Bags Of Meat - Thomas Hardy Flashcards
(7 cards)
1
Q
What are some themes in Bags of Meat?
A
- selfishness of man
- objectification and animal abuse
2
Q
What is the power dynamic between man and animals?
A
- man’s belief in superiority
- man have dominance over animals —> ‘master’ and ‘slaves’
- animals appear scared —> ‘jump’ = flight over fight
3
Q
How are animals abused in Bags of Meat?
A
- moved forcefully —> ‘prod’
- a false picture of living conditions is painted for animals —> ‘vale’
- animals are compared to food —> ‘barrel of beer’
- animals are feed fat so they can be sold for more money
- animals are called ‘beast’
4
Q
What makes this poem deceptive?
A
- use of enclosed rhyme: deceptively playful associated with children’s rhyme
- used to entertain the men at the auction
5
Q
What is ironic about giving away cows for good will during Christmas?
A
- Christmas while associated with kindness, Jesus’s new life, peace and calmness, is shown as a day where animals are killed as gifts for others
- underscores the selfishness and hypocrisy of humans
6
Q
What does the structure and form of Bags of Meat show about the poem?
A
- playful tone vs grim subject matter = callousness of buyers
- mostly iambic meter shows the dehumanizing and transactional nature of event
7
Q
What is the implication of using plural in the title Bags of Meat?
A
- implies that the steer, heifer, bull and calf in the poem will all end up being ‘bags of meat’
- emphasizes the cruelty and selfishness of humans
