Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom Analysis

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The poem ‘Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom’ has very strong links to nature and the physical surroundings of the setting are all interlinked to the main series of events. This is a way of seeking to place more importance on the occurrences in the poem. It gives a sense of nature being replaced by human creations and of expectation. ‘Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom’ uses a lot of natural imagery to describe the small village of Cocoa Bottom. It also uses the reactions of the people in the village to enhance the importance of the occurrences. All the children and Grannie Patterson had gone to see Mr. Samuel’s lights. This gives examples of the oldest and youngest of the populous, thus suggesting that people young and old went to witness the glorious event. There is a sense of Dramatic irony in the way the children ‘waited’ for sunset so they could see the lights while, in the meantime, they used oil lamps to light the dark around them. A significant image is ‘The cable was drawn like a pencil line across the sun. This Shows two things. Firstly it symbolizes how the arrival of electricity is crossing out the old natural light as if it had become obsolete. But it also shows that the sun is Low in the sky now as if the sun is preparing for this event. Animal imagery is introduced through the fireflies and ‘kling-klings’ (birds). The way that the fireflies ‘waited in the shadows/Their lanterns off shows that they were Respecting and anticipating the arrival of electrical light. The birds also seem to be creeping in to view the event. The breeze and bamboo seem to stop their swaying in anticipation of the event and the stanza finishes with the words ‘Closing, Closing’ which builds anticipation. ‘Light!’ begins the next stanza of ‘Electricity comes to Cocoa Bottom. This short, Monosyllabic word grabs the attention. Assured technical knowledge is

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