Zong! Themes

Zong! Themes

Race

One of the seminal themes the poet talks about in her poems is that of race. She essentializes this theme in a very neutral manner, or rather, seemingly neutral manner, by simply easing the word "negro" into all the three "fragments". She essentially talks about the marginalized condition of the blacks in a particular community by creating a particular space to talk about their condition. The poet essentially narrativizes the struggle of the black community by comparing them to the "underwriters" and talking about them in a very minimalistic manner.

The abject human condition

Another theme in these fragments is "the abject human condition". The poet essentially talks about this condition by creating a marginalized space of the underprivileged races, but through these spaces, she talks about a universalized experience. She talks about the "underwriters" and their conditions, and the weighted wants of these writers, and it can be assumed that the poet wants the reader to understand the desires of these writers.

Social criticism

Another important theme is is that of social criticism. The poet essentially uses poetry to actively critique society and the social milieu and contest social injustice. She uses poetic ethos to question the status quo, and the way she talks about the black man shows what she feels about the today's world. Her contestation of the after rains - symbolic of rebellion - is indicative of her spirit of defiance.

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