“The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche and How it Depicts Issues of Power.
The civil war in El Salvador marks the fight between the government lead by the military Junta and Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) from late 1979 to early 1992. The killing of the anti-coup protest followed after October 5, 1979, by the government, and the guerillas anti-protesters protests were evident during the start of the civil wars. The war lasted for 12 years, and it involved deliberate terrorizing, and the USA government trained death squad targeted the civilians, including the Catholic Church’s prominent clergies. Children were recruited in forces, and there was an increased violation of human rights mainly by the military. The UN reports that approximately 75,000 people were killed during the 12 years of the war (Golden 1). During that time, the situation in El Salvador made Forche go there as a poet, journalist, and human right investigator. Many people have been curious about the USA’s role in the twelve-year El Salvador civil war that finally ended with UN-brokered peace accords. As a famous poet who has written largely on the USA concern on El Salvador civil war, Forte “political poetry” addresses these controversies, for instance, in the “El Salvador: An Aide Mémoire” as indicates by Krauss (3) in The American Poetry Review. The paper analyzes “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche and depicts power issues.
Published in the volume, “The Country Between Us” (1981), “The Colonel” is one of the best-known poems that address the El Salvador Civil war (Forché 2). Forche had arrived in the country when the conflict started. She had gone to work with Amnesty International as a Guggenheim fellowship. At the dinner within the military man table, Forche in the poem notes how after the “rack of lamb, good wine” (Forché 11) meal ended, the officer brings a bag filled with human ears and spills them on the dinner table. The officer tells her that those working in human rights can go and fuck themselves. He ironically salutes them by raising his glass and yews, “Something for your poetry, no?” (Forché 28) The kind of gesture show how military power had taken control of what could be the voice of those who were oppressed. Unlike what the reader could view as the ordinary living room life, the poet makes us consider what was going around in people’s life.
She uses a figurative language when she says, “The moon swung bare on its black cord over the house” (Forché 6) to note the artfulness of the life of people in entire El Salvador. She indicates with their power, which was not available to the people, such as those in the human rights agenda. This aspect creates an image of violent interrogations that was full of torture as outlined on the housetop. It indicates the kind of roles military colonel would do to have information. Additionally, Forche shows how it was hard for one to come or get out of the country in the name of help when she notes “Broken bottles were embedded in the walls around the house to scoop the kneecaps from a man’s legs or cut his hands to lace” (Forché 9). Forche notes that it was until the parrot said hello that could stop the colonels’ actions.
The title “The colonel” is a figurative language that indicates the military ruler who was had rank, money, and position to do whatever they felt like doing. Forche outlines the military ruling, where those on the higher levels were not afraid of their actions. In the description of the colonel’s house, she notes on her pillow, he has got a gun, his war can have mans’ kneecaps shred, and the house is attended by a maid who is called by a bell. She indicates that the colonel used to give out orders that people have to obey. This description suggests the power of wealth that is associated with essential accessories. For instance, the poet notes that “… a pistol on the cushion beside him” (Forché 5). It indicates at the drop of a hat, the colonel is ready to shoot and kill. An image created when she describes the gun on a pillow outlines his element of graciousness, though, behind him, the colonel is aligning a fatal force.
Power oppression of the El Salvadorian people, human rights, and the poor by those in power could be evident in the colonel’s actions. In what he viewed as an entertainment to his guest, he ironically mocked her work in El Salvador and believed what she was up to in his country could only be experienced in Northern America. Colonel believed that literature has seized to have subject value, thus telling her, “Something for your poetry, no?” One can term it as figurative language towards the work of the human right over their powers in the country. Colonel believed that no human rights could go beyond their capabilities and “no” place to table their problems. A parrot is told to shut down, what Forche says, “The colonel told it to shut up” (Forché 18). These words give a feeling that no one was supposed to speak out unless those in power give a sign of doing so. The strange thing is that the parrots speak out in some instances though it has to use English though at the moment it has no right to say hola. It indicates that those who have to speak when given the opportunity should only say what impresses those in power. It suggests that the authority had oppressed people’s freedom of expression. Even for those who feel that this is not the case, he notes that “I am tired of fooling around, he said. As for the rights of anyone, tell your people they can go fuck themselves. (Forché 26-27).Neither the El Salvadorian nor human freedom or any nation that could dictate the power of the military government
The power of human rights can thus be evident in the poem. Through the mockery, the poet notes that the resistance generated by the human right was apparent in the strength of the colonels’ resistance. Forche says that these words brought about the dead ears to life. One wonders how the pressed down ears could hear. It shows how the powerless would get power through the works of human rights. Effective representation of people unlike that what Forche says, “My friend said to me with his eyes: say nothing” (Forché 19) can be effective to help those who are oppressed. Human rights, in most cases, are the voice of the oppressive government.
An article published in New York Times “UN Report Urges Sweeping Changes in Salvador Army” by Tim Golden in 1993 notes that the colonel was the higher-ranked military personnel in the Salvadoran military who had misused their offices and politicked the judicial system. The report published by Golden (Forché 3) indicates the misuse of power by the army and the country’s political class. In the article, Golden notes that “The way to end impunity is to make these people pay a price, and they have to be seen to be paying a price.” These aspects can be observed as the poet alludes to “… ears on the floor caught this scrap of his voice…the floor were pressed to the ground” (Forché 30-31). The voice of the human rights termed as the “truth commission” was still working towards reviving the lost powers though the colonel did not believe.
As indicates by Forche, the powerful countries can collude with the lesser powerful countries to exploit and control their people. In the “Woerner Report on El Salvador,” he outlines how the army forces and the leader in guerilla leaders would assign individuals roles to carry out outrageous human rights violations (The National Security Archive 1). In the “How US Actions Helped Hide Salvador Human Rights Abuses,” by Clifford Krauss New York Times story, he outlines that involvement of the Reagan Administration and the American Army having an idea of what was going on in El Salvadoran the gross violation of the human right. At the same time, there was a dramatic increase in USA military aid to the country. Krauss notes that the American army was working towards having a winning strategy for the El Salvador military. From these analyses, the Forche “The Colonel” reflects a similar cultural review that has a great relationship to what was going on for the twelve years. Countries’ power and the corrupt aspect of the military to control the lesser powerful can be tested to be persistent. Forche says, “WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD is true” (Forché 1), which indicates that these articles could be true on the American Military’s involvement to violate the human right for their gains.
Overall, the El Salvador civil wars, as Forche indicates, were violations of human rights, as mentioned in his prose poem. They supported the military government despite human rights violations. Those who could not support the military or government would be killed. The poet notes that the poem was about a real person, and thus he had to use prose poem to avoid any kind of meter. He uses journalistic poetic reportage devices, for instance, “They were like dried peach halves” (Forché 22) to indicate the prosaic that is experienced daily. He takes the people’s ears to show the victims of the situations, thus giving his poem power through the use of metaphors. It indicates the challenges associated with political war and how American traditions can have lesser privileged states. Therefore, we need to know that if power is used, applied in irresponsibly can hurt those who have lower abilities leading to oppression and infringements of human rights.
Works Cited
CAROLYN, FORCHÉ. “El Salvador: An Aide Memoire.” The American Poetry Review on JSTOR. Www.Jstor.Org, Aug. 1981, pp. 3–7, www.jstor.org/stable/i40154680. Accessed August 10, 2020.
Carolyn, Forché. The Colonel. Just Buffalo Literary Center. 1995, shslboyd.pbworks.com/f/The+Colonel.pdf. Accessed August 10, 2020.
Golden, Tim. “U.n. Report Urges Sweeping Changes in Salvador Army.” The New York Times, March 16. 1993, www.nytimes.com/1993/03/16/world/un-report-urges-sweeping-changes-in-salvador-army.html?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap. Accessed August 10, 2020.
Krauss, Clifford. “How US Actions Helped Hide Salvador Human Rights Abuses.” The New York Times, March 21. 1993, www.nytimes.com/1993/03/21/world/how-us-actions-helped-hide-salvador-human-rights-abuses.html.
The National Security Archive. “Woerner Report on El Salvador.” Gwu.Edu, 1993, nsarchive2.gwu.edu//nsa/DOCUMENT/930325.htm. Accessed August 10, 2020.