Task 1 - Home Learning 25/26 May,

Hey there (:

As part of the school curriculum, today i'll be writing a report on the conflict found in a particular poem, "Rainbow Death".

Task 1
Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2.
Be sure to include your references and credit your sources.

Okay before I begin, i'm sure you all will want to know what the poem is about. Here's the link and introduction of the poem http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow.

Got it? Now I shall provide a brief introduction of Hubert Wilson, the poet. Hubert Wilbert was a Vietnam War veteran soldier, as were his four brothers. He served in the USAF Security Service and along with some intelligence school graduates, prepped for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, and expected to be sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in Southeast Asia in 1970. However, eventually, Hubert Wilson was assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, an extremely run-down and contaminated area!

Because of this, Hubert Wilson’s health problems started with headaches and limb pains. His central nervous system's condition gradually worsened with tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains and the like. To top it all, no doctor could diagnose the specific illness which Hubert Wilson possessed. Hubert Wilson’s most accurate guess is that the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there as an intelligence analyst caused him to develop such symptoms.

Now, on to the poem.

The rainbow death which is mentioned by Hubert Wilson in his poem actually refers to the Agent orange, the substance which caused him to develop so many health problems. But what was Agent Orange specifically?

Agent orange was a chemical substance used against Vietnam during the Vietnamese war. Agent orange was a herbicide and defoliant- contaminated with TCDD or Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin.

In short, both herbicide and defoliant have the same meaning -- they both refer to weedkillers, substances used to kill plants.

TCDD, meanwhile, refers to a type of environmental pollutant and it became known as the most potent compound during the Vietnamese War.

Now, close to 5 million Vietnamese were negatively affected by Agent Orange and which resulted in about 400,000 deaths among the Vietnamese people and deformation of countless babies at birth.

So in essence, “Rainbow Death” tries to show how harsh the consequences of war can be. In his poem, Hubert Wilson wants to show that even after war has ended, the impact of these wars on the people affected would remain. And people affected by the war once can be scarred for life. On top of that, Hubert Wilson also wants to show how terrible modern warfare can be. As we go through technological advances, inevitably, our weapons becomes more severe and ultimately, more destructive.

Yup that's all! Be sure to check out the poem people!