation," focuses on racial discrimination. "Telephone Conversation" is a short poem about a conversation between two races discussing the purchase of an apartment. As their conversation continues, the buyer experiences difficulties in buying the wanted property. "Telephone Conversation" utilizes imagery, irony, and repetition throughout the …show more content…
"Telephone Conversation" includes a black male and a Caucasian female who comes off crude to each other before their conversation even begins. The conversation starts in a "Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered / Omnibus squelching tar" (13-14) with a landlady. The description of the red telephone booth sets the scene of the poem to take place in London. "Voice, when it came, / Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled / Cigarette-holder pipped" (7-9) was what the black male imaged when the woman picked up the phone. With a very audacious response, the woman questioned the man, "HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . ."ARE YOU LIGHT / OR VERY DARK?" (10-11). Asking this question, made me feel disrespected and wanted to know the purpose of her question. I wondered why would a Caucasian woman ask a black gentleman about the shade of his skin before starting a conversation. For either choice that the gentleman made when answering the woman 's question, their conversation would have been directed in different ways based upon his skin color. Trying to explain to the woman his appearance, he tells her: "Facially I am brunette, but madam, you should see / The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet / Are a peroxide blond" (28-30), but believes only a face-to-face meeting with her will change her perspective of …show more content…
"I warned" (4) her of my ethnicity, instead of informing her. "Nothing remained / But self-confession" (3-4), the gentleman thought to himself and stated, "I am African" (5). Reflecting upon this statement, my first reaction was trying to understand the meaning behind announcing your race, as an African, is a self-confession. The feelings of the gentlemen were disappointed and ashamed after admitting to the landlady his race. "Considerate she was, varying the emphasis- / "ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" (17-18), the response of the landlady was very insensitive. Soyinka uses capitalization on the words of the landlady to express her aggressive and careless tone towards the gentleman, which changes his impression of her. "Shamed / By ill-mannered silence" (14-15), the African man was not expecting this conversation to be focused on the shade of his skin. "It was real" (14), the gentleman was astonished by the racism in a city that supposedly valued
Born in Abeokuta, which is located in Southwestern Nigeria, Wole Soyinka is honored for his literature. He is known for speaking out about politics, and has faced consequences, such as exile, as an outcome. Soyinka 's literature maintains popular topics such as racial prejudice, social justice, and political corruption. One of his famous literature works, "Telephone Conversation," focuses on racial discrimination. "Telephone Conversation" is a short poem about a conversation between two races discussing the purchase of an apartment. As their conversation continues, the buyer experiences difficulties in buying the wanted property. "Telephone Conversation" utilizes imagery, irony, and repetition throughout the …show more content…
"Telephone Conversation" includes a black male and a Caucasian female who comes off crude to each other before their conversation even begins. The conversation starts in a "Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered / Omnibus squelching tar" (13-14) with a landlady. The description of the red telephone booth sets the scene of the poem to take place in London. "Voice, when it came, / Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled / Cigarette-holder pipped" (7-9) was what the black male imaged when the woman picked up the phone. With a very audacious response, the woman questioned the man, "HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . ."ARE YOU LIGHT / OR VERY DARK?" (10-11). Asking this question, made me feel disrespected and wanted to know the purpose of her question. I wondered why would a Caucasian woman ask a black gentleman about the shade of his skin before starting a conversation. For either choice that the gentleman made when answering the woman 's question, their conversation would have been directed in different ways based upon his skin color. Trying to explain to the woman his appearance, he tells her: "Facially I am brunette, but madam, you should see / The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet / Are a peroxide blond" (28-30), but believes only a face-to-face meeting with her will change her perspective of …show more content…
"I warned" (4) her of my ethnicity, instead of informing her. "Nothing remained / But self-confession" (3-4), the gentleman thought to himself and stated, "I am African" (5). Reflecting upon this statement, my first reaction was trying to understand the meaning behind announcing your race, as an African, is a self-confession. The feelings of the gentlemen were disappointed and ashamed after admitting to the landlady his race. "Considerate she was, varying the emphasis- / "ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" (17-18), the response of the landlady was very insensitive. Soyinka uses capitalization on the words of the landlady to express her aggressive and careless tone towards the gentleman, which changes his impression of her. "Shamed / By ill-mannered silence" (14-15), the African man was not expecting this conversation to be focused on the shade of his skin. "It was real" (14), the gentleman was astonished by the racism in a city that supposedly valued