Task 2 Home Learning

1) Point of View

In this poem, the point of view is from an American soldier, presumably Hubert Wilson himself. Although we cannot fully conclude that Hubert Wilson was the one narrating the poem, we can safely assume that the poem was narrated by an American soldier.

This is because, by analyzing the background of this poem, we would know that the poem was set in Da Nang, a place in Vietnam, where American soldiers fought during the Vietnam war . Therefore, we know that American soldiers are involved.

However, as we read the poem, we realize that the person narrating the story, is actually criticizing his own country, America. This can be seen, in the poem , where it states " America did not foresee " , "Now thinking twice?" and Nefariously America was led astray ". These evidence suggest that the poet himself is critical about the effects that war brings. Whether or not he is on the winning side, or the losing side, he knows that the innocent lives would be loss on both sides.


(2) Situation and Setting
The setting of the poem is in Da Nang , part of vietnam.This poem was probably written during the 1970's period, during the vietnam war, where american soldiers attacked vietnam.

Da nang was a place that was highly contaminated with "agent Orange". Agent orange was an extremely harmful as death, birth defects, and genetic diseases. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 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

The situation in the poem is when the American soldiers are spraying agent orange onto their own soldiers unknowingly. This can be seen in "Execrable effects of agent orange spray" .


(3) Language/Diction

The poem does not contain much literary devices. But it has some descriptive vocabulary, and extended metaphors.

"potpourri" - description

in the 1st stanza the poet states "Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!"

potpourri refers to a collection of various things; an assortment, mixed bag or motley; An anthology of miscellaneous prose; A medley of songs or music; A mixture of .

In this poem the poet is trying to describe the colour of the agent orange spray, and the other gases. He describes them as a mix of a variety of colour, like a "rainbow"

However, it is quite ironic that the poet uses the word death, beside potpourri. As a potpourri is usually vibrant and diverse, something that is beautiful and perhaps elegant. Yet the author places the word potpourri together with the word "death", which is something gloomy and dull.

"rainbow Death" - extended metaphor, and irony

The title rainbow death, is an extended metaphor for the act of spraying agent orange. This is because the spraying of agent orange is usually very colourful and vibrant. Therefore the word "rainbow" refers to the colour of the agent orange, while the word death refers to the effects of agent orange.

However, the title is also ironic, as rainbow, is something that is colourful and vibrant. A rainbow is an intagible object that gives a very positive connotation. However the word death on the other hand, has a negative connotation.

(4) Personal Response
In conclusion i think that the poet is trying to spread the message of how innocent people, weather on the winning side or the losing side in a war, are affected. He is trying to say that everybody is affected by war, even on both sides. Sometimes, allies even hurt each other, due to their rash actions and bad decisions. And even though the innocent people suffer, and die, they are not remembered at all. They are just left to die in the middle of the battle field. Therefore i think that this poem is trying to paint the brutality of war and the effects of war.

Home learning assignment Task 1

Rainbow Death

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 was led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!



Hubert Wilson, USA

Hubert wilson was involved in the Vietnam War , he served in the USAF Security Service. He was then sent to Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. As Da Nang was regularly sprayed with agent orange , the environment was contaminated and it affected hubert wilson's health. His health problems eventually got worse, through out the war. At first it was only headaches and limb pains, then followed by the deterioration of his central nervous system ,and then he started to experience spasms and severe headaches. However, nobody could detect any specific medical conditions. Therefore, Hubert Wilson was not able to receive any medical assistance from the doctor.

In the poem, Rainbow death refers to the "Agent orange Spray" .Agent orange was a chemical substance used during the Vietnamese war against Vietnam. Agent orange was a herbicide and defoliant- contaminated with TCDD or Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin). Approximately 4.8million Vietnamese were affected by Agent Orange and which resulted in about 400,000 deaths among the Vietnamese people and many more babies deformed at birth.

Therefore, in conclusion, i think that Hubert Wilson was just trying to describe, the horrible effects of war the agent orange spray. As the agent orange spray, not just caused the innocent soldiers to suffer, but also the next generation of off springs to come.