The City Planners
Atwood powerfully captures the impact of the city planners by
critisising their lust for absurd uniformity and thus mocking the
deceitful immaculacy of her surroundings. This creates an overall
effect of antipathy and resentment towards the city planners.
Literal level: city planning, urban construction; Metaphorical level: uniformity vs natural
chaos, environmental and political commentary; Profound level: conforming to society’s
expectations and norms stunts creativity and individuality.
STRUCTURE
Imperfect structure- disorganized, each stanza becomes smaller reflecting that the absence
of uniformity is being crushed.
TONE
sense of aggression and hatred towards the trend of urban formality.
Scathing, cynical tone with words such as ‘offends’, clinical word ‘sanities’ which is
juxtaposed with ‘sanitary’.
uniformity of the neighbourhood is typical of a totalitarian state where all creativity
and freedom of individual expression is eliminated. ‘the dent in our car door’ is a
reminder of the imperfections of our world but this is ‘rebuke[d]’ by the ‘levelness of
surface’ The enjambment breaks down the lines and creates pauses for effect but at
the same time suggests that this is ongoing and difficult to stop.
Other words which give the same effect are: ‘pedantic rows’, ‘planted sanitary trees’ ‘assert
levelness’-harsh, sterile image is created which is unappealing and is contrary to natural
growth- nature has succumbed to conformity.
MESSAGE
The uniformity of cities and suburbs are contrasted to the natural world. The poem deals
with environmental issues, political criticism and the obstacles towards creativity and
freedom.
‘the hot sky’ refers to climate change. ‘the same slant of avoidance’ is Atwood’s way of
telling us that people ignore environmental issues, turning their backs on them.
imperfections begin to emerge. The smell of oil is ‘a faint sickness lingering’, ‘a splash of
paint’ becomes a ‘bruise’ evoking an image of abuse and feelings of pain.
The serpentine image of the plastic hose ‘poised in a vicious coil’ is a stark message that
nature will eventually fight back.
City planners- deity with a sense of self-importance. The tone is scathing and sarcastic.
sarcasm- ‘with the insane faces of political conspirators’- evil and demented. The word
‘insane’ links back to the ‘sanities’ in stanza one and highlights the superficiality of the
uniformity of the suburbs and the true insanity of those who attempt to impose this on
nature.
‘conspirators’ emphasizes the political aspect of the poem and also implies something
underhand and covert.
The city planners are presented not only as evil, but also as an entity which has infiltrated
nature and society highlighting even further the way they are considered to work covertly
and cunningly. ‘scattered over unsurveyed territories’ implies the conflict between man and
nature.
The city planners are unable to see what is really going on. This is more evident in the
6th stanza in which the language is connected to lack of solidity and rigidity. ‘guessing’
suggests there is no plan and ridicules the planners for their actions. It also presents the
planners as uncaring about the effects on the environment their actions have.
PROGRESSION
BEGINNING- calm, relaxed- ‘Cruising’, ‘residential Sunday’ imply a relaxed and content
tone.
Atwood powerfully captures the impact of the city planners by
critisising their lust for absurd uniformity and thus mocking the
deceitful immaculacy of her surroundings. This creates an overall
effect of antipathy and resentment towards the city planners.
Literal level: city planning, urban construction; Metaphorical level: uniformity vs natural
chaos, environmental and political commentary; Profound level: conforming to society’s
expectations and norms stunts creativity and individuality.
STRUCTURE
Imperfect structure- disorganized, each stanza becomes smaller reflecting that the absence
of uniformity is being crushed.
TONE
sense of aggression and hatred towards the trend of urban formality.
Scathing, cynical tone with words such as ‘offends’, clinical word ‘sanities’ which is
juxtaposed with ‘sanitary’.
uniformity of the neighbourhood is typical of a totalitarian state where all creativity
and freedom of individual expression is eliminated. ‘the dent in our car door’ is a
reminder of the imperfections of our world but this is ‘rebuke[d]’ by the ‘levelness of
surface’ The enjambment breaks down the lines and creates pauses for effect but at
the same time suggests that this is ongoing and difficult to stop.
Other words which give the same effect are: ‘pedantic rows’, ‘planted sanitary trees’ ‘assert
levelness’-harsh, sterile image is created which is unappealing and is contrary to natural
growth- nature has succumbed to conformity.
MESSAGE
The uniformity of cities and suburbs are contrasted to the natural world. The poem deals
with environmental issues, political criticism and the obstacles towards creativity and
freedom.
‘the hot sky’ refers to climate change. ‘the same slant of avoidance’ is Atwood’s way of
telling us that people ignore environmental issues, turning their backs on them.
imperfections begin to emerge. The smell of oil is ‘a faint sickness lingering’, ‘a splash of
paint’ becomes a ‘bruise’ evoking an image of abuse and feelings of pain.
The serpentine image of the plastic hose ‘poised in a vicious coil’ is a stark message that
nature will eventually fight back.
City planners- deity with a sense of self-importance. The tone is scathing and sarcastic.
sarcasm- ‘with the insane faces of political conspirators’- evil and demented. The word
‘insane’ links back to the ‘sanities’ in stanza one and highlights the superficiality of the
uniformity of the suburbs and the true insanity of those who attempt to impose this on
nature.
‘conspirators’ emphasizes the political aspect of the poem and also implies something
underhand and covert.
The city planners are presented not only as evil, but also as an entity which has infiltrated
nature and society highlighting even further the way they are considered to work covertly
and cunningly. ‘scattered over unsurveyed territories’ implies the conflict between man and
nature.
The city planners are unable to see what is really going on. This is more evident in the
6th stanza in which the language is connected to lack of solidity and rigidity. ‘guessing’
suggests there is no plan and ridicules the planners for their actions. It also presents the
planners as uncaring about the effects on the environment their actions have.
PROGRESSION
BEGINNING- calm, relaxed- ‘Cruising’, ‘residential Sunday’ imply a relaxed and content
tone.
