The right word (Imtiaz Dharker poem) Essay Questions

What does Dharker suggest about the power of words in this poem?

Words are able to both construct and remove barriers between people. This is shown in the poem through the speaker's struggle to find the right word to describe the person standing outside her door. The speaker uses the following words: terrorist, freedom fighter, hostile militant, guerrilla warrior, martyr, and child. Each has a different emotional impact. For example, "terrorist" inspires fear and revulsion, while "freedom fighter" and "martyr" connote a righteous cause. On the other end of the spectrum, "child" motivates protectiveness and love at best, and a sense of general distaste or neutrality at worst.

The words we use as we think, speak, and communicate influence our actions. In the poem, it is only when the speaker discards the loaded descriptors that she opens her door and invites the boy in to eat.

The process of searching for the right word in the poem evokes the role that media plays in shaping perception. Media reports on terrorism often sensationalize violence. In a report on Media and Terrorism given to a European Committee on Culture, Science, and Education, the Czech academic and politician Josef Jařab states that "The media are attracted by extreme terrorist acts not only because it is their duty to report on any major event but also because, at the same time, the dramaturgy of terrorism attracts large scale attention." Rhetorical techniques in the reporting of these events shape public perception. A UNESCO report on Terrorism and Media states that certain kinds of representations "can fan stereotypes and division, and fuel backlash and counter-violence." While the poem does not explicitly delve into this problem on a mass scale, it does showcase this on an individual level as the speaker grapples to find the right language for the situation.

What do shadows and doors represent in "The right word?"

Dharker repeatedly portrays the scene of a person standing outside a door in "The right word." The person stands in the shadows in each scenario, but the context changes. When called a terrorist, the person lurks in the shadows. As a freedom fighter, the person takes shelter in the shadows. When portrayed as a guerrilla warrior, the person stands watchful in the shadows. And as a martyr, the man defies every shadow. In every description, the man's relationship to the shadows (whether he is lurking or waiting, for example) is defined before he is. This repetition places the man each time in the realm of the unknown. The shadows obscure the speaker's vision and understanding, which then influences the words used to describe the man.

Unlike walls, doors are capable of opening and allowing a person to pass through. It is significant that the boy and the speaker are not separated by a wall. This allows for the possibility (achieved at the end of the poem) of connection.

What is the effect of using both first and second-person perspectives?

The use of first-person perspective helps build the speaker's ethos. This speaker is made more credible by sharing with her own voice an experience of struggling to find the right language. This inspires empathy and raises the emotional stakes of the poem (its pathos). The speaker's own particular personality shines through with lines like "Is that the wrong description?" "I haven’t got this right," and "Come in and eat with us" (Lines 4, 8, and 31). These lines portray the speaker as someone who is concerned with language and the effect it will have on her perceptions and actions. This is a speaker who cares about other people.

Often, a disadvantage of the first-person perspective is that the reader only sees through the eyes of one person, limiting the amount of information available. The perspective may also be that of an unreliable narrator who provides wrong or biased information. What is unique about the perspective of this particular poem is that with each stanza, the speaker remains the same but provides a different outlook on the situation at hand.

Dharker also writes in second-person perspective in the poem "The right word." The first instance of this is when the speaker begins to doubt the clarity of language. She asks the rhetorical question "Are words no more / than waving, wavering flags?" and states that someone is standing outside "your" door (Lines 11-13). Later, the speaker tells the reader she has "One word for you" and that the boy outside "looks like your son, too" (Lines 24 and 28). This use of the second person inserts readers into the scenario and prompts them to consider what they would do (how they would treat the boy).