The Yuba City School by Chitra Divakaruni
Chitra Divakaruni is an American Indian renowned author of short stories and poems. One of his best works is the poem “The Yuba City School.” Literally, the poem describes an immigrant family, a mother, and a son who has come to the United States from India. The persona of the poem, who is the mother, laments about his son Jaggit who is forced to sit at the back of the class “in the last row” together with bullies who drools and mumbles during the class (Divakaruni, 54). Although Jaggit is a bright boy who is eager to study, his sitting position at the back of the class with the bad boys makes it difficult. Due to his Indian origin, he finds it challenging to understand the language at school where his mother claims the words fly ‘low and heavy,’ which makes the other students refer to him as an idiot, hurting his self-esteem. Jagjit’s mother would like to go to the school and speak to the teacher about her son’s sitting position, but her poor understanding of English makes her feel ashamed just like her son. In general, the poem deals with the cultural differences and challenges faced by immigrants who come to the United States, especially those from non-English speaking nations like India.
Divakaruni applies the use of figurative language in this poem to bring out its inner meaning and expound on the theme of the poem. The common theme of the poem is the immigrants’ struggles in a foreign nation. The theme is evident throughout the poem, as depicted in the way Jaggit faces challenges at his sitting position in the class. Jagjit’s mother also brings out the theme when she decides to retrieve her only American skirt from home only to realize that she cannot speak fluent English. The poem has a mood of anxiety and despair, which makes the reader uncomfortable and uneasiness.
Divakaruni uses colors to convey a message to the reader. The first stanza shows Jaggit’s mom searching for her “American blue skirt” from her “black trunk” (Divakaruni, 54). The blue color portrays modernism or conservatism of the American culture. It is a contrast of the bright colors worn in their home country India whose culture is different from those of Americans. In the second stanza, Divakaruni uses a metaphor to where Jaggit states the work of their teacher flow out of a ‘mouth-cave’ like “disks, each a different color” (Divakaruni, 55). The metaphor adds power to the words used in the poem. The way Jagjit describes the words makes them incomprehensive, which are physically hurtful. The use of a dark mouth-cave represents some terrifying unknown hideout where a mammoth could be hiding, making the language scary. Divakaruni also uses another metaphor in the last stanza, where the persona of the poem laments that Jaggit’s teacher will easily ‘pluck’ the few English phrases that she knows (Divakaruni, 56). She claims that the teacher is more proficient in the language, so she will leave her with nothing to say after plucking the few words the persona knows. The person further says the teacher will ‘nail shut’ her lips, making her powerless (Divakaruni, 56). This indicates that language is power. By giving the language a physical form, Divakaruni emphasizes the power of language and how eloquent people can abuse it and overpower those who are less proficient like Jaggit and his mom.
The author makes use of irony in the entire poem. Jagjit and his mother are not conversant with the English language, yet Divakaruni’s use of English in the poem is excellent. Her mastery of using different styles of writing and proper grammar does not go in hand with these immigrants of Indian origin who do not know English. This makes it ironic because the reader expected Divakaruni to present the two immigrants in broken English with a touch of Indian dialect. In the second stanza, the author uses rhyming words at the end of the first four lines, which ends with the sound /s/ (Divakaruni, 54). This brings the poem’s rhythm and good flow, giving the reader a tempo in reading the poem.
Personification has been used in the fourth stanza where songs have been personified. “… Grandfather’s songs lighting on his head” (Divakaruni, 55). The implication that songs are lighting Jaggit’s head helps the reader to understand the phrase much better. In the same stanza, Divakaruni uses a simile in the last line, which states, “The old words, glowing like summer fireflies” (Divakaruni, 55). Words have been compared to summer fireflies, which makes the line interesting as well as showing the intensity of words being referred.
In the third stanza, the author uses alliteration in the second line where two words with the sound /sh/ follow each other, “shiny shoes” (Divakaruni, 55). Such words in close succession make the reader focus more on that particular section of the line. It also creates mood and specific connotations in the poem making it more understandable. Lastly, Divakaruni applied the use of imagery in her work. For example, in the second last stanza, “invisible hands snatch at his turban” (Divakaruni, 54). The use of imagery in this phrase makes the reader picture the invisible hands and Jaggit’s turban, causing the reader to momentarily shift his attention. This makes the poem more interesting and involving.
In conclusion, Divakaruni skillfully presents the poem through the use of figurative languages such as metaphors and similes. She has also mastered the art of narration, which makes the poem to have a good flow from the start to the end. Her use of irony to such a great extent in the poem is outstanding, making it a perfect example of the power of poetry and language.
Work Cited
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee. “Yuba City School.” Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry (1993): 54-56.