Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Chainsaw vs the Pampas Grass by Simon Armitage - Coggle Diagram
Chainsaw vs the Pampas Grass by Simon Armitage
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHAINSAW
"grinding its teeth in a plastic sleeve, the chainsaw swung"
- humanised yet inanimate object
almost like a predatory fighter/beast, hungry for violence
"grinding"
could perhaps imply it was annoyed? or has a fighting spirit?
"it knocked back a quarter-pint of engine oil and juices ran from its joints and threads"
gives the chainsaw a masculine appearance
it
"knocks"
back like a fighter and has a
"quarter-pint"
, which references to alcohol and being violent when drunk
despite the humanised features it still runs on
"engine oil"
-> it is a machine that represents modernity and industrialism (humans are taking over nature)
"no gearing up or getting to speed, just an instant rage, the rush of metal lashing out"
the chainsaw isn't alive at all, it is yet again just an industrial tool
it has a divine and infinite anger/rage
"the chainsaw with its bloody desire, its sweet tooth for the flesh of the face and the bones underneath... and rear up into the brain"
given an almost mythical/beastly form -> it has a
"bloody desire"
, much like a vampire
describes the chainsaw as a living machine
"sweet tooth"
suggests it has an obsession with this horrid, graphic and gore-y depictions of the human body
connotations of torture
"and felt the hundred beats per second drumming in its heart, and felt the drive-wheel gargle in its throat"
the speed of the chainsaw's
'heart'
could imply an adrenaline rush from the idea of torturing the pampas grass
the
"gargle"
in its throat suggests that its almost bubbling at the mouth and the desire has become too much
HUMAN TECHNOLOGY VS NATURE
"I dabbed at a stalk that swooned, docked a couple pf heads, dismissed the top third of its canes with a sideways sweep at shoulder height - this was a game"
acts nonchalant and passive about destroying the pampas grass
the subtle alliteration of
'd'
further emphasises that the man is being exaggerative and
"overkill"
"i lifted the fringe of undergrowth"
violent act, almost like forcefully pulling at the undergrowth of the plant
it is almost as if the speaker is choking the plant -> manhandling it in a violent and aggressive way
"i ripped into pockets of dark, secret warmth"
femininity versus masculine violence
the speaker is 'breaking into the body'
theme of concealment -? nature's power is inaccessible, unretrievable and locked away from the hands of mankind
"to clear a space to work"
references to cutting down trees to clear space
the killing/destruction of nature benefits the human population regardless of what needs to be done
"i raked whatever was severed or felled or torn"
graphic/horrid image of killing nature
similar to talking about remains or leftover body parts
"it flamed for a minute, smoked for a minute more, and went out. i left it at that."
conflict/sacrificial imagery
man = enemy
almost similar to that of burning a body (witch trials? -> burning something that threatens the power of the man)
nature is omnipotent and immortal (enchanting)
IMAGERY
"with the weightless wreckage of wasps and flies, moth-balled in spider's wool... from there,"
images of death and killing -> rising tension for the final fight of the chainsaw vs the pampas grass
creates an unsettling scenery
image of the
"wasps and flies"
against the
"spider's wool"
presents predator versus prey
"this was the sledgehammer taken to crack the nut. probably all that was needed here was a good pull or shove or a pitchfork to lever it out at its base. overkill."
Armitage is mocking human society by contrasting the exaggeration of taking a 'chainsaw to grass' to a 'sledgehammer to a nut'
imagery of masculinity = a man asserting dominance over the those that threatens that power
POWER OF NATURE/PAMPAS GRASS
"with the weightless wreckage of wasps"
alliteration of
'w'
emphasises the power of nature
"taking the warmth and light from cuttings and bulbs, sunning itself, stealing the show with its footstools, cushions and tufts"
nature is an idol -> it is dressed up and pampered for everyone to see
the pampas grass
"steals the show"
and is the centre of attention - it has a sense of character to itself
"the pampas grass with its ludicrous feathers"
gives the pampas grass a feminine identity; it is delicate, soft and vulnerable
big contrast to the violent essence of the chainsaw
it could perhaps show the villainy of industrialism/human modernity and the beauty/delicacy of nature
"and its twelve-foot spears"
from the man's POV, the grass is threatening and violent with its weapon
almost ironic as the chainsaw is described as a beast/monster
"in the weeks that came new shoots... it was riding high in its saddle, wearing a new crown"
nature = immortal, impervious, permanent
"crown"
-> obnoxious, overpowering, undefeated, a symbol of victory