Shavonne.Henry


 * The Chief: **

Over the boys hestood, He was thirteen years old, “[small], [delicate] and an excellent [student](48-49)”. Amid these boys he was their leader, The Chief; They gazed at him with respect, which was all they had for him.

This was their meeting place, “[their] usual meeting (48)”, “The uselessness of Mankind, the insignificance of life (48)”, the chief placed these ideas on them. Gradually, they replicated his ideas, his thoughts, about “the overwhelming emptiness of the world (55-56)”, Those of which “[nourished by his] hollow house (55-56)” and surroundings.

He stood tall and strong, just as a model student would; However, do not be fooled, “Doubling his powerless white hand into a fist, he pummeled the [wall](133)”, “His small hand was for all the boys a symbol of despair (133)”.

“[He] felt every eye on him and his voice was cold, venomous (133)”, The words flowing from him, came as riddles, “The time will come, though, and soon…(136)” “The leader’s high, clear voice rang out [from him] (180)”.

Everything went the chief’s way, without a doubt, He was a great talker, had a strong opinion, manipulated his boys, and “Rewarded [his pupils] with silence and a divisive smile ( 56)”. One could say, they would follow any of his footsteps.

He called himself and his followers the “[six geniuses](161)”; “No adult [could] do something [that they] couldn’t do (50)”. “The label called “impossibility”, was pasted all over world, they were the only ones who could tear it off once and for all. (133)” But was it all of them? Or just the chief?

Impiety, impossibility, implicative.










 * Justifications: **

**Speaker:** The speaker is the narrator that appears in the book, he describes the chief in third person so he can provide an unbiased perspective on the chief. Which allows for a lot of the description about the chief.

**Tone:** The tone reflects the reality of the actual situation between the chief and his boys. It is calm throughout and a rise in tension to represent the troubles the boys face when they criticise or react to the chief's evil comments and ideas.

**Structure**: There are stanzas in the poem because it parallels the chief’s unchanging points and ideals which were always direct and straight forward. However, his attitudes and 2 faced perspectives can be represented through the free verse. With the concluding line summarising the main ideas, which is why it stands alone.

**Theme:** The theme of the poem can be summarised in the last line of the poem. Impiety, impossibility, implicative. Which are the chief’s ideals represented through the poem. Impiety: shows the chief's lack of reverence as his ideals are very nihilistic. Impossibility: as the chief believes that "impossibility" is not actually impossible and he and his boys are the ones who will tear and remove that label. Implicative: because he bears some of the responsibility for a criminal act. Although not directly mentioned, many phrases in the poem imply his responsibility for harm.

**Images:**

**Snake:** The snake is the Chief’s counterpart and it is the perfect animal to describe him. The chief’s cold, venomous manner is similar to a snake’s.

Parrot Snake in Defense Pose. Photograph. Latitude. Corbis Images. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

**Soldier:** The chief and his boys are the soldier and the officer. He barks orders around, and the hierarchy is definite within their group just like in the army. Because he is labeled the chief, with his boys being numbered off just as if they were not as superior and must follow his commands.

Bryant, Vernon. USA - Crime - Shooting at Fort Hood. 2009. Photograph. Corbis News, Fort Hood, Texas. Corbis Images. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

**Glaring Eyes:** The glaring eyes directly connects with the coldness of the chief’s eyes. The windows to a man’s soul, is delineated with ones eyes, and the chief shows his mischievousness and strength through his own eyes.

"Glaring Eyes." Cartoon. Wpclipart.com. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

**Poison Apple:** The poison apple is like the chief. He is the pure good excellent student outside, but inside he is the evil, nihilistic boy just like the poison is. Which cannot be seen on the outside, but in reality brings harm and evil.

Poison Apple. Photograph. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

**Puppet Master:** The puppet master is the chief where he is constantly manipulating people to meet his own needs and desires. He controls his puppets, or the followers and shapes them to think like he does. However when doing this he is sneaky and does not allow for the boys to see his real plan behind his actions.

Budrovic, Bruno. "Marionette Cutting Strings to Puppeteer." Cartoon. Corbis Images. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

**Conformist:** The chief is not the conformist inside. He follows and obeys many social paradigms as he is an excellent student. However, he is actually different within and does not believe in things we view as acceptable, such as accepting fathers, and chooses to go against ideas like this.

Nonconformist Man Doing a Handstand. Photograph. Fancy. Corbis Images. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

**Clenched fist:** Although the chief’s fist lacks physical power, it represents despair and this fist is often used in communist regimes, thus, through the symbolism and the ideal to rebel, the fist is good way to represent the chief. As it also presents power, which is something the chief has within his group of boys.

"Clenched Fist." Cartoon. Art World Salon. 23 June 2008. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

**Empty House:** The empty house is simply a visual representation of the Chief’s house. It parallels the chief’s ideals and it is the reason behind the chief’s nihilistic thoughts.

Burke, Tom. Empty Room. 2005. Photograph. Flickr. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

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"the boyish kneecaps below the shorts tighten abruptly, saw tension cramp the face peering up at him." p. 47

“For a while they had roamed around the railroad siding behind the sheds on the wharf, and then held the usual meeting to discuss the uselessness of Mankind, the insignificance of Life. ” Pg. 48

“ The chief, number one, number two, Noboru (who was number three), number four, and number five were all smallish, delicate boys and excellent students.”  Pg. 48-49

“’Your ideas about people are still pretty naïve,’ the thirteen-year-old chief said coldly. ‘No adult is going to be able to do something we couldn’t do. There’s a huge seal called ‘impossibility’ pasted all over this world. And don’t even forget that we’re the only ones who can tear is off once and for all.’ Awe-stricken, the others fell silent.” Pg. 50

"I suppose the sea is permissilbe to an extent <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">." The chief took a deep breath of the salt breeze blowing in between the sheds.p. 51

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“You’re daydreaming while you eat, aren’t you ? That’s a child’s habit .” Pg.52

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">"The chief's throat labored painfully as he wolfed his food" p. 53

<span style="background: lime; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“There were indications that this hollow house has nourished the chief’s ideas about the overwhelming emptiness of the world.” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> Pg.55-56

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“ The chief had rewarded him with silence and a derisive smile .” Pg.56

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“The chief always insisted it would take acts such as this to fill the world’s great hollows. Though nothing else could do it, he said, murder would fill those gaping caves in much the same way that a crack along its face will fill a mirror. Then they would achieve real power over existence.” Pg. 57

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“The chief peeled off the squeaky rubber gloved and laid one beautiful white hand on Noboru’s shoulder. ‘You did a good job. I think we can say this has finally made a real man of you – and isn’t all this blood a sight for sore eyes!” Pg.61

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“They were all in a sweat by the time the chief discovered at the very center of the village a large crate that was to his liking: two of the sides had fallen away but the steel band was still intact and the contents had been removed down to the last wisp of excelsior.” Pg.132

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“Shouting in shrike’s voice, the chief assembled the scattered band inside the crate." Pg.132

<span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”This crap’s all lies,” the chief said angrily <span style="background: lime; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">. Doubling his powerless white hand into a fist he pummeled the plywood wall. His small hand was for all of the boys a symbol of despair. Now they were rejected even by lies. But hadn’t the chief said once that there was a label called “impossibility” pasted all over the world, that they were the only ones who could tear it off once and for all? <span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> Pg.133

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">" The chief felt every eye on him and his voice was cold, venomous . p. 133

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”There’s just one way to make him a hero again,” the chief continued, giving no indication that he had heard Noboru, “but I can’t tell you what it is yet. The time will come, though, and soon.” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">The others were forbidden to probe for the answer when the chief chose to speak in riddles. Effortlessly changing the subject, he focused the conversation on himself.” Pg.136

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“‘Dad, is there any purpose in life?’ You see what I was getting at, don’t you, what I really meant? Father, can you give me one single reason why you go on living? Wouldn’t it be better just to fade away as quickly as possible? But a first-class insinuation never reaches a man like that. He just looked surprised and his eyes bugged and he stared at me. I hate that kind of ridiculous adult surprise. And when he finally answered, what do you think he said? ‘Son, nobody is going to provide you with a purpose in life; you’ve got to make one for yourself.’” Pg.137

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”Fathers are the flies of the world. They hover around our heads waiting for a chance, and when they see something rotten, they buzz in and root in it. Filthy, lecherous flies broadcasting to the whole world that they’ve screwed with our mothers. And there’s nothing they won’t do to contaminate our freedom and our ability. Nothing they won’t do to protect the filthy cities they’ve built for themselves.”” Pg.138

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”There are worse things than being beaten.” The chief’s thin red upper lip curled. “There are lots of things worse than that, only you don’t know about them. You’re one of the fortunate ones. When your father died your case became special. But you’ve got to know about the evil in the world too; otherwise you’ll never had any real power.”” Pg.139

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”This is awful,” the chief mourned. “This last one alone is worth about thirty-five points. And the total – let’s see – even if you go easy and call this first charge five points, they get worse the closer they get to the end: I’m afraid the total’s way over a hundred and fifty. I didn’t realize it was quite this bad. We’re going to have to do something about this.” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">As he listened to the chief, Noboru began to tremble. Finally he asked: “Is there any chance of saving him?” <span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“None at all. It’s too bad, though.” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">” Pg. 161

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“A long silence followed. This the chief interpreted as indicating a lack of courage and he began to speak again, twisting between his fingers the tough vein of a dried leaf he had pulverized: “ All six of us are geniuses. And the world, as you know, is empty. I know I’ve said this before, but have you ever thought about it carefully? Because to assume for those reasons that we are permitted to do anything we want is sloppy thinking. As a matter of fact, we are the ones who do the permitting. Teachers, schools, fathers, society – we permit all those garbage heaps. And not because we’re powerless either. Permitting is our special privilege and if we felt any pity at all we wouldn’t be able to permit this ruthlessly. What it amounts to is that we are constantly permitting unpermissible things. There are only a very few permissible things: like the sea, for example-“ Pg.161

<span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">"When a gear slips out of place it's our job to force it back into position. If we don't, order will turn to chaos." <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> p. 162

<span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”We’ve already practiced the essentials on a cat and this’ll be the same, so there’s nothing to worry about. The job’s a little bigger this time, that’s all – and it may stink a little worse.”” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> Pg.165

<span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“That's what I was afraid of. You’re all great talkers, but when the chips are down you haven’t got one thimbleful of nerve.”” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> Pg.165

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“And I think we should be grateful to them. This law is the adult’s way of expressing the high hopes they have for us. But it also represents all the dreams they’ve never been able to make come true. They’ve assumed just because they’ve roped themselves so tight they can’t even budge that we must be helpless too; they’ve been careless enough to allow us here, and only here, a glimpse of blue sky and absolute freedom.” Pg.166

<span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”We must have blood! Human blood! If we don’t get it this empty world will go pale and shrivel up. We must drain that sailor’s fresh lifeblood and transfuse it to the dying universe, the dying sky, the dying forests, and the drawn, dying land.” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">” Pg.167

<span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">"We'll end up puking flattery and gossip, trembling our days away in submission and compromise and fear " <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> p. 167

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">"The chief glanced through a black frame of evergreen branches at the watery gray sky and observed: "Looks like tomorrow will be a nice day" p. 167

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“The boy who seemed to be their leader tossed the explanation over one shoulder and stepped ahead; his manner and language, in a matter of minutes, had become brusque. ” Pg.172

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”What’s ‘punishable’ mean?” the leader asked There was something about the boy Ryugi didn’t like. The flicker of light in his eye when he asked the question suggested that he knew the answer perfectly well.” Pg.173

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“Halfway through his story, Ryugi happened to glance up and saw the leader slipping on a pair of long latex gloves. Tensing his fingers, the boy crossed them nervously again and again as if to glue the cold rubber to his flesh.” Pg.179

<span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">“”Want some tea?” <span style="background: lime; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">The leader’s high, clear voice rang out behind him <span style="background: yellow; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">.” <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> Pg. 180