Abandoned Bundle Memo

The first stanza suggests the setting of the poem. Comment on the irony about the name of the
suburb "White City Jabavu"
The name of the suburb "white city, jabavu" is that only black people were allowed to live there
What is the effect of the metaphor "red bandanas of blood"?
This metaphor is effective as it illustrates that the dogs have strips of material drenched in blood
hanging from their mouths
Discuss the allusion in the fourth stanza
The allusion in the fourth stanza draws a comparison between the birth of Jesus in a humble stable to
the final resting place of the baby on a rubbish heap
How does the poet position/convey the mother in this poem?
Provide a reason for your answer
The poet positions the mother as guiltless
She has been a victim of the apartheid system in the form of both migrant labour and poverty
How does this poem address the living conditions in townships in South Africa?
The word "little" suggests the size of the houses.
The amount of smoke suggests there is little no electricity available
and the rubbish heap indicates a lack of services
The diction in the poem is deceptively simple given the content of the poem.
Quote an example of diction that highlights the horror of what the poet is describing
"Dung"
I said "mutilated"
LINES 1 -2
THE MORNING MIST AND CHIMNEY SMOKE
The poet opens the scene from a part of Soweto.
LINES 3 -6
OF WHITE CITY JABAVU
FLOWED THICK YELLOW AS PUS OOZING
FROM A GIGANTIC SORE.
Soweto is described as a negative place,
the pllution + living conditions of people are unhealthy.
LINES 7-8
IT SMOTHERED OUR LITTLE HOUSES
The feeling created in these lines
are that the people living in Soweto
are smothered by air pollution
just as fish are smothered when caught. in a net.
LINES 9-12
SCAVENGING DOGS
DRAPED IN RED BANDANAS
FOUGHT FIERCELY FOR A SQUIRMING BUNDULE
They are feeding on a rubbish dump
Covered in blood and are fighting over a moving bundle.

We see that bundle has life - "squirming"

LINES 13-16
I THREW A BRICK
THEY BAR FLICKED V SCARLET AND SCURN
He threw a brick at the dogs,
at first they bared their teeth at him,
but then just licked their lips and ran away

They were not fearful

LINES 17- 18 LEAVING A MUTILATED CORPSE INFANT DUMPED ON A RUBBISH НЕАР
After the dogs leave,
the speaker finds the body of a baby
cast away on the rubbish heap.
LINES 19 - 21 'OH! BABY IN THE MANGER SLEEP WELL ON HUMAN DUNG.
The speaker addresses the baby directly,
compares it to the baby Jesus who had no crib or bed and tells it to sleep well on the human dung
- the irony is heavy in these words.
LINES 22- 25
ITS MOTHER HAD MELTED INTO THE RAYS OR SUN
SHINE
HER FACE GLITTERING WITH,
HER HEART AS PURE AS UNTRAMPLED DEW
The speaker shows the baby's mother as person who did not know what else to do under these
circumstances.
SUMMARY
IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING WHEN THE MORNING MIST AND THICK YELLOW SMOKE
COMING FROM THE CHIMNEYS OF HOUSES IN WHITE CITY JABAVU FILLED THE AIR.
THE POET COMPARES THE SMOKE WITH PUS OOZING FROM A BIG SORE
SUMMARY
THEIR LITTLE HOUSES WERE SMOTHERED BY THE SMOKE, LIKE FISH CAUGHT IN A NET
SUMMARY
THE POET SAW SOME SCAVENGING DOGS, COVERED WITH BLOOD, FIGHTING FIERCELY
OVER A SQUIRMING BUNDLE ONA RUBBISH HEAP
SUMMARY
He threw a brick at them. They showed their teeth, flickered their blood-covered tongues and ran
away.
SUMMARY
The poet saw that the dogs had lett the mutilated corpse of a baby behind. The baby had been
dumped on a rubbish heap.
SUMMARY
He spoke to the corpse of the baby and called it 'Baby in the Manger' (an analogy with the baby
Jesus) and cynically told the baby to sleep well on its bed of human dung
SUMMARY
The mother who had abandoned the baby has disappeared.
Her face was glittering with innocence and her heart as pure as untrampled dew.
INTERPRETATION
THE POEM ISA CRITICAL, ALMOST CYNICAL,
LOOK AT LIFE IN WHITE CITY JABAVU THAT FORMS PART OF SOWETO.
HE SKETCHES THE BACKGROUND CIRCUMSTANCES
AGAINST WHICH HE WITNESSED THIS GRUESOME SCENE.
THE POET WANTS TO POINT OUT THE 'SICKNESS' OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH
THE PEOPLE LIVE.
THEY ARE SMOTHERED BY THE THICK SMOKE, LIKE HOW FISH CAUGHT IN A NET DIE OF
SMOTHERING.
INTERPRETATION
The scavenging dogs, fighting viciously for the baby's body and covered with the baby's blood,
indicate the poverty of people in White City Jabavu they cannot even feed the animals.
INTERPRETATION
The mother literally regarded the baby as 'useless' or as 'rubbish', therefore she dumped it on the
rubbish heap.
INTERPRETATION
The poet points out that the mother was no more than an innocent, too young to accept responsibility
for the child and had therefore dumped it
INTERPRETATION
The dead baby 'sleeping' on 'human dung'
indicates the terrible circumstances under which it was born as part of the deprived section of society
SIMILE:
'AS PUS OOZING FROM A GIGANTIC SORE' (LINES 5-6):
WANTS TO MAKE THE POINT THAT SOMETHING ABOUT THE WHOLE SITUATION IS 'SICK'
SIMILE: 'LIKE FISH CAUGHT IN A NET (LINE 8):
THE SIMILE USED TO ILLUSTRATE HOW THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE ARE SMOTHERED BY
THE SMOKE
METAPHOR DRAPED IN RED BANDANAS OF BLOOD' (LINE 10):
REFERS TO THE RED BLOOD ON THEIR HEADS AND NECKS AS THEY EAT THE BODY.
METAPHOR: FLICKED VELVET TONGUES OF SCARLET' (LINE 15):
THEIR TONGUES WERE AS SOFT AS VELVET WHILE LICKING THE BABY'S BLOOD.
(LINE 22-23):
THE BABYS MOTHER HAD DISAPPEARED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE RISING SUN
SIMILE: 'HER HEART AS PURE AS UNTRAMPLED DEW (LINE 25):
AS AN INNOCENT CHILD WHO, AS A VICTIM OF HER CIRCUMSTANCES,
HAD NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO DUMP HER CHILD

IN HIS OPINION SHE SHOULD BE REGARDED AS INNOCENT AND NOT BE CONDEMNED FOR
WHAT SHE DID/ HAS DONE

SHE SHOULD BE FORGIVEN

White City Jabavu:
part of Soweto where houses are mostly painted white
Pus:
part yellowish-white, fluid produced in infected wounds
Smothered:
suffocated, stifled
Scavenging:
feeding on remains of things found on rubbish dumps
draped:
draped: wrapped, covered
Bandanas:
brightly coloured handkerchief worn around the head
Squirming:
writhing
Bared fangs.
They showed their teeth
Velvet
Very soft silk like fabric
suggests a richness
Scarlet:
red colour
Scurried away:
scrambled, ran away quickly
Mutilated:
disfigured, dismembered
Infant:
Baby
Manger:
trough in a stable from which horses and cattle eat
Dung:
manure, excretion
Untrampled:
not stepped upon, not disturbed
Abondoned bundle-figures of speech
Simile (The smog slowly moved like yellow liquid from an infected wound)
As pus oozing the morning mist
and chimney smoke
of White City Jabavu
Flowed thick yellow
from a gigantic sore
Simile (The smog covering the area is compared to fish caught in a net
It smothered our little houses like fish caught in a as net
Metaphor ( The dogs necks were covers in the baby's blood and/or each other's blood(they
were fighting over the baby.
Scavenging dogs draped in red bandanas of blood
Alliteration( the repetition of the 'f' sound emphasizes the roughness of the dogs and the
manner in which they fought over the baby
fought fiercely
What is the poem about?(what is the intention)
The intention of the poet in writing this poem would be to highlight the plight of people living in poverty
and to describe daily life in townships under Apartheid.
What is the theme of the poem
Long conditions of people in Soweto during Apartheid
Intention and content
The speaker in the poem describes a shocking scene - dogs fights over a baby they found abandoned
on a township rubbish dump. The speaker responds by throwing a brick at them to try scare them
away.

The poet's intention

The poet seems to be trying to shock and challenge the reader. He compares the abandoned child to
the baby jesus, and then suggests that the mother has done nothing wrong.
First stanza
The first stanza describes the setting. Mtshali begins with the
mist and smoke - suggesting the image of an early morning,
where the mist is trapped over the township, while the smoke
from all the fires rises to mix with this
flowed thick yellow
as pus oozing
from a gigantic sore.
The simile in lines4-6 compares the thick, ugly, discoloured smoke-mist mix to pus coming out of a
sore. The
implied comparison is that the whole town- ship is like a huge, festering sore. This emphasizes the
ugliness and
sordidness of the living conditions,
Second stanza
The second stanza emphasizes the heaviness and oppressiveness of the mist / smoke — and of the
environment. By comparing the smoke to a net and the houses to the fish caught in the net, the
poet creates a clear image of how the people are trapped in this place.
Scavenging dogs
draped in red bandanas of blood
fought fiercely
for a squirming bundle.
Stanza 3 begins by referring to the dogs as "scavenging" (line 9) - they are not hunting, but are
lookingfor food,
which they find in the form of the bundle. They fight over what they have found because they are
hungry and
because their system is about 'survival of the fittestr. The comparison between the red of the fresh
blood staining
their muzzles and throats draws attention to the fact that whatever they are eating must be alive. This
is echoed by the phrase "squirming bundle" (line 12)
I threw a brick
The speaker picks up a handy brick to throw at the dogs - this is another indication of the conditions in
the township, where things like bricks lie at hand.
scurried away
The dogs reaction seems to be threatening, but it is more likely that they themselves feel threatened
as they run away quickly.
flicked velvet tounges of scarlet
The description of the "velvet tongues" (line 15)
contrasts with the "fangs" (line 14). And the use of the word "scarlett" (line 15) is again shocking
because it draws attention again to the idea of the child being attacked while it was alive.
leaving a mutilated corpsean infant dumped on a rubbish heap-
The "squirming bundle" (line 12) is now a E' mutilated corpse"
(line 17) - which is a harsh, unrelentingdescription. The poet
uses dashes as parenthesis to explain exactly what the bundle is - an abandoned baby (line 18). This
matter-of-fact statement is made shocking because of the references to the blood that come
beforehand. The quotation marks indicate what the speaker (and the poet) may have cried out, or
thought.
Oh! Baby in the Manger
The "Oh!" (line 19) is almost a cry of anguish. The phrase "Baby in the Manger" (line 19) refers to the
image of the Baby Jesus of Christianity- born in a stable and laid in a feeding trough. The implied
comparison here is between that child - born in harsh circumstances, but loved and safe; and this
child cast away on a rubbish heap, sleep well on human dung.'
The comment that the child should "sleep well on human dung" (line 20-21) is almost ironic, In
some ways, this is the final peace this poor child will find in its short, harsh life - but it is also a
terrible place to be left. The "dung" is not necessarily only literal - it also refers to the detritus of
this life.
Its mother
had melted into the rays of the rising sun,
her face glittering with innocence
her heart as pure as untrampled dew.
Stanza 5 almost lifts the mood of the poem with the references to "rising sun" (line 24), the face
"glittering"
(line 24) and the pure heart (line 25). These are images of purity, hope and new life. By describingthe
mother
in these terms after the graphicand harsh descriptions of the fate of her child, Mtshali seems to be
judgingthe
mother harshly. The description is almost ironic- the mother may appear untouched and innocent, but
it is a
contrived innocence. She may not have foreseen such a fate for her child, but she did literallythrow it
away.
The use of the word "melted" (line 23) suggests a nan-reality about her, Compared to the child's
horrible
reality, the mother is almost irrelevant.
MORAL DECAY
The poet pictures a society in which there is no sense of humanity. The mother in the poem has lost
her sense of humanity and she dares drape her own baby inside the bandanas making a bundle that
she throws in the rubbish heap. The moral decay is shown by the irony that the poet postpones until
the last stanza so that it may come as a surprise to us. It is insensible to think that a woman who has
thrown her baby to be eaten by the scavenging dogs would leave the spot with;
her face glittering with innocence
her heart pure as untrampled dew
This shows how rotten the society is and perhaps she is used of doing this that is why it comes as no
surprise to her. While the readers and the persona feel sympathetic of the whole issue it is surprising
to note that the mother has no that feeling.
IRRESPONSIBILITY
Many women are irresponsible nowadays when it comes to motherhood and the responsibilities
attached to it. They either abort the foetus or abandon the babies in plastic bags and in the hospitals.
This is highest level of irresponsibility to think that a woman who waited for nine months to deliver her
baby would be so strange o throw the baby and leave it to be eaten by the scavenging dogs.
Surprisingly still she goes away registering innocence in her face.
Its mother had melted into the rays of the rising sun,
her face glittering with innocence .What they do not know is that abortion does not make them remain
maidens but mothers of the dead baby.
SYMPATHY
The persona feels sympathetic towards the baby and throws a brick to scare the dogs. The persona
shows that the baby was being consumed while alive with the sensibilities of knowing what was going
on for he says the bundle was "squirming" (twisting its body perhaps because of pains). But since the
dogs had mutilated the baby badly, its body remained there as a "mutilated corpse." He remained
hopeless and had nothing to do as he saw the baby lying hopeless like Jesus was in the manger. All
he had to say was;
'Oh! Baby in the Manger sleep well on human dung.'
HYPOCRISY
Many people are hypocrites in our societies. They commit severe crimes but as long as they go
unnoticed they pretend to be innocent in the eyes of the people. The mother in the poem is a
hypocrite because she has murdered her own child but she leaves the scene putting on her face a
glittering innocence to hide her guiltiness. Its mother had melted into the rays of the rising sun,
her face glittering with innocence her heart pure as untrampled dew.
With hypocrites of this nature in the society we cannot create an ideal society we aspire for. These are
wolves in a sheep's clothing.
Irony
The poet uses the words below to express the irony because the mother who has abandoned her
baby to be eaten by the dogs is expected to feel guilty and full of remorse. This is not what happens
as the poet says; her face glittering with innocence her heart pure as untrampled dew.
Simile
"Chimney smoke of White city Jabavu flowed thick yellow as pus oozing from a gigantic sore"
Þ It smothered our little houses like fish caught in a net.
Þ Her heart as pure as untrampled dew
Allusion
The words "Oh! Baby in the Manger" refer to the biblical rendition of Jesus Christ who slept in the
Bethlehem Manger.
Imagery
The poet creates visual images of poverty as he describes the White City Jabavu as a place full of
"chimney smoke" resembling "pus oozing from a gigantic sore" and the "rubbish heap". These portray
an area where poor people live.
"The mutilated corpse" and "bare fangs" of the dogs portray cruelty to a child and loss of humanity.
Symbolism
Þ "An abandoned bundle" this represents the babies who are aborted or thrown away everyday by
their mothers and they die miserably.
Þ "The White city Jabavu" this symbolises any society in Africa where women re morally corrupt. They
commit crimes but go away feeling innocent without any sense of guilt.
Þ "The Baby in the Manger" this symbolises the innocence of the child whose life is shortened by the
mother.
Þ "The mother" she represents women who are morally corrupt and have no sense of guilt.
vi. What message do we get from this poem?
Þ Women should take the responsibility of taking care of their children.
Þ Abortion should be discouraged at all costs.
Þ The government should take stern measures against those who abandon their children (babies)
vii. Briefly comment on the relevance of this poem to your society today.
The poem is very relevant to our society today as there are many women who abort their unborn
children or abandon them in the hospitals, roads, rubbish pits, others throw them in the latrine pits.
What is the poem about?
The title of this poem "an abandoned bundle" summarises the meaning of the poem as it points out
the issue of moral decay in the society. It shows a woman who draped the newly born baby in form of
a bundle using the bandanas and abandons it on a rubbish heap to be eaten by dogs.
Who is the persona? How do you know?
The persona is a passer-by who lives at White City Jabavu who witnesses the abandoned baby being
consumed by the dogs. This is revealed by the way he says;
I threw a brick;
they bared fangs"
What is the tone of the poem?
The tone is sympathetic to the child but it turns out to be ironical towards the end of the poem as the
mother moves away feeling innocent instead of guilty. The mood is also sympathetic.
What type of poem is this? Give reason(s).
It is a free-verse/modern poem of Lyric type as it expresses the strong feelings of sympathy of a
passer-by towards the baby.
Comment on language use in this poem.
The language used is simple and easy to understand and the choice of vocabulary is done well. There
are words that make us visualise how corrupt the society is. The poet has also made use of figures of
speech to carry the message across.