Introduction
The poems represent discontentment of two different writers who have negative feelings about the communist war taking place in Vietnam. In the song, “What Plant is Not Faded,” the speaker is a Chinese who participates in the war, but does not like the situation of the war as well as not subscribing to the idea of war (Evanson, 21). The voice of gloom is witnessed as he attempts to express his disapproval of the war. In the other folk song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” the speaker is a teenage girl who is entangled in the agony of her brother who decides to go for war in Vietnam at a tender age thereby leaving his family far away.
Body
Comparison
The folk songs express dissent about the war. The central factor about the songs is war. The speakers voice their concerns about participating in the war that seems to add no value to their lives, but rather subject their families and friends to abject suffering (Gizzi, 28).
The poems use symbolism to express disgust with the war and sympathies for the affected soldiers. The titles of the songs symbolize a regrettable situation that characterizes the war.
Repetition is also used in the folk songs to create emphasis on the degree of agony that encompasses the situation of the soldiers.
Contrast
The speakers of the poem differ in their roles. One is involved in war while the other is a sympathizer of adversities facing those in the war.
In the folk song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” there are a public outcry and call from several quarters who fails to find compelling reasons why America is in the war. The other folksong only expresses dissatisfaction of the speaker with the war since he is part of the agonies befalling the soldiers (Rosen, 15).
The speakers have various encounters with the war. One experiences the war firsthand while the other receives information about the situation through the victims.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the speakers bemoan the aspects of war that threatens the peaceful coexistence in the society. They both portray the ongoing war in negativity, thus finds no reason to smile. The folk songs are the clear representation of the effects that the Vietnam war had on many families.
Work Cited
Evanson, Jacob A. "American Folk Songs." Music Educators Journal 37.3 (2011): 20-21.
Gizzi, Peter. In Defense of Nothing: Selected Poems, 1987–2011. Review: Wesleyan University Press, (2014): 22-30.
Rosen, Kenneth. Voices of the Rainbow: Contemporary Poetry by Native Americans. Skyhorse Publishing Inc., (2012): 12-16.
