Sample A In the poem “Hello Day – Worldwide” the author emphasizes the importance of interacting with the people around us. The speaker in the poem suggest that the way humans react to one another in their daily life is superficial and lacks feeling. The speakers proposes a “hello day” to change the way people in society view interaction with other people; the author persuades the reader with the use of imagery and negative word choice to emphasize the need for change. In the first stanza the speaker describes “their town”, stating that it is a place where “good morning is offensive” and goes on to say “Maybe they need a hello day, a gesture, a token, of what could have been”. Before mention of a “hello day” the language is negative and after the language is hopeful and optimistic. In the second stanza the author makes a clear distinction between “their town” and “our village”. Both places are separated from each other. The word “village” indicates that it is a closer group of people with a smaller population. The words “neighbor” and “our” convey a sense of closeness in the village. It is suggested that it is easier for one to identify with people in their own “village” and seen as almost impossible to identify with people outside of our comfort zone without a “hello day.” In lines 19-23 the author suggest that this seperation (“our village, their town”) comes “from strain and friction” and that this change will “require more than a day”, implying that we will be stuck in the comfort of our “villages” if we don’t make a conscious effort to change. The reader then suggest that change is rewarded and is plentiful, it “takes a lifetime to drink. The metaphors in lines 28 to 33 serve to show the reader what can be achieved by vowing to make a “Lifetime commitment”. The words “unbarring,” “demolition” and “abolition” highlight the power of isolation amongst people and the liberty and unity that comes from breaking these barriers. The imagery of the “toothpaste smile” and “limp like their cold fingers—shake” describes the nature of human beings to feel like they have to greet someone because it is proper or socially acceptable to do so. “Tooth paste smile” feels forced like a cheesy Colgate commercial and “limp like their cold fingers— shake” feels lifeless and unfeeling. The writer repeats the word “maybe” to outline the possibilities. In lines 42 through 46 it is implied that maybe all it takes is one simple look or one firm handshake to “wake their conscience” and “disturb their greed”. The final stanza consists of two lines that act as an abrupt end to the poem. “We” is states twice to emphasize the importance of the people coming together as one. “Follow in their train” suggest that after we take initiative to commit to speaking to stranger, other people will join in like a chain reaction or bandwagon effect. Throughout the poem there is repetition of the same sound in between lines like “Then” and “The” in lines 25 and 26, and the use of the word “And” in stanza two. This regular pattern emphasizes how hard it is to change and emphasizes why and how would should change. The tone of the poem feels stuck as if the writer has been born into this and forces to live in a superficial society. The only solution to the problems states is a “World Hello Day.” The “hello day” is always referenced in an optimistic light that seems to “beat out” the negative refrences in the poem. The author hopes that individuals follow suit or “follow the train” to ignite a change in a “town where good morning is offensive”. Sample A—planning Sample B In “Hello Day—Worldwide”, Kobina Eyi Acquah creates a division between the people of a town and a village to convey a need for unity and interaction of people established in the simple action of a “hello.” This is done through her use of diction, figurative language, and structure. The poem begins with “In their town” in the first stanza and “Here in our village” for the second stanza. Immediately, Acquah has distanced the people of the town and the village to show a difference between the two. In the use of the words “their” and “our,” Acquah wants the reader to conform with the way of “our village” where a strong connection between the people is created in a simple “hello.” In the first stanza, Acquah uses the words “offensive” and “provocative” in reference to the use of good mornings in a town. In the use of this cacophonous language, the reader associates these harsh words not only with a good morning but also with the towns people themselves. This is used to show the importance of the greeting to the author and once again create that distance between the village in the town and skew the reader to the ways of the village. The second stanza shows the significance of the use of greetings to the village that Acquah would like the reader to side with. The parallel structure of lines 14-16 show the extent of the greeting, that it includes asking of the person’s well-being. This shows a connection between the people of a village in their knowledge of one another, a connection Acquah believes should be true for all people. In addition, Acquah establishes the greeting as a way “to be reconciled from strain and friction.” The use of the metaphor “the grief joy mixture” shows that through the grief of “strain and friction” in one’s life, the greeting brings joy in that another is aware of their struggle and their presence, and thus these village people have a strong bond. The phrase “takes a lifetime to drink” shows that it “require[s] more than a day” of greeting to establish this bond between the people which is why “a hello day” is referred to as solely “a gesture, a token” in stanza one, for it is only the beginning of the unity created amongst the people in a greeting. The third stanza proclaims the beginning of the end of things which separate the people of a village or a town, things such as “windows and gates” and “fences and walls” and “border ports and entry permits.” Acquah use of the words “declared,” “demolition,” and “abortion” create a constitutional need to remove these borders, as if this need is established by law. This shows the significance of the issue to Acquah, the importance of a seemingly small greeting. The fourth stanza is characterized by its use of figurative language to show that the towns people don’t feel the same importance of this “lifetime commitment” that the author does. The use of the word “they” in the first line already distinguishes the points of view towards greetings between the town and village. In the town, the use of hello is “contrapted, like a toothpaste smile, limp like their cold fingers—shake.” These phrases show the ingenuity of the greeting of the towns people. Toothpaste in its texture limits the extent of one’s smile and the cold of the fingers in a shake shows there is a numb feeling betweent the two who exchange the shake. The parallel structure of the short lines 45-46 exhibit the “momentary flash” of connection created in this subtle greeting. Stanza five continutes in showing that the towns people find no interest in being disturbed by greetings. The last stanza, though brief, has the most significance in the poem. It shows somewhat a lack of hope in spreading the importance of the greeting. Acquah’s phrase “we follow in their train shows that the village people are becoming part of the lifestyle of the townspeople, the life without greetings and bonds between people. The repitition of the word “we” shows somewhat disbelief that the very people of the village who have established the “lifetime commitment” of the greeting have linked to the “train.” As well, in the repitition of the word “we,” Acquah shows that the towns people and the village people are becoming unified, however, its only in their lack of unity.