Americanized

Americanized Walkthrough

Bruce Dawe is strongly opposed to consumerism, as shown through his poem, Americanized. The poem is written in a predominantly bitter and ironic tone. The title itself is ironic. Bruce Dawe is Australian and has spelled the title using American spelling rather than Australian spelling, with the ‘s?being replaced by a ‘z?
Stanza one is set in the morning at breakfast time. It involves the mother and her child. Instead of the usual loving mother, we see a cold mother and one that is doubtful of her lover for her own child. Dawe uses cold language such as ‘beneficence? ‘beamed?and ‘laminex?as well has the pause after ‘she loves him?to signify this. The pair are also conveyed to be separate from each other, symbolised by them being on opposite sides of the breakfast table.
Stanza two shows us how the baby is well looked after, yet is lacking the affection that small children need. The child experiences a ‘vague passing spasm of loss.?The mother...