Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness

Who have not seen the light

There are children in the darkness

Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be

To this door there is no key

From this life they can not flee

And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle

Could we give them half a chance

Could we teach them how to read

Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them

Their body and their soul

Will their life and blood be poured

Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness

From which there is no flight

Back into the darkness

Into which there shines no light

Henry M Bechtold

Task 1: Introduction to the Poem

Henry M Bechtold was in Saigon, Vietnam in 1967-68 and again in 1969, going back often because his soul lives in Vietnam and he goes back to visit it from time to time. He was sitting in my hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009 and he was trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treat them. However, he was angry but unable to write anything that did not sound trite or weak. However, when television aired a picture of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle, he was inspired to write this poem.

Task 2: Poem Analysis

This persona poem is written from the point of view of an adult. This can be seen from how he refers the characters in the poem as "children". This is first-person account because the poet often visits Vietnam and the poem is about the environment the children face and live in. The poet is trying to convey the message that the children are innocent and should have the right to study normally like any other children in the world rather than having to undergo war. It is also against human nature for these children to face the cruel, harsh reality. At their age, they should be enjoying their childhood. However, instead, experiencing war would mentally and physically scar them for life and they would be unable to recover from the trauma. Thus, the poet is also raising awareness of the sad plight of the children in Vietnam.

Throughout the whole poem, there is a repetition of “Darkness” and “Light”. This is to emphasis the difference between these two objects. In this context, light itself represents freedom while darkness represents limitation and oppression.. In the first stanza, "there are children in the darkness" reiterates the title, implying that out there, there are some children who are bound by servitude and slavery. Also, the second line, “who have not seen the light" implies that the children do not know the meaning of freedom, having been kept in isolation so long. However, it could also be seen as the fact that these children are innocent in nature and do not understand what they are being used as. Thus, the poet seeks to evoke pity from the readers. They do not have freedom and are limited and controlled by other people. Children "Who someone will teach to fight" hints that there are others who seeks to exploit these children, desiring to teach them how to fight in order to use them as tools of destruction for their own goals.

In the second stanza, "chalk and blackboards will not be" shows the differences between teaching methods in Vietnam and other countries. Rather than be educated like other children, they are instead taught to fight. Thus, they are unable to decide their future but their future are virtually controlled by people who would mold them to suit their needs. The next three lines show that the children are forced to learn to fight and they are unable to escape from their saddening lives. Instead, these children have only one road to go: Accept their fates. When the poet compares the situation to a door and that “to this door there is no key”, he is using metaphor to show that their path of road is akin to a locked door and there would not be any escape.

In the third stanza, the poet uses rhetorical questions in all four lines, all starting with "could we". Candle is used as a representation of freedom, where "simply light a candle" implies letting the children have freedom. Not only, “give them half a chance” means to give them a chance to study and enjoy their childhood rather than fighting. Then, the poet proposes a question if it was possible to “teach them how to read" and "how to dance", instead of fighting all the time. However, the poet is expressing his sarcasm in these lines. He does not believe that there are ways to set them free and allow them to study.

The fourth stanza paints a gruesome picture of war and personifies it as a monster, who will "consume them", "their body and their soul", draining them from the energy their young and energetic bodies once had. Also, the poet uses imagery, “Their life and blood be poured down some endless thirsty hole", implying that the children would die and lose their lives.

The last stanza reiterates the point that there is no way for these children to escape . "no flight" - and there is no way to freedom - "shines no light" literally meant that they would never be able to savour freedom not even for a second and they would have to accept fate, those "children in the darkness".

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness

Who have not seen the light

There are children in the darkness

Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be

To this door there is no key

From this life they can not flee

And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle

Could we give them half a chance

Could we teach them how to read

Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them

Their body and their soul

Will their life and blood be poured

Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness

From which there is no flight

Back into the darkness

Into which there shines no light

Henry M Bechtold

Task 1: Introduction to the Poem

Henry M Bechtold was in Saigon, Vietnam in 1967-68 and again in 1969, going back often because his soul lives in Vietnam and he goes back to visit it from time to time. He was sitting in my hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009 and he was trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treat them. However, he was angry but unable to write anything that did not sound trite or weak. However, when television aired a picture of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle, he was inspired to write this poem.

Task 2: Poem Analysis

This persona poem is written from the point of view of an adult. This can be seen from how he refers the characters in the poem as "children". This is first-person account because the poet often visits Vietnam and the poem is about the environment the children face and live in. The poet is trying to convey the message that the children are innocent and should have the right to study normally like any other children in the world rather than having to undergo war. It is also against human nature for these children to face the cruel, harsh reality. At their age, they should be enjoying their childhood. However, instead, experiencing war would mentally and physically scar them for life and they would be unable to recover from the trauma. Thus, the poet is also raising awareness of the sad plight of the children in Vietnam.

Throughout the whole poem, there is a repetition of “Darkness” and “Light”. This is to emphasis the difference between these two objects. In this context, light itself represents freedom while darkness represents limitation and oppression.. In the first stanza, "there are children in the darkness" reiterates the title, implying that out there, there are some children who are bound by servitude and slavery. Also, the second line, “who have not seen the light" implies that the children do not know the meaning of freedom, having been kept in isolation so long. However, it could also be seen as the fact that these children are innocent in nature and do not understand what they are being used as. Thus, the poet seeks to evoke pity from the readers. They do not have freedom and are limited and controlled by other people. Children "Who someone will teach to fight" hints that there are others who seeks to exploit these children, desiring to teach them how to fight in order to use them as tools of destruction for their own goals.

In the second stanza, "chalk and blackboards will not be" shows the differences between teaching methods in Vietnam and other countries. Rather than be educated like other children, they are instead taught to fight. Thus, they are unable to decide their future but their future are virtually controlled by people who would mold them to suit their needs. The next three lines show that the children are forced to learn to fight and they are unable to escape from their saddening lives. Instead, these children have only one road to go: Accept their fates. When the poet compares the situation to a door and that “to this door there is no key”, he is using metaphor to show that their path of road is akin to a locked door and there would not be any escape.

In the third stanza, the poet uses rhetorical questions in all four lines, all starting with "could we". Candle is used as a representation of freedom, where "simply light a candle" implies letting the children have freedom. Not only, “give them half a chance” means to give them a chance to study and enjoy their childhood rather than fighting. Then, the poet proposes a question if it was possible to “teach them how to read" and "how to dance", instead of fighting all the time. However, the poet is expressing his sarcasm in these lines. He does not believe that there are ways to set them free and allow them to study.

The fourth stanza paints a gruesome picture of war and personifies it as a monster, who will "consume them", "their body and their soul", draining them from the energy their young and energetic bodies once had. Also, the poet uses imagery, “Their life and blood be poured down some endless thirsty hole", implying that the children would die and lose their lives.

The last stanza reiterates the point that there is no way for these children to escape . "no flight" - and there is no way to freedom - "shines no light" literally meant that they would never be able to savour freedom not even for a second and they would have to accept fate, those "children in the darkness".