Magasin

Manhire keeps the syntax simple, to give the reader the idea that we are dealing with a naive narrator, one who without realizing reveals much to us of which he remains unaware. Hence clauses are short and parallel; "I have just started high school... I am learning a language". Through the child the reader is able to understand the situation of the father, whilst remaining unknown to the child himself. Something has happened to the fathers liver and is going to be operated on and used as an exemplar for the "third year students". But the child does not understand what is happening and sees it as something funny and something to laugh about "I can see what looks like the map of Africa". -Theon

I agree with Theon about simple syntax. This is also supported by enjambment that is used throughout the poem connecting the different stanzas which causes the poem to seem like a conversation. This is supported by simple sentence structures. What is the significance of Trentham and what is Trentham? -Lorenz

I think Trentham is a military camp around Wellington. Maybe the irony is that the war is over (I am assuming this was written with a correct time scale and that in third form he would have been thirteen,) as it would be 1959 but the man still is about to lose his leg due to military injuries from training at Trentham or something along those lines. The scene is typically New Zealand, with colloquialisms such as 'bloke' and the fact that the men are all watching the races. - Abby

At the start of the poem I get the feeling of innocence and simple youth, while as the poem continues it becomes more complicated, with mysteries and intelligent writing in the last few stanzas. I'm not sure if the boy is simply naive or is ignoring what is happening to his father to not be hurt, tries to busy themselves with 'things to read'. He focuses on his day to day life such as school rather than asking his father how he is, how the treatment or whatever is going. When he was talking about the father being use for the third-year-students, a negative atmosphere was created which leads into the discussion about the one-legged man from Trentham. I felt like the father was more an experiment rather than treating a human life, which degraded his value as a person. This negative inhuman reference is continued when talking about Trentham. During the war many didn't want to participated but were forced into it, witht he reference to Trentham, a military camp and the reference to the man losing his leg, Manhire makes a strong negative stand to war and the treatment of humans. -Izzy

I also agree with theone ng's simple syntax idea and how it gives us, the reader the sense of a not so bright narrater. the simple sentences makes the poem a choppy feeling and also give us a sense that it is written from a childs perspectiv. although the poem starts out with mundane scentences it ends up with a more in depth meaning, the suddenness that the last stanza springs upon us gives the meaning a more effective effect.

I agree with Theon about the simple syntax also, causing the poem to seem like a conversation and in this creating the image of a young boy. From stanza three we see a transition in time from what seems to be events recounted from the past and events no in the present. The idiom used at the end of the poem referring to "the man with one leg..." and "the second leg at Trentham." agains makes he poem seem like a conversation throughout day to day life. - Lu'isa

I find Bill Manhire extremely cute in this poem, as he narrarates again as a child, this time with a fairly short attention span whos just commentating on everything he sees as a child does. Similar to 'Out West', this poem displays a longing for a simpler time as in childhood. He is excited about things such as learning French, and just wants to share it with his father. This contrasts his father, who is stuck in a hospital awaiting a liver operation, which the older students, (the 3rd years) are, like Manhire, eagerly awaiting to learn about and witness. Manhires and the hospital teaching staff's learning and excitement contrast the grim future of his father, stuck in hospital. - Jacob

To me, this "poem" is structured and sounds like a simple conversation, not a poem. Very basic SYNTAX is used, as well as enjambment and the piece of writing resembles a relatively structured poem with seven stanzas and each stanza containing three lines. Each stanza covers a different point and with only three lines describing each, much description is given in the poem. Irony is used in the last two stanzas where the one-legged man who "might have to lose the other" says "something about the second leg" in a race. I did not particularly like this poem as it is very simplistic and seems to have very little content excluding the general descriptions given. A basic simile is given when describing a scar from surgery on his father "like the map of Africa" and describes the shape of the incision that will be made (has been drawen on, he is being prepped for surgery). Perhaps the message lies in the insignificance of the title in comparison to the magizines and how a child's mind can wonder despite the imminent danger facing those around them. Childlike innocence, where the child who is the narrator, is shown through this, there is very little description of problems, and the child seems relatively happy, despite being inside a hospital (obviously in a relatively serious ward as they are with amputees). James

I think this poem showcases the differences in a child and adults mentality- the father is sick in hospital awaiting an operation-clearly in a dire situation. Manhire, however taking on the persona of a child, can only focus on the little things in life like learning a new word in French. The idea of a naive child is again emphasized when Manhire uses a simple simile 'like the map of Africa' to describe his fathers shape of his sick liver. The contrast between child and adult is very obvious in this poem... Chelsea

I also feel that loss of innocence is a main theme as the author begins and ends as a young speaker, however ends up talking about two completely different topics with different weight to them. The beginning of the poem is rather light-hearted as simple matters are explained, however the ending of the poem discusses serious matters, specifically the war at Trentham. The topic goes from the word for magazine in French, to a one-legged man about to lose the other. This also what supports Chelsea said about the contrast between the child and adult is clear. -Winstan