In approximately 1000 words write
“The Dolphins” by Duffy is a protest against the abuse of wildlife and exploitation of
animals. Discuss.
Answers
Answer:
In her dramatic monologue ‘The Dolphins”, Carol Ann Duffy has presented herself as an animal-lover and protested against the exploits of animals and other natural elements by man. Though the poem only speaks of the deplorable condition of the dolphins who are forced to live in a pool to perform tricks in circus, the theme actually goes beyond this. In a broader view, the dolphins are mere representatives of all such creatures receiving ill-treatments in the hands of man.
The poet here expresses the sadness in the dolphins’ mind through their own voice using the technique of dramatic monologue. The dolphin says that they are in their ‘element’ to mean they are still living in water, but they are kept away from their natural habitat, i.e., the ocean. They are not free. Freedom is what the dolphin finds most important to be happy. They are not ‘blessed’ anymore as their movements are restricted in a pool and are guided by a man. They cannot even move according to their will; they have to perform tricks as the man wishes in order to entertain people. So, the dolphins are now used for the monetary purpose of humans. They have to balance themselves on a coloured ball. The dolphin regrets repeatedly:
Species-ism is prejudice against individuals based on their species membership, just like racism is a prejudice and discrimination against individuals based on their race. To make it easy, speciesism is the belief that some species like humans are superior to other species on earth. It involves treating members of one species as morally more important than members of other species even when their interests are equivalent. The term ‘speciesism’ and the argument that it is nothing but a prejudice is rather new and first appeared in 1970 in a pamphlet written by the British psychologist Richard D. Ryder.
Species-ism is prejudice against individuals based on their species membership, just like racism is a prejudice and discrimination against individuals based on their race. To make it easy, speciesism is the belief that some species like humans are superior to other species on earth. It involves treating members of one species as morally more important than members of other species even when their interests are equivalent. The term ‘speciesism’ and the argument that it is nothing but a prejudice is rather new and first appeared in 1970 in a pamphlet written by the British psychologist Richard D. Ryder.
Species-ism is prejudice against individuals based on their species membership, just like racism is a prejudice and discrimination against individuals based on their race. To make it easy, speciesism is the belief that some species like humans are superior to other species on earth. It involves treating members of one species as morally more important than members of other species even when their interests are equivalent. The term ‘speciesism’ and the argument that it is nothing but a prejudice is rather new and first appeared in 1970 in a pamphlet written by the British psychologist Richard D. Ryder. More often than not we assume that we humans are superior to other species on this earth and that leads to abuse of wildlife and exploitation of animals. The poet Carol Ann Duffy protests against this tendency of ours in her poem “The Dolphins”. Here she lends voice to a dolphin and helps it express its sadness over ill-treatment in the hands of man.
Species-ism is prejudice against individuals based on their species membership, just like racism is a prejudice and discrimination against individuals based on their race. To make it easy, speciesism is the belief that some species like humans are superior to other species on earth. It involves treating members of one species as morally more important than members of other species even when their interests are equivalent. The term ‘speciesism’ and the argument that it is nothing but a prejudice is rather new and first appeared in 1970 in a pamphlet written by the British psychologist Richard D. Ryder. More often than not we assume that we humans are superior to other species on this earth and that leads to abuse of wildlife and exploitation of animals. The poet Carol Ann “The Dolphins”. Here she lends voice to a dolphin and helps it express its sadness over ill-treatment in the hands of man. The dolphin speaks of how it has to live in a pool with its movements restricted and regulated by a man. The man is constantly there to make the dolphins perform tricks in order to entertain people in circus. There are hoofs and a plastic ball on which the dolphins have to balance. The dolphins don’t feel happy living in such restricted conditions and they feel one day they will die here.