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8 May 2022
“A Map To The Next World” By Joy Harjo [Poem]
A Map to the Next World
Imagination is a tool that many poets prefer using to relay information in a way that interests them. Joy Harjo is one of the most renowned writers globally because of her figurative language. In her piece, ‘A Map to the Next World,’ she talks about the steps humanity should take to improve the technological situation. This paper shall discuss the importance of her language in the poem in influencing human life. We shall also talk about the usefulness of this poem in encouraging humanity to deal with both industrial and technological trends.
Joy Harjo discusses figuring out events before laying their work plan. She uses figurative language to express her thoughts on the importance of understanding how early planning is in executing events. For instance, she says how “she wishes to make a map for those who would climb through the hole in the sky” (Harjo, 2000), showing how she is interested in helping others through their life paths. She also talks about the relationship between humankind in the western world and the impacts of ignorance in the downfall of humanity.
Apart from imagination, Joy Harjo uses emotions to express her thoughts and capture her readers’ attention. She explains the human situation so that readers are puzzled by her emotional expressions. She says that “her only tools were the desires of humans as they emerged from the killing fields” (Harjo, 2000). In this, we see the journey of humanity and the struggles they experienced while trying to reform the world. Being a wanderer and struggling with their hands and feet, she recalls how the journey was full of sand, and regular insight could not unravel its pains.
In addition to the industrial and technological advancements, Joy talks about the struggles human beings face in their development from childhood. During birth, children are always innocent, and their comprehension is fair. They depend on their parents for the provision, and their life is without anxiety and sorrows. As time goes by, the children start bearing responsibilities and start perceiving life differently. Life becomes burdensome because of these responsibilities: Joy calls such a situation whereby “the light cannot help in its vision” (Harjo, 2000). After the youthful stage, adulthood duties weigh individuals the more, and all that awaits is death. Death takes away all anxieties and pleasures of life because one cannot breathe, and there is no memory left in them. She describes this condition by saying that “there is no exit” (Harjo, 2000) because we can do little to change the shape life had taken earlier on.
In the journey of life, the path is never straight; thus, she uses the allegory of an intestine. The intertwining of the intestines shows how life can take shapes different from what we had expected. In all these, human beings will either adjust their desires or let life follow the path it wishes to pursue.
Gaining knowledge is another aspect of life that Joy talks about. She relates how children will hunger for knowledge because everything seems new to them at infancy. They are learning and discovering new things, and the best learning method is seeing what their parents do. Therefore, parents need to be careful with their behavior because it will affect their children. Parents who desire to have their children stay will good morals; they must show them the right way.
Science has also played a crucial role in making humanity forget essential aspects of life such as socialization and industrial development. Whereas it is vital in making people innovative and creative, it takes people’s attention until they forget to cater to human care. Joy Harjo records that humanity “has abandoned important life matters for science and fiction” (Harjo, 2001). She does not call for a complete alienation from science but pleads with human beings to understand the necessity of socializing. Human beings are the most social creatures globally, but technology and science studies have made them abandon socialization.
Humanity is the strangest creature in the world, but they are losing their culture day in day out. The power bestowed upon human beings has made them enact laws that affect other creatures. For instance, deforestation could destroy water catchment areas, reducing the amount of rain that an area receives within a year. As the rains subside, the rooms are prone to becoming deserts, affecting both animals and plants on earth. Therefore, other creatures are suffering because of man’s ignorance. In line with that, Joy Harjo encourages human beings to be as considerate as other animals, such as the antelope that “gratefully drinks the rain” (Harjo, 2001) without affecting other animals. She encourages human beings to love all creation the way they are and consider them while making any law.
It is also noticeable that some human beings seem to be more potent than others, giving them an advantage over the less powerful. Those who have more power enact laws that oppress others, such as the poor and orphans. Humanity should embrace equality, which will help increase love in the world. The reason for chaos and sorrow in the world is a lack of love, and human beings should learn to embrace it. She reminds us that we should do everything for the good of our neighbors and not ourselves alone. We will reduce wrangles existing on earth, and other creatures will enjoy peace and unity.
One of the most challenging tools to unravel in poetry is using visible things to describe or reveal those not visible. The writer uses this technique severally as she brings out her ideas. For example, she speaks of the imbalance between different classes of humanity regarding gender, financial status, and race. These three parameters have created disparities among human beings because people value those with whom they share values. She explains this act by using soldiers who assaulted girls and women during the war. Such crimes exist in society and, in most cases, go unrebuked.
Apart from imagery, repetition is another technique that is easy to see but hard to understand its role in a poem. In Joy Harjo’s piece, she repeats words such as a map to make the readers understand the emphasis she puts on the symbolic meaning. She says that every person has a role of “knowing this map by themselves” (Harjo, 2001) and that knowledge will only exist in someone if they allow it. Repetition here helps us understand why Joy wants people to know how to be independent and make decisions without leaning on other people’s opinions.
All opinions raised by Joy Harjo in the poem “A Map to the Next World” make sense to the present world because they talk about contemporary issues. Most people live without knowing their purpose in life. Hence they struggle to fulfill those objectives. Therefore, she pleads for everyone to realize their goals in life and live towards them.
Works Cited
Harjo, Joy. A map to the next world: Poems and tales. WW Norton & Company, 2001.
Harjo, Joy. “A map to the next world.” A Map to the Next World: Poems and Tales (2000): 19-21.