Analysis Of The Poem Americanized By Bruce Dawe

Bruce Dawe highlights the damaging nature of consumerism and how it has led to the loss of Australian identity in his poems ‘Enter Without So Much As Knocking’ and ‘Americanized’.The two poems were written around the 1950-the 1960s when these societal changes were becoming prevalent. The dark satire comedy "Enter Without So Much As Knocking" is about a regular man who lives in the suburbs in the 1950s. The persona ages over the course of the stanzas and gradually begins to engage in the endless cycle of consumerism. On the other hand, the poem "Americanized," combines a cultural imperialist theme with the comparison of a domineering mother and her child who represent America and Australia. The extended metaphor of motherhood refers to America

Australia has become a materialistic, mass-producing capitalist society whose primary goal is to continue the cycle of consumerism, which has ruined individuals. In his poems "Americanized" and "Enter Without So Much As Knocking," Bruce Dawe effectively captures the nature of consumerism by highlighting the dependency between individuals and the worship of wealth. The all-consuming nature of society is demonstrated by the fact that it takes the persona, who is a young child, a "year or two" to become accustomed to his "well-equipped smoothly-run family," which featured a "one economy-sized Mum, one Anthony Squires Coolstream-Summerweight Dad." The persona's family is depicted as a manufacturing line being sold in stores through the repeated use of advertising jargon through compounded words, as opposed to actual individuals. It presents a satirical look at the 'perfect' conventional family and illustrates Dawe's pessimistic view of materialism as it penetrates the family dynamic. However, "Americanized" illustrates consumerism, the world, in general, is influenced by America, with the "mother" going "off to nurse an

In his poems "Americanized" and "Enter Without So Much As Knocking," Bruce Dawe effectively captures the devaluation of the individual brought on by capitalism. The loss of genuine emotions is conveyed when the persona states "goodbye stars,". He is symbolically saying goodbye to his imagination and to the person, he might have become had he not succumbed to social expectations. Instead, the persona inevitably turns into "like every other godless money-hungry backstabbing miserable so-and-so." Through the usage of compound words, the persona has evolved into an unoriginal individual like his family. The comparison implies that the persona worships money rather than spiritual beliefs such as God. Dawe emphasises the character's eventual loss of identity as he forgoes genuine satisfaction in order to live up to society's expectations of happiness. Nevertheless in "Americanized," the little kid "strains to be a good boy," showing that growing up is about discipline and repression, "not knowing then it takes years of training," which illustrates the conformity demands of modern society. A person must give up their identity and submit to society's expectations in order to fit in with modern society. The boy who represents Australia in the extended metaphor demonstrates how desperate Australia is to blend in with the modern