“Journey, North Coast” by Robert Gray

Question: “Discoveries can be new and refreshing or challenging and confronting”

The self discovery of an unknown or veiled environment can be new and reinvigorate or denouncing and encountering. Self discovery involves the process of an individual, which inaugurate’s new features of an certain status. Robert Gray and Christo Erasmus, both explore the concept of self discovery but alter the discovery to being either new and refreshing or challenging and confronting. “Journey, North Coast” written by poet Robert Gray, demonstrates the self discovery of a concealed environment. This influences the persona’s demeanour to an undulate and stimulating psyche. However, the poem “The meatworks” by Robert Gray, and short film “The Pencil” (TROPFEST) directed by Christo Erasmus, exposes the threats of a discovery. The persona in both text feel challenged and confronted by these discoveries. Therefore discoveries can be new and refreshing or challenging and confronting.

“Journey, North Coast” by Robert Gray, describes the journey of the persona from the city to a country location. The intriguing self discovery brings a refreshing feeling towards the persona who had the country surroundings concealed whilst living in the city. “it’s the train that booms and cracks,/ it tears the wind apart” sets the mood of the poem, as the viewer senses the excitement of the persona towards discovering the country side. The savage primal power of the engine that “tears the wind apart” matches his vitality and vigour. He can’t wait to let in the abundant light now that they have symbolically left the darkness of the night and twelve unhappy months spent in the city behind.

The refreshing discovery can also be seen through the use of aural imagery. The aural imagery created in the onomatopoeia of the words ‘booms’ and the ‘cracks’ and the verb ‘tears’ creates a sense of powerful energy and capture the excitement and celebration of this emotional journey. The recapturing of the country side can be seen through the symbolism in the poem of re-birth/re-discovering. “Where logs are fallen,/and blackened tree trunks”. The symbol of rebirth can be linked towards the rediscovery of an unconcealed environment. When “logs” and “tree trunks” are burnt, they go from the process of re-growths. Therefore, “Journey, North Coast” involves a discovery which is new and refreshing.

“The meatworks” by Robert Gray, exposes an discovery which becomes challenging and confronting as the persona realises the nature of his job. The slaughtering of the animals puts an immoral burden not just on the individual but the facility at which it occurs upon. In the poem synesthesia is frequently used to demonstrate why the persona is so repelled by the meatworks and chooses to be the “furthest end from the bellowing sloppy yards”. This technique helps demonstrate the power of imagery by using such powerful words and phrases to impede with 5of the readers senses. “Arm-thick corkscrew, grinding around inside it, meat or not”. This is an example of the cacophonous phrases used in the poem to create the explicit imagery it holds.

The guiltiness of the persona is seen through the use of present tense, “you found, around the nails, there was still blood”. Blood is often used as an image of people’s sin and guilt, and the judgment which follows. Blood-guilt is ascribed to those who are responsible for the shedding of innocent blood. The persona finds his guiltiness, confronting as he tries to wash it away from his bloody hands. “The meatworks” shows discovery which, beholds the challenges and confrontation that an individual has to face.

“THE PENCIL”, directed by Christo Erasmus, is a short film which features in the Tropfest,New York. It expresses the story of an unfulfilled school cleaner feels he doesn’t fit in society. The motif in the film which is a pencil, allows the audience to realise the challenges the character faces with his discovery. The audience is able to notice a defiant discovery, through the close up of the persona, whilst he is cleaning the room. This shows his facial expressions which are dampened, dispirited and dull.

When the persona discovers the desk he starts calligraphy his expressions onto it. The director uses a fast paced tempo. The fast paced tempo of the non-diegetic sound creates a sense of urgency, importance, panic, hysteric and defence. The use of the tempo tells the viewer that a discovery to a degree of uncertainty is about to commence.

The climax of the film is when the persona discovers the portal, to an unknown world. A dramatic pause is used at this time which causes tension and gives an indication that something profound may be about to happen. For the entrance of the unknown world, the director uses colour palette. The limited colours of the scene when the cleaner enters the ‘unknown’ world, allows the viewers to discern the link between the two. The character is befuddled, perturbed and perplexed when he enters the room. The character faces the challenge of understanding why this has occurred, and is confronted by the people he meets. A lady in a white robe, which symbolises peace, addresses the character and starts to kiss him. This also challenges and confronts the character as he is confused to why such events have occurred. “The PENCIL” shows discovery which, the character is confronted and challenged by the environment in which he discovers.

Discoveries can be new and refreshing or challenging and confronting. “Journey, North Coast” written by poet Robert Gray, demonstrates the self discovery of a concealed environment. This influences the persona’s demeanour to an undulate and stimulating psyche. However, the poem “The meatworks” by Robert Gray, and short film “The Pencil” (TROPFEST) directed by Christo Erasmus, exposes the threats of a discovery. The persona in both text feel challenged and confronted by these discoveries. Therefore discoveries can be new and refreshing or challenging and confronting.