The Cold Within

The Cold Within

James Patrick Kinney

ASSIGNMENTS

(i) Alliteration (close repetition of consonant sound /b/). The adjectives bleak and bitter define the word cold. The coldness outside is comparable to the coldness within the hearts of these six characters as they are not warm or friendly with each other.

(ii) The people referred to are six indifferent people, who are trapped together by chance in biting cold. They need logs so that they can renew the dying fire to prevent themselves from cold.

(iii) The "first one" can be said to be holding a racist attitude as she does not want to benefit the black man. The "next man" can be said to be a bigot who on seeing that one of the men in the group does not belong to his religion, does not use his log to renew the fire.

(iv) The first person holds back her log because she was guided by her racist attitude towards the black man. So she does not use her log to prevent the black man from getting its warmth.

(v) Refer to Lack of warmth in human relations, under Themes, Page 29.

II. (i) Tattered clothes refer to the torn clothes. This expression symbolises that the man, who was wearing them was poor and had little money to cover himself in extreme cold. The poor man does not intend to use his log to renew the fire and thus to protect himself from biting cold, he pulled up his coat to feel little warm.

(ii) The "third one" is a poor man and is envious of the rich man. He is prejudiced and thus does not put his log to use.

(iii) The thoughts of keeping his wealth safe from the lazy poor man preoccupied the rich man's mind. It reflects his class bias.

(iv) The black man is filled with revenge for the white man. Based on colour of the skin, he considers the white man different from himself.

(v) The lines refer to the black man, who was filled with revenge for the white man. Therefore, to harm the white man he does not put his log to use. Making the white man suffer in cold was his only chance to get his revenge.

III. (i) The phrase "forlorn group" is an example of oxymoron i.e. a pair of contradictory terms. This phrase is ironical as it refers to these six people, who were sitting together in a group and were said and lonely.

(ii) The selfish game of give and take that the last man employs since anyone else does not offer his log to renew the fire, he also steps back.

(iii) All the six people died with their logs tightly clutched in their hands. Their indifference, animosity, discrimination invited death. This "proof of human sin' is referred to here.

(iv) Refer to Title under Critical remarks, Page 3 1 .

(v) The message that the poet tries to give is that discriminatory attitude and hatred that humans have against one other on the basis of race, class and religion is futile. It is self-destructive. Refer to Futility of Discrimination under Themes, Page 29.