Comparison Essay: The Theme of Power

In this essay, I will talk about how the poems, ‘Remains’ and ‘The Emigrée’ express the theme of power in many different ways. In ‘Remains’, the protagonist is filled with the power of guilt because of how he has killed another man and how it is continuing to haunt him throughout his time, whereas in ‘The Emigrée’, the protagonist is unshaken on her fixed idea of what she thinks of her home despite all the negativity that she is constantly hearing about it; therefore the power of conviction. There are also many similarities within the poems, such as the outcomes of their situations, for example how it results around the power of memory.

To begin with, in the poem ‘Remains’, the protagonist regretfully says, ‘His bloody life in my bloody hands’. This quotation conveys the power of regret. The writer uses words and their suggestions to give two means for the word ‘bloody’. Usually when somebody is bleeding out and you hold them you would have blood on your hands. However, in this context the protagonist does not physically have blood on his hand so the reader must refer to the other meaning of killing someone. ‘His bloody life…’, shows that the protagonist did not care for that person who is affecting him that much and it just happens to be stuck with him.

In contrast to the previous paragraph conveying the power of regret, “I walk right over it week after week.” conveys the power of memory within the poem. It shows how the protagonist has engraved where this person has died in his mind and how this comes back to him every week. It  was not just a singular event in the protagonists’ life, as it appears he is constantly reminded of what happens, almost as if he has a flashback. From this moment in the story, the protagonist begins to realise what he has done as well as the type of effect that it has had on his life. The poet uses repetition when he says, ‘Week after week’, to suggest that the protagonist can not get it out of his head.

Similarly, in the poem ‘The Emigrée’, the protagonist, which is portrayed as a little girls says, “But my memory of it is sunlight clear”. This suggests the power of memory because the refuses to accept any other thought about her country except her own. There is a chance that although she is young she may only remember positive memories of her country yet, she has been told about it being at war as well as endangered. The writer uses symbolism to suggest that the sunlight she remembers could represent the hope that she has for her country. She remembers that her country was a strong country as well as there was always hope in it. This is similar to the way power is portrayed in the previous poem ‘Remains’, as both protagonists are overwhelmed by the power of memory. In the poem remains, the soldier’s memory haunts him, constantly reminding him of what he has done and in ‘The Emigrée’, the little girl’s memory is presented as the only thing that keeps her going.

Although, in the poem ‘The Emigrée’, power is shown through memory, in the poem ‘Remains’, the protagonist attempts to wash away his guilt. We can see this when the writer quotes, “And the drinks and the drugs won’t flush him out.” This quotation tells me that he is attempting to use alcohol and drugs to hide away that memory of the person that he has killed. But it doesn’t work for him, so it shows that the protagonist did all of those things to avoid it from happening and it still didn’t flush him out. This conveys the power of guilt because he is guilty of what happened to the man and can not get it out of his head. All the regret he must be feeling must overwhelm him. The writer uses ‘words and their suggestions’ to further deepen the meaning if what he is saying. The words ‘flush’ is usually used when talking about removing waste. The word flush used in this sentence to suggest that the memory is seen as waste/rubbish therefore the drink and drugs are used to assist the removal of the memory…

Also, in the poem ‘The Emigrée’, she quotes, “But I am branded by an impression of sunlight.” This quotation shows the power of conviction because she chooses not to believe any other opinion but her own. The fact that she is ‘branded’ shows that she is owned by the country. The writer uses ‘words and their suggestions’ when she says, ‘An impression of sunlight’. This is because and impression of sunlight could be to always be looking towards hope. To be branded by an impression of sunlight could mean that they are very optimistic and always looking towards the brighter side. A suggestion for this could be because she has not been to her home country in years therefore, the only way that she wants to remember her country is through the positive things that she has heard.

To conclude, the poem ‘The Emigrée’, conveys the power of memory and conviction whereas the poem ‘Remains’ portrays the power of memory and guilt. In the poem Remains, the protagonist appears to be overwhelmed with the power of guilt and it slowly begins to affect him in a way that it haunts him because it is always with him. In my opinion, I think the the second poem ‘The Emigrée’ is more affective in showing power. This is because it shows how much somebody could stand out when going to a new city and how they are seen as an outsider in a free city. It also shows when a person has nothing else to push them on, how easy it would be for them to give up. Throughout the poem she explains her problems and how she never fit in within a new country.