What Insights Have You Gained About Change from Robert Gray's "North Coast Town"?

Essay by elise16High School, 12th gradeA+, October 2006

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The word change means to become different or undergo alteration. It is a complex topic that has a range of meanings and concepts involved in it. Three important concepts about change can be highlighted in the poem "North Coast Town" written by Robert Gray. This poem describes the changes that have occurred in a small coast town. The town has become and will continue to become commercialised and industrialised. This process has removed the natural beauty of the area displaying the negative change occurring in the town. The three major insights that have been gained in this poem are an understanding that change can be viewed with different forms/ opinions, how change creates a greater appreciation of what was before and lastly it identifies some specific types of change.

The main insight about change that I have gained from North Coast Town is the concept that change encourages appreciation for the original state.

In other words without change there wouldn't be an admiration of what was before. This is particularly highlighted in the poem in stanza three 'at this kerb sand crawls by and palm fronds here scrape dryly.' This quote, using the technique of personification, suggests how nature was once full of vitality and life, however due to the developments of the town the life- blood of nature had been removed from it. Personification is subtly used to powerfully portray an image of the loss of energy and animation of nature. The prior vitality of nature is only described by the author because of his awareness of the change occurring in the town. This can also be shown by the line 'smoking on past the pink 'Tropicana' motel (stucco with sea shells)' which uses symbolism. A tacky image of a cheap hotel is created showing how man removed nature...