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Question
The poem, Telephone Conversation, does not unite but separates the two individuals engaged in a telephone conversation. Analyse the statement in 200-250 words.
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Solution
Wole’s song “Telephone Conversation” In fact, Soyinka does show how a fairly normal interaction can make things worse instead of better. The African speaker and the landlady’s talk is tainted by racism, which makes the two people seem very different from each other. At the start of the poem, the speaker is trying to rent an apartment, but the talk quickly turns into questions about the color of his skin. Many times, the landlord asked, “HOW DARK?” and “ARE YOU LIGHT OR VERY DARK?” This shows how racist she is, reducing the speaker’s identity to a mere skin tone. The landlady’s racist asking makes the gap between races even wider, as it blocks out any chance for people of different races to understand each other or connect.
With its sarcasm and wit, the speaker’s answer makes the difference even clearer. He shows how silly the landlady’s focus on race is by using exaggerated words to describe his skin tone, like “West African sepia,” and by making fun of the colors of his palms, soles, and even his bottom. But her sarcasm is also a way to protect herself by drawing attention to the emotional and mental space that her discrimination has created. The landlady’s clinical tone and inability to understand what he’s saying make the speaker feel even more alone, making it clear that the talk is not a real exchange but a confrontation of racial biases.
In the end, the poem shows how bias can make a simple exchange into one that causes arguments. The telephone, which is supposed to bring people together, is used to bring attention to race and social problems. The talk doesn’t bring the two people together; instead, it makes the gaps between them bigger, leaving the speaker on the outside and the landlady set in her racist beliefs. Soyinka criticizes the widespread racism that keeps people apart and keeps social divisions going through this exchange.
