AFRICAN POETRY How does Rubadiri present the destructive force of the thunderstorm in "African Thunderstorm?"

Answer Details

In "An African Thunderstorm," David Rubadiri presents the coming of a thunderstorm as a vast, disturbing and destructive force. Through vivid imagery, sound and structure, he conveys both the physical violence of the storm and its unsettling effect on the village community.

The approach of the storm. Rubadiri opens by showing the storm gathering "from the west," with clouds "like a plague of locusts." This simile immediately establishes the storm as an invading, devouring menace, for locusts strip and destroy everything in their path. The clouds are described as "hurrying," "tossing up things on its tail" and moving "like a madman chasing nothing," images that give the storm a wild, uncontrollable and even deranged energy.

Imagery of destruction and disorder. The wind "whistles by" and "trees bend to let it pass." Even the mighty trees must submit, suggesting the storm's overwhelming power. The wind flings up rubbish and turns the world upside down. The women's clothes are described being blown so that they "cling on them," and children are tossed about, all conveying the disruption and chaos the storm brings to ordinary life.

Sound and movement. Rubadiri makes the storm vivid through sound. The rushing wind, the "pelting march of the storm," the babble of frightened children and the final "rumble, tremble and crack" of thunder create an atmosphere of mounting violence. The poem builds toward the climactic burst of thunder and lightning, mirroring the storm's own gathering fury.

The reaction of the village. The destructive force is measured by its effect on the people. The women run about in confusion, and the children scream with delight and fear. The whole village is thrown into panic and disorder, underlining the storm's power to overturn the settled life of the community.

Structure and its effect. The poem moves from the distant sighting of the clouds to their turbulent approach and finally to the breaking of the storm. This progression heightens the sense of an unstoppable force bearing down on the helpless village, so that the reader feels the storm's advance and its climactic release.

Possible symbolic reading. Many readers see the storm as a symbol of the disruptive coming of Western influence or colonialism into Africa, sweeping in from the west, plague-like and destructive, throwing traditional life into confusion. This reading deepens the sense of the storm as a threatening, alien force.

Conclusion. Through the locust simile, the images of madness and violent motion, the vivid sounds of wind and thunder, and the panic of the villagers, Rubadiri presents the thunderstorm as a powerful, chaotic and destructive force that overwhelms nature and human life alike, and perhaps stands as an emblem of larger, disruptive change.