What are the major themes of the poem "Casualties by JP Clark"?

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6 years ago

The Casualties by J.P. Clark
The casualties are not only those who are dead.
They are well out of it.
The casualties are not only those who are wounded
Though they await burial by installment.
The casualties are not only those who have lost
Persons or property, hard as it is
To grope for a touch that some
May not know is not there.
The casualties are not only those led away by night
The cell is a cruel place, sometimes a haven.
The casualties are not only those who started
A fire and now cannot put it out. Thousands
Are burning that have no say in the matter.
The casualties are not only those who are escaping
The shattered shell become prisoners in
A fortress of falling walls
The casualties are many, and a good member as well
Outside the scenes of ravage and wreck;
They are the emissaries of rift,
So smug in smoke-rooms they haunt abroad,
They do not see the funeral piles
At home eating up the forests.
They are wandering minstrels who, beating on
The drums of the human heart, draw the world
Into a dance with rites it does not know.
The drums overwhelm the guns°°°
Caught in the clash of counter claims and charges
When not in the niche others left,
We fall.
All casualties of the war
Because we cannot hear each other speak.
Because eyes have ceased to see the face from the crowd.
Because whether we know or
Do not the extent of wrongs on all sides,
We are characters now other than before
The war began, the stay-at-home unsettled
By taxes and rumours, the looters for office
And wares, fearful everyday the owners may return
We are all casualties,
All sagging as are
The cases celebrated for kwashiorkor,
The unforseen camp-follower of not just our war.
LITERARY ANALYSIS (SUMMARY)
The year 1967 marked the beginning of the Nigerian Civil war –
also referred to as the Biafran war – which claimed an
estimated three million lives along with properties unaccounted
for. The Civil war which lasted for two years, six months, one week
and two days, took its root from various political, ethnic, cultural
and religious crisis in the prior years of 1960 - 1966. Post-
Independence Nigeria faced diverse issues relating to political
power. Coup after coup, it became clear that the once popular
slogan of "One Nigeria" was nothing but a mere slogan. The
Easterners – Igbo's in particular – became the target of the
North. This resulted into the pogroms of Easterners in the Northern
part. The Igbos became fed up of such inhumane treatment and
fled to the East where the motion for a Biafran State was
presented. It is on the basis of this motion that the Civil War took
place and the renowned poet, J.P Clark wrote "The Casualties".
In line 1-2, the poet tells us that the casualties of this war "are
not only those who are dead" because "they are well out of it".
The dead are no doubt victims in this brutal war but death in
itself is the ultimate escapism from the pain and anguish in war.
The casualties are not only the "wounded" as well, even though
they "await burial by installment". During the war, many were left
with injuries, some more severe than the other. The hospitals and
clinics which accommodated patients were under siege. Refugee
camps had little or no equipment and facilities to treat the
injured. Stores had run out of drugs due to the trade blockade. It
would therefore be a gradual death for the wounded, thus, they
"await burial by installment".
The casualties are also "not only those who have lost...persons or
property.." during the war. Many lost their loved ones, family and
friends. The pain of loss enlists them as casualties. During the war
when panic set in and killings were the order of the day, loved
ones were separated in the bid to take shelter. They therefore
"grope for a touch" that they "may not know is not there". They
yearn for the touch of their loved ones unbeknownst of the
probability of death.
Furthermore, the casualties "are not only those led away by
night". Many were captured and led to cells during the war. Some
while the sun is out and others in the dark of the night.
Intellectuals and writers were often the victims of such. Wole
Soyinka, Africa's most foremost dramatist, was arrested and
imprisoned, without trial for twenty-two months. He was accused
of assisting Biafra in the purchase of arms without any substantial
evidence to prove it. The poet further tells us in line 11-12 that
there is an uncertainty to the function of the cell. Sometimes, it
serves as a "cruel place while at others, it's a safe haven. On
some days, being in the cell can be as cruel as signing your death
warrant; while on another day, it could just be your saving grace
from death. With this uncertainty, the poet concludes in line 13
that "no where is as absolute as the grave". It's only in the grave
that man's fate is sealed.
The casualties are not only those "who started" "a fire and now
cannot put it out". The main belligerents who started the fire are
General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Yakubu Gowon
and it's evident that they were unable to "put it out" – at least
not until about three years. When the Easterners called for a
secession, they were prepared to achieve it the hard way. They
made up their minds that victory would come at any cost. With
the unyielding federal government to deal with, the war began
with both sides unwilling to raise the white flag. The poet accords
them the title "causalities" because both sides are believed to
have had a great and genuine reason for going to war. However, "
Thousands" are "burning that have no say in the matter". Many
innocents were killed in this war and it is in fact an
understatement to use the word "thousands". One of the many
"thousands", as Christie Achebe recalls in a scenario, was a
pregnant woman and her unborn child, bombed in the night
market. Just like this unborn child, many other children, women
and men burned in a fire that they didn't start – the fire of
death, starvation, traumatic stress and psychological imbalance.
The casualties are "not only those who are escaping" the "
shattered shell" and become "prisoners in" " a "fortress of falling
walls". Although some survived the war, thus escaping the
"shattered shell", they become captives in a "fortress of falling
walls". The "fortress" here could refer to a range of things. It
could refer to the refugee camps which ought to be neutral zones
and refuges for those who escape the war in the cities, but this
fortress has its walls falling down because it lacks the necessary
to provide for its campers. With not enough food, infections flying
around, little or no medical supplies and Nigerian soldiers
disregarding the neutral-zone sign, the fortress has its walls
coming down and the people become prisoners because they
have no where else to go. The poet could also be referring to
Nigeria as the "fortress of falling walls". Those who survived the
war had to rejoin Nigeria because Biafra surrendered. The
condition of Nigeria then (and now) could be likened to a fortress
of falling walls with the existence of corruption, ethnic prejudice
and economic downturn. Being a prisoner was the only choice –
which wasn't really a choice but more of a command.
From line 18, the poet becomes more direct on who the casualties
are. In line 18, he makes it clear that the casualties are many.
They are "a good member as well", "Outside the scenes of ravage
and wreck". The poet refers to those who during the war were not
in Nigeria and more directly, in "Biafra". Note the use of the words
"ravage" and "wreck". The poet uses these words to describe the
gravity of damage. The casualties are "emissaries of rift" who are
so " smug in smoke-rooms they haunt abroad". The diaspora
representatives of the secessionist struggle are casualties as well.
They are so elegantly dressed in "smoke-rooms" which happens to
be their place to retreat after diplomatic meetings. They are smug
in smoke-rooms; they "haunt abroad". They have become
accustomed to these rooms abroad. They light cigarettes to smoke
so as to alleviate tension and calm their nerves. They use this as
an easy escape from the tension of failure as emissaries. They are
unable to "see the funeral piles" at home, "eating up the forests".
The forests will soon be unable to occupy the graves of dead
Biafrans and Nigerian soldiers as well.
The casualties are "wandering minstrels" who "beating on" the
"drums of the human heart, draw the world" into "a dance with
rites it does not know". Minstrels are just like troubadours, they
are itinerants who go about composing songs and poems to
entertain people. The poet refers to the Nigerian writers as
"wandering minstrels". Writers such as Chinua Achebe, Christopher
Okigbo, Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike amongst others, used their
writings to influence other nations to come to the aid of the
Biafrans and at some point help end the war. With their writings,
they beat on the "drums of the human heart", appealing to the
sensitivity of the human heart and drawing them into a "dance", a
dance for peace, a dance for compromise. But unbeknownst to
them, the world cannot dance along because they do not know
the "rites". The other nations are unable to come up with a
compromise for Nigeria and Biafra to make peace. With several
conferences and meetings such as the Aburi Accord of 1967 and
OAU peace meeting of 1968, the nation's were unable to strike a
bargain of peace.
The drums soon " overwhelm the guns" in January 1970 after
Ojukwu announces that he is "leaving the People's Republic of
Biafra to explore alternative options for Peace". They are now
"caught in the clash of counter claims and charges". With the
Nigerian government emerging as the victor, officers especially
senior officers who played a role in the secession were charged for
treason. Yet, the Nigerian government claimed no victor, no
vanquished.
The poet makes a final resolve as to who the casualties are from
line 29. He says that "when not in the niche others left". When the
people couldn't find their footing anymore; when the Biafrans were
no longer at their best and at her niche of productivity, everyone
became causalities of the war. Thus, "We fall" "All casualties of
the war". J.P. Clark goes further to explain why we are all
casualties of the war. In line 32 we are all casualties because we
"cannot hear each other speak". The whole atmosphere is clouded
with enmity. If all the ethnic groups in Nigeria took one another as
brothers, the war would have been evaded because there would
be no need for a secession. But the climate of hatred, envy and
distrust between the ethnic groups made it and still makes it
impossible to "hear each other speak".
We are all casualties of the war because "eyes have ceased to
see the face from the crowd". The poet first appeals to our sense
of hearing and speech in the line above. He then appeals to our
sense of sight because we have become blind. So blind that we
are unable to "see the face from the crowd". We are unable to
see the innocent who have no say in this matter. We are unable to
see the trauma we have all caused. We are casualties because
"whether we know" or "do not, the extent of wrongs in all sides",
we have become "characters". Even if we don't take sides, we
have all become characters. Even if we trace out who started the
fire, it won't change the fact that we are all victims of the war.
The poet says that everyone is now a character "now other than
before" the "war began" and the "stay-at-home unsettled".
Although many of us were absent during the war, we are still
characters because we always feel the need to protect ourselves
or defend ourselves against another ethnic group. This may not
manifest itself on a large scale, but it doesn't negate it's presence
in our day to day activities. With the war, economic activities and
trade is disrupted, thus " the stay-at-home unsettled" by "taxes
and rumours". There's an uncertainty as to when economic
activities would commence. There are rumours as to when trade
will begin. The poet goes on to show the effects of war. There are
" looters for office" and " wares". This group of people take
advantage of the turmoil. They steal goods and positions in
offices, feigning as though they own it. But deep down, they are
"fearful" that the "owners may come".
We are all casualties
All sagging as are
The cases celebrated for kwashiorkor.
The unforseen camp-follower of not just out war.
J.P. Clark ends the poem by stating the most devastating effect
of the war – starvation. During the war,the federal government
employed the use of economic blockade against the Biafrans.
Gowon successfully cut off Biafra from the sea making it
impossible to receive military and humanitarian supplies. With no
food, many died, especially children. Those who managed to
survive had to deal with the lack of adequate protein in their diet
thus leading to kwashiorkor. Many term this as an act of genocide
towards the Igbos. A statement credited to Chief Obafemi
Awolowo in Jacobs "The Brutality of Nations" shows the
insensitivity of the federal government at that time:
"All is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I
don't see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them
to fight harder."
The Casualties by J.P. Clark is beyond just a poem but a poetic
representation and depiction of the Nigerian Civil War.