How does the map act as a window for the children of the slum? Why does the poet say that the window is shut?
How does the map act as a window for the children of the slum? Why does the poet say that the window is shut?
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In the poem ‘An Elementary School in Slum’ written by Stephen Spender, the slum children are aloof from the outside world. They do not have a connection with the ‘big bad world’. In this context, the map is like a window that the children can look out of. The window represents the possibility of a better life. However, the window is ‘shut’ because the children have been taught to believe that there is no future for them outside of their slum.
The poem also refers to the slum as a ‘prison’. The prison metaphor in Stephen Spender’s poem refers to the fact that the children are cut off from society. However, they are also taught that they are ‘bad’ people. This means that they are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty and low self-esteem.