T F 15 (336)

=Thoughts on Near Hastings=

Tuesday's class concluded with discussion on Dutt's national allegiance. Of the poems selected for the day's studies, I felt that Near Hastings demonstrated the strongest sense of British loyalty.

The poem's conclusion depicts presents her as nearly brainwashed by European Imperialism; two women walking through an unfamiliar land are presented with flowers by a kindly woman. The speaker seems to be one with which the author can heartily identify with, especially in terms of gender and scenario. It is the allusion to Christ in lines 29-32 ("...sweeter was the love that gave/ those fowers to one uknown,/ I think that he who came to save/ the gift a debt will own.") that strikes me as entirely European.

The speaker has made a triple comparison with the figures in the poem: the foreign woman is representative of both Christ, and England. In the same manner in which she blesses the foreign sisters with flowers, Christ provided the gift of salvation to a population he was not personally familiar with.

This train of thought parallels England's colonization of India, in that, the Indian population should consider superimposed European rule as a blessing. As Christ extends his hand to the world, as the woman presents the girls with flowers, England "paternally" reaches to India in efforts to convert the nation to Christianity- along with a Western lifestyle.

While this way of thinking is (clearly) flawed, it seems to be one the speaker has embraced, making her transition from native Asian to enthusiastic European appear complete.

-Kevin Tyler

Tricia's Class Summary