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Waiting For The Barbarians

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Superiority and Separation portrayed in “Waiting for the Barbarians” Literature can help to communicate many complex ideas or themes. Through the use of literary concepts such as tone, language, and point of view the audience is able to take a glimpse into those complex ideas or themes. “Waiting for the Barbarians”, the short story and poem, depict themes such as superiority, power, and separation. The poem and story display the emotions surrounding the apartheid system that took place in South Africa. Lasting for about 50 years, the system of apartheid oppressed many non-white people. Through both the short story and poem, the audience is able to experience these emotions of oppression and take a glimpse into how people saw and treated the …show more content…

P. Cavafy’s poem, “Waiting for the Barbarians” also depicts these themes of superiority and separation among the whites and barbarians. The poem depicts how simple-minded the people believed the barbarians were. The emperor and senators are dressed nice and are carrying elegant canes and jewels. The explanation for this is, “Because the barbarians are coming today and things like that dazzle the barbarians” (21-22). Cavafy uses description to relate to the audience how people viewed the barbarians. He continues saying, “Why don’t our distinguished orators turn up as usual to make speeches, say what they have to say? Because the barbarians are coming today and they’re bored by rhetoric and public speaking” (23-26). This narrative shows the audience the separation between the people and the barbarians. The barbarians are viewed as uneducated and this allows the people to be superior to them. The barbarians are unintelligent to the senators and emperor, which is why the city is fine with using them as an excuse for their problems. The barbarians were a means to an end for the city. It says, “Now what’s going to happen to us without barbarians? Those people were a kind of solution” (34-35). The city did not care about the barbarians, they just wanted to use them. Cavafy uses description and narrative to show the separation evident between the barbarians and the city and the superiority the city believed they had over the

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