Home Learning Assignment - Task 1

Task 1

Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report on your blog detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2.

Rainbow Death
Hubert Wilson

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

After researching on the internet, I found out that this poem was basically talking about "Rainbow Herbicides", which was used in the Herbicidal Warfare Programme. Rainbow Herbicides caused tremendous suffering to the victims of it, and even the people who used or even just came into contact with the Rainbow Herbicides. The most prominent and commonly used Rainbow herbicide was the "Agent Orange", which is what the poet is mainly talking about.

Agent Orange is the code name for a herbicide and highly toxic defoliant(chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause its leaves to fall off) used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. The main aim of using Agent Orange was to reduce the dense jungle foliage so that Vietnamese troops could not use it for cover. It was also to destroy the Vietnamese people's crops so that they did not have food.

From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was the most widely used among the herbicides, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed to it. 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html