Where I Come From
By-
Elizabeth Brewster
By Rihaan Jariwala, Suvvir Mehra, Vivaan Kaushik, Arav Jain,
Suhaani Gandhi, Maya Shetty and Dia Jhaveri
Contents
summary line-by-line-analysis Motifs and
themes
Summary (Stanza 1)
Stanza 1 of ‘Where I Come From’ by Elizabeth Brewster explores the close relationship
between place and identity. The poet suggests people might only show the essence of their
native environment, such as a specific look in their eyes or the memories they carry with
them. People carry hints of their native environments, as simple smells like smog, glue
factories, or subways linger with someone from the city forever.
People are made of places. They carry with them
hints of jungles or mountains, a tropic grace
or the cool eyes of sea-gazers.
● Metaphor: suggests that our identities are fashioned and determined by where we grow
up and where we spend most of our time.
● Plosive (p sound) emphasises the link between people and places,
● Suggests that the connections of the place are so ingrained within her that it manifests in
people’s demeanour, behaviour and mannerisms
● Implies that they are not just impressions but an integral part of her entire being
● Imagery (visual) reinforces the idea that where we spend our time makes up who we are.
● Metaphor: reflects the calm and reflective qualities that such geography may instil in the
person
● Enjambment which shows continuation of the idea and emphasizes on the connection
between people and the traits that they carry with them from such geographies
● The juxtaposition of both the places, Mountains vs Jungles, Shows us how each place is
unique and gives a person different traits and attributes.
………. Atmosphere of cities
how different drops from them, like the smell of smog
or the almost-not-smell of tulips in the spring,
“Atmosphere of cities”
● The writer shifts her attention towards those who live in the city
“different drops”
● Alliteration
● Metaphor -- ‘Atmosphere’ doesn't drop from people.
● The poet suggests that we ‘drop’ / give off evidence of the places we have been.
“smell of smog”
● The poet is highlighting the absence of natures smell
● Olfactory imagery
● Sibilance -- the /s/ sound reflecting the intensity of the odors themselves
● Paints an evocative picture of city life
“almost-not-smell of tulips”
● The natural smell of tulips is covered by the smog, so all that is left is a small memory of a smell
● Olfactory imagery
● It suggests a very faint hint of nature overwhelmed by the ‘smog’
nature tidily plotted in little squares
with a fountain in the centre;
Shows how the writer hates the rigid uniformity, geometry and
overall unnaturalness and artificialness of the nature in cities.
Repetition: tidily usually has a good connotation but here it is
used to express a sense of monotony and a lack of individuality.
Visual imagery: described the atmosphere and the setting
a museum smell,
art also tidily plotted with a guidebook;
Invokes a sense of things being shut away. Gives the impression to the
reader that art is archived instead of being properly admired.
Art in museums is being compared to a tidily plotted countryside, which
could be a metaphor for how we try to guide ourselves through life
instead of taking one step at a time.
Repetition: tidily usually has a good connotation but here it is used to
express a sense of monotony and a lack of individuality.
or the smell of work, glue factories maybe
chromium-plated offices;
the smell of subways crowded at rush hour.
“or the smell of work, glue factories maybe”
● Olfactory imagery - Glue has a very strong smell and is used here to emphasise the
harsh and industrial aspects of city life.
“chromium-plated offices;”
● Metonymy - offices show the hard work and struggle put in by the people working there
● Visual imagery - Modern polished architecture.
“ the smell of subways crowded at rush hour. “
● Sibilance - shows the intensity of the smell at the rush hour
● Visual imagery - This line provides a visual image of people crammed together in a
subway during rush hour.
● Olfactory imagery - This line recalls a mix of sweat,machinery and urban congestion
● Enjambment - there is a continuation of the same idea from the first line to the last line
with no pause portraying the fast pace city life
Analysing themes
The importance Resistance of
of the community oppression
Mars is actually a very Venus is the second planet
cold place from the sun
Struggles of rural The power of the
poor individual
Jupiter is the biggest Saturn is a gas giant and
planet of them all has several rings
Where I come from, people
carry woods in their minds, acres of pine woods;
Her tone shifts from a detached tone to a more personal tone as she shifts from “them” to “I” “ The splitting of
the paragraph distinguishes the two types of people
Visual imagery: it is a pleasant image. “Acres” symbolizes the vastness and freedom of the pine woods while
“pine woods” associated sweet smelling freshness
Contrast: carry is used in contrast to “drops” being used before. Here she focuses on people’s minds rather
than bodies which suggests a sense of intellectual and spiritual wellness in contrast to the people living in
cities
blueberry patches in the burned-out bush;
Plosive alliteration: shows resilience and resourcefulness
wooden farmhouses, old, in need of paint,
Contrast: wooden contrasts the chromium in cities, this creates a sense of more naturalness, authenticity, and simplicity.
with yards where hens and chickens circle about,
clucking aimlessly;
Contrast: hens and chickens also symbolise the people and these are contrasted to the busy city people who are always in a
rush and in hurry to get somewhere
battered schoolhouses behind which violets grow.
contrast: instead of a neatly plotted square with a fountain in the middle, there is a stark contrast with a
battered schoolhouse.
Antithesis: “battered suggests that the area faces harsh weather conditions however, the violets (implying the
schoolchildren) which are supposed to be delicate continue to persevere and grow despite the harshities.
Spring and winter
are the mind’s chief seasons: ice and the breaking of ice.
Suggests that the seasons shape the people. Summer is deliberately left out to underscore the extremes of the
natural world.
The idea of the coldness and harshness of winter are contrasted with the renewal and growth of spring
Ice here is a symbol that shows hardship and emotional and mental challenges while
The breaking of ice symbolizes resilience, renewal, and new beginnings
A door in the mind blows open, and there blows
a frosty wind from fields of snow.
Metaphor reinforces how the rural landscape has shaped her identity
Vivid sensory imagery
Smell: MOTIF is used to show the encompassing feeling of the surrounding
Flowers: motif used to show the contrast between city people and village people
Short summary
The second stanza introduces an idea of
change in the poem. The focus of the poem
now shifts more to the country life and rural
life, similar to that in which the poet herself
grew up (Chipman, New Brunswick)
Thanks!
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