Number 106 - Imtiaz Dharker

Question 1

Comment on the use of personification in the poem.

Answer 1

• the sun has a benevolent + nurturing quality (‘Sun is being kind to us’)
• clothes are waving —> an attempt for connection

Question 2

Explore the use of contrasts in the poem.

Answer 2

• freedom vs trapped: clothes are flying free on the clothing line while humans are trapped in buses
• solitude + community: each person occupies a window frame on the bus while clothes are enjoying their time on the 4th floor; the use of ‘we’ and ‘you’ pronouns
• individuality + anonymity: clothes have their specific names (trousers, vests, blouse) while humans are generalized to a bus ‘Number 106’
• ‘up’ and down’: clothes are free on the 4th floor while people are crammed on the bus
• perception of heat: heat makes it suffocating for the people on the bus but helps to dry off the clothes

Question 3

Where can irony be found in Number 106?

Answer 3

• cities are supposed to bring people together but instead causes urban alienation

Question 4

What is the purpose of personifying the Sun?

Answer 4

• contrast: the sun willingly pays attention to the hung-out clothes, which is more than what people on the bus do

Question 5

What does the act of ‘waving’ symbolize?

Answer 5

• welcoming + seeking attention
• ‘waving’ is mentioned in the first and last paragraph, implying that this action went unnoticed by the people on the bus throughout the whole poem, highlighting that this is a failed connection attempt

Question 6

What is the significance of title?

Answer 6

• ironic: people are generalized but clothes have a specific name
• disconnection between people: physically together yet mentally apart
• literal bus no. + urban transport

Question 7

Why mention that the clothes are ‘strung out’?

Answer 7

• the clothes are making the best out of their situation

Question 8

What are the effects of the literary devices used?

Answer 8

• free verse: reflects natural speech
• short lines: light, floating rhythm
• final line break: abrupt ‘but/you are not’ delivers a panel of loneliness
• enjambments: busy urban life makes people blind to small, beautiful moments
• each stanza gets progressively less: mirrors the fading connection between the speaker and clothes; sense of loss/diminishing hope; final line’s as if a person’s sighing/trailing off
• use of direct address: community vs urban loneliness/anonymity