Poem The Rebel (D J Enright) Summary Imp Qs Ref Explanation

Poem The Rebel (D J Enright) Summary Imp Qs Ref Explanation

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Poem:

When everybody has short hair,
The rebel lets his hair grow long.

When everybody has long hair,
The rebel cuts his hair short.

When everybody talks during, the lesson,
The rebel doesn't say a word.

When nobody talks during the lesson,
The rebel creates a disturbance.

When everybody wears a uniform,
The rebel dresses in fantastic clothes.

When everybody wears fantastic clothes,
The rebel dresses soberly.

In the company of dog lovers,
The rebel expresses a preference for cats.

In the company of cat lovers,
The rebel puts in a good word for dogs.

When everybody is praising the sun,
The rebel remarks on the need for rain.

When everybody is greeting the rain,
The rebel regret the absence of sun.

When everybody goes to the meeting,
The rebel stays at home and reads a book.

When everybody stays at home and reads a book,
The rebel goes to the meeting.

When everybody says, Yes please!
The rebel says, No thank you.

When everybody says, No thank you,
The rebel says, Yes please!

It is very good that we have rebels
You may not find it very good to be one.

D. J. Enright

English poet born Leamington 1920

Enright  taught English in the universities of Alexandria and Singapore; then returned to England to work in publishing. He built up a considerable British reputation by avoiding rhetorical gestures and putting strict limits on language so that his verbal tone is restrained even when his subjects are interesting. His is a poetry that values irony above passion ans keeps an emotional distance from the reader. He projects an aloof and pedagogic personality in poems that gently mock philistinism, as in 'Buy one Now': This new poem does not work for you. Just drop your mind into it / And leave it to soak / While you relax with the telly / or Go out to the pub.'

Idea of Poem:

The poet has a sensible appreciation for the complex and contradictory attitude of rebels and non-conformists. Every adolescent action is motivated by self-assertion, exhibitionism and individualistic show of defiance and an unstructured urge to be indifferent world. He is therefore, a pseudo rebel. D.J. Enright's portrait of a rebel is keen, subtle and witty. Neither vicious nor dangerous, the rebel-role play-acting is harmlessly motivated by either a sense of inferiority, insecurity or self-exhibition. Serious and solemn in themselves, and funny to their peers, but unfunny to their superiors. A passing phase in a person's growth towards maturity.

Questioning his readers to ponder, the poem remains open-minded, though it closes on a cautionary muted note.

The poem is remarkable for its amusing humour devoid of malice or bitterness. The poet successfully persuades us to develop tolerance for rebels and bear with their eccentric attitude and desire to be different from regimented crowd governed by a mass mind.

The Rebel

This poem is a criticism of the behavior of a rebel. The poet describes the attitude and point of view of a rebel as compared with ordinary normal man. The poet says that the attitude of a rebel is always opposing to the normal human attitude under various circumstances. The rebel always gives an opposite opinion. He prays for rain when everyone wants the sun to appear. At the end of the poem, the writer tells that the deviations of the rebel from norms are also beneficial for society in a way. He tells that if there is no rebel in the society, we cannot recognize the various opinions of the people.

The poet says:

It is very good that we have rebels

You may not find it very good to be one.

Summary

The rebel is an excellent poem by D.J Enright. The poet has beautifully described the likings and dislikings of a rebel in the context of various social states.  The poem is indeed a satire on the attitude of a rebel. The rebels are against every situation. They want to maintain their individuality. They are the people who are fed up with dull and boring social traditions. They want to change social norms with their behaviour and attitude.

When people have short hair, the rebel grow his hair long. He grows his hair long and become different from others. When the other grow their hair long, the rebel cuts his hair short. In this way, he looks different from others and maintains his individuality.

In the class, when there is a question-answer session and students ask questions, the rebel will not utter a word. He will be quiet listening to others carefully. But when there is a lecture and everyone is silent listening to the lecture carefully, the rebel speaks and tries to become outstanding. He disturbs the class but is satisfied with his acts.

In dressing, a rebel is again a strange man. He dresses differently from others. He wears colourful clothes when others wear plain and simple dress. When others wear colorful and showy clothes, the rebel would wear plain and simple dress. In this way, he looks different from others and is easily recognizable.

In the company of dog lovers, the rebel would talk about cats and will show his love for cats. And when people are talking about cats, he would say some words in favour of dogs. His sole motive is to make himself distinct.

When the people are praying of sunlight, the rebel would demand rain and clouds. He will pray for rain. When people want hot weather, he wants cold weather. And when people enjoy a rainy day, a rebel will pray for the sun to come out. Similarly, when everyone stays at home, the rebel attends functions and gatherings. And when all the people go to attend the meetings and gatherings, the rebel stays at home. When everyone says "YES" the rebel would say "NO". Hence every act of rebel is exactly the contradictory to what others do. This is his strange and conflicting acts that become his identity.

The poet says that rebel is still a good thing for society. It is good to have rebels among us. They are a source of contrast and fill colours in our life. Without rebels, the world would have only one colour. The poet has expressed his soft feelings about the rebels. The poet wants us to realize the feelings of a rebel when people start criticism on them. They bear the criticism with courage. They are considered abnormal persons of society.

Important Questions

Question 1: Bring out the element of humor and irony in the poem, The Rebel.

Do you find any element of humor and satire in the poem, The Rebel?

Discuss the element of humor and satire in D.J Enright's poem The Rebel.

Answer: The poem The Rebel is remarkable for its amusing humor and mild satire. There is no hatred or hidden ill-will in the humor. The humor is treated through the funny behavior and anti-tradition attitude of the rebel.

The humor in the poem is because of the very strange and personal ways of the rebel. His different phases or stages of life make us laugh. His physical appearance, talk, and behavior are simply laughable.

His contradictory actions make us laugh. We find him moody but a peaceful person. The poet has humorously presented the character of a rebel in society. The contrast between the rebel and society is funny and ridiculous.

The poem satirizes the self-assertive nature of the rebel. Besides, it draws a dull picture of the behavior of common people. The majority of the people think and act alike. They are like robots. This is highly condemnable.

The poem is a satire on the people. All of us are self-assertive at certain times. We want to show off our individuality. Hence, the poet is in reality criticizing the behavior of normal people.

The rebel is actually in conflict with the duplicity or fraud of these people. He is honest and dependable in comparison. He is a foil( person who makes prominent or clear the qualities of another person by comparison) to the deceptiveness of other people.

Question 2: Discuss the contradictory attitude of the rebel.

Explain all that others do and rebel does not do.

D.J Enright's portrait of a rebel is keen, subtle, and witty. Elaborate.

Answer: he poet has presented the picture of a rebel in this poem. The rebel is a young man. He wants to assert himself. He behaves differently from others. He always acts against the set traditions of society. He always violates moral values and social norms.

Rebel is always different from other members of society. His habits, manners, interests, and activities form others. For example, when people grow long hair, the rebel likes to have short hair and when everybody has short hair he grows his hair long.

When all students are silent in the class the rebel makes a noise and when others talk during the lesson, he keeps quiet. When everybody is dressed in uniform, the rebel wears fantastic clothes. When other wear beautiful dress, he puts on the uniform.

The poet says that a rebel is a non-traditional person. He loves dogs when others love cats. When others show preference for dogs, he shows affection for cats. He wishes for rain, when everybody likes sun and when everybody likes rain, he longs for sunshine.

The poet says that a rebel brings novelty in our dull and monotonous life. If a person walks towards you, and you walk backward away, a situation like that of rebel arises. It creates humor and fun. The rebel tries to hold the mirror to them to show to the world that they are respectable in name only.

The poet satirizes the so-called decent people. These people only pretend to others by keeping short hair, keeping silent in classes, wearing simple and sober clothes, and by speaking and behaving in courteous ways. 

Reference:

These lines have been taken from the poem “The Rebel” written by D.J. Enright.

Context:

This poem deals with the attitude of a social rebel. Actually a rebellion is a manner to look different from others. Such a social rebel is neither dangerous nor vicious. He does not make the other people's lives miserable. He just wants to look different. Young dissatisfied people may behave like this. But the society should not have social rebels.

Explanation

Lines 1 - 2

When everybody has short hair,
The rebel lets his hair grow long.

 

In these lines the poet expresses the attitude of a social rebel. When every body keeps short and uniform hair, the rebel knowingly grows his hair long. This, he does for the fact that he wants to look different from others.

Lines 3 – 4

When everybody has long hair,
The rebel cuts his hair short.

In these lines the poet says that the rebel goes against the custom and tradition of the society. When the rest of the society grows long hair, the rebel cuts his hair short. This he does just to have a difference from others.

Lines 5 – 6

When everybody talks during, the lesson,
The rebel doesn't say a word.

In these lines the poet expresses the thought when every member of the society talks during a lesion or meeting, the rebel keeps silent because he wants to be prominent.

Lines 7 – 8

When nobody talks during the lesson,
The rebel creates a disturbance.

In these lines the poet says when no-body talks during the lesion or meeting, the rebel creates disturbance by talking loudly just to look distinct.

Lines 9 – 10

When everybody wears a uniform,
The rebel dresses in fantastic clothes.

These lines show a different position of a rebel. When every person of the society wears simple and uniform clothes, the rebel uses strange and odd clothes. He wants to look distinguished from others.

Lines 11 – 12

When everybody wears fantastic clothes,
The rebel dresses soberly.

In these lines the poet says when all other members of the society use queer and strange clothes, the rebel dresses himself very seriously and soberly.

Lines 13 – 14

In the company of dog lovers,
The rebel expresses a preference for cats.

In these lines the poet expresses his idea of a rebel. If some people love dogs as pet animals, the rebel talks about the usefulness of cats. He prefers cats to dogs.

Lines 15 – 16

In the company of cat lovers,
The rebel puts in a good word for dogs.

If a rebel is in company of those people who love cats, he prefers dogs to cats. He wants to look different at all costs.

Lines 17 – 18

When everybody is praising the sun,
The rebel remarks on the need for rain.

The poet says if people require the sunlight and praise the sun the rebel is against them. He says that the sun is not required and there is need for rain.

Lines 19 – 20

When everybody is greeting the rain,
The rebel regret the absence of sun.

When everybody of the society welcomes and requires rain, the rebel says something about the sun. He feels sorry for the absence of the sun. According to him, there is need for the sunlight.

Lines 21 – 22

When everybody goes to the meeting,
The rebel stays at home and reads a book.

When every members of the society goes to some gathering and attends the meeting, the rebel stays at home and keeps himself busy by reading a book indoors.

Lines 23 – 24

When everybody stays at home and reads a book,
The rebel goes to the meeting.

When everybody of the society stays at home and reads a book, the rebel tries to find some crowd of the people and wants to attend to them.

Lines 25 – 26

When everybody says, Yes please!
The rebel says, No thank you.

When every person asks for something, the rebel rejects the same with thanks because he is a person quite different from others.

Lines 27 – 28

When everybody says, No thank you,
The rebel says, Yes please!

When everybody of the society does not like and does not receive anything and says thanks, for that, the rebel, on purpose, requires that thing and asks for it.

Lines 29 – 30

It is very good that we have rebels
You may not find it very good to be one.

In these lines the poet concludes that it is very good that we have social rebels in the society. But naturally, it is not good to become a social rebel. The poet further suggests that if we already have the social rebels, we should tolerate them. Without them life will become monotonous and dull.