Change is the transformation and evaluation of an individual in response to various stimuli. From the studied texts it is obvious that change happens as a result of a changed perspective. Quite often it is only with hindsight and reflection that one realises that their outlook has been altered. This is illustrated in a number of texts; in particular Robert Gray’s poetry.
Gray’s “Flames and Dangling Wire” paints a grim and challenging picture of the way in which we dispose of our waste at the dump. The poem challenges the reader to change their perspective of contemporary city life.
Gray uses contrasting tones and atmospheres to portray the consequences of modern lifestyle and the massive waste materialistic living implies. The image of the dump is contrasted with the image of the city as “driven like stakes into the earth” (para 2 line 2). This suggests the aggression of nature and the imposition the city has on it.
There is a strong sense of future stained by the mistakes of the present. This is expressed through the similes and descriptions used by Gray. A labourer is described as the “demon with the long barge pole” (para 11 line 2-3), which suggests this is the end of the world. The description of the city as being “stencilled by the smoke” (para 3 line 1) suggests it to be merely a mirage of a city that no longer seems to exist; an image of our future. The characters in the poem gain the realisation that this is our future filled with “things that worked” (para 9 line 4).