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| United Fruit Co. By Pablo Neruda | Summary and Question Answers |
1. What is United fruit company? What does it do?
United Fruit Company is a real name of an American Imperial company for banana trade in the middle American countries.
3. What do 'bloodthirsty flies' represent in the poem?
He compares the United fruit company with flies and illustrates how such companies have overshadowed the great sacrifices of our people. He laments how these bloodthirsty dictators have taken the valuable resources of America at the expense of the poor people. They ruthlessly kill and oppress poor people for the sake of their gain.
4. What is the theme of the poem?
Corruption, imperialism, the quest for wealth and land are the major themes of the poem.
5. How is the condition of the Indians described in the poem?
The Poem tries to explain how the Indian people suffer when the company's fool them and destroyed their land and lifestyles in the name of modernity and prosperity. The companies have brought oppression, cruelty and injustice to the poor people. The greed of these companies made the life of laymen miserable and meaningless. They ruthlessly kill and oppress poor people for the sake of their gain.
6. Explain the following lines with reference to the text:
With the Blood thirsty flies
Came the fruit company
Amassed coffee and fruit
In ships which put to sea like
Overloaded trays with the Treasures
From our sunken land
The poet in these lines of the poem tries to explain that the fruit company came like bloodthirsty flies who benefited by killing their citizens to gain favours and resources from these land and people. The poet shows how these bloodthirsty dictators have taken the valuable resources of America at the expense of the poor people. They ruthlessly kill and oppress the poor people for the sake of their gain.
