Sunday, April 4, 2010

Of Hidden Taxes - Marge Piercy (Additional English)

The poem ‘Of Hidden Taxes’ can be considered as a critique of American Globalization from the perspective of an insider. Marge Piercy highlights the adverse effects of urbanization, industrialization and privatization. Secondly it also highlights the hegemonic military control exercised by America over developing countries.
The poet focuses on the helplessness of the people and in the process also highlights the indifference of the government towards the suffering of the people. The whole poem is said in a satiric tone.

I Stanza

Marge Piercy in the first stanza emphasizes the manner in which the corporate world representing the sociological institutions of the government functions. The lines ‘Suppose those corporation spooks had to speak frankly:’ highlights the world of hypocrisy. The corporate executive claim that they pay a handsome to the labourers and also claim that they give them incentives, they boast that they provide them with better amenities. Little do they pay attention to the occupational hazards which could cripple them for life. The executives seem to be insensitive to the sufferings of common folk. She also brings out how the people are going to be rendered jobless in future by a process of further automation, which would further perpetuate unemployment, poverty and also widen the gap between the rich and the poor, concentration of wealth in a few hands and the exploitation of the common people.

II Stanza

This stanza focuses on the adverse effects of urbanization and also industrialization, which is explicit in the line ‘we’ll dump arsenic in your water’. She says that the industries are being established in towns and thereby leading to industrialization and urbanization. The industries would channel their waste into streams and rivers indicating ecological degradation. Secondly, she enunciates that agricultural land will become fallow rendering the farmers jobless. The farmlands are converted into tract houses as the farmers would be forced to take up jobs in the industries and nobody would be left for farming. Thirdly, she also talks about the burden meted out to the common folks in the form of tax, in order to fulfill the demands of the executives and their expensive life style. Finally it also highlights the manner in which the global market functions. The goods that would be produced in America would be shipped out to (rather dumped into) Taiwan and other countries.

III Stanza

The third stanza highlights the destructive nature of industries and industrialization. She talks about the unfavorable situation caused by industries -perpetuating unemployment and environmental degradation. It seems that the ‘corporation spooks’ are insensitive towards the harm caused by them as a result of over exploitation. Although these people are aware of the damage (spills) caused to the nature they are least bothered. The pollution caused as a result of oil drilling does not affect just the aquatic life; it goes beyond that, it also affects vegetation and human life.

IV Stanza
The poet satirizes the functioning of the Government, the President(the head of the state) and also militarization. She says that the head of the state claims that in order to strengthen the military force, they conduct trial wars over various frontiers which results in expenditure. In the process of strengthening the military force the President claims that they are creating employment opportunities. But where does the government get this money from? It’s quite obvious that the common man would be taxed, he’s burdened with it to which the government seems to be quite insensitive. The stanza end’s with a rhetorical question ‘Who do you think was buying all those bombers?’ which hints towards common man buys all those arms and ammunition. Ironically the common man has ‘no say’ in the proceedings of the government and also not aware of he being taxed to pay off the debt resultant of war. Secondly it also highlights about illegal means of hoarding money (‘cocaine to the economy’)

V Stanza
Here the poet talks about inhuman militarization. The lines ‘we grow you to fit uniform’ and ‘get no depreciation value’ highlight the inhuman nature of the statesmen. The statesmen force all the youngsters into military. Any harm caused to these youngsters due to war which would cripple them for life is not considered. Instead of sympathizing with such individuals who sacrifice their life and dedicate their life for the state, the statesmen feel that they incur loss for they feel that they would have invested a lot of money in the training of these individuals and in the course of war if these individuals loose their limbs or any vital part of their body they would no longer be fit to perform. This clearly indicates inhuman commodification of human beings in the name of strengthening the military force.

It also highlights the hegemonic control of America over other countries. The state, inorder to prove its hegemony and power would wage war on other countries and in the name of war demolishes them. She also talks about indiscriminate killing of people which they camouflage by saying ‘population control’.
Towards the end of the poem the poet says ‘back home baby farming’ sums up the whole poem. In the previous stanzas she highlights overexploitation of nature and human beings, which affects and has affected the whole generation and the consequence of it is borne by the contemporaries and it does not stop with them, it further affects the forthcoming generations for several centuries. The forthcoming generations would have to strive hard to thrive with nothing left to survive upon.

10 comments:

  1. very well done....brilliant choice of words and greatly written...good help!=)

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  2. superb work good help!!!

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  3. very good help :) thanks a lot :)

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  4. finally m done wid this poem..thanks a lol..:)

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  5. very good and very helpful ! and a big thank you !!

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