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13 Dec 2025
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The Deliverer - A Study of Poems from the Decade
millie
@millie_xmtr
1 / 4
Title and Setting Analysis
The poem's title "The Deliverer" cleverly plays with multiple meanings - from childbirth to religious salvation to rescue. This ambiguity sets up the complex themes you'll encounter throughout.
The epistolary format makes everything feel intensely personal, like you're reading someone's private thoughts. The setting in Kerala, India isn't random - this region has historically struggled with infanticide due to cultural preferences for male children and the dowry system that makes daughters seem like economic burdens.
Religious imagery runs throughout, with references to the "Lady of the Light" (Virgin Mary) and convents symbolising hope and sanctuary. This contrasts sharply with the abandonment described, highlighting the gap between religious ideals of maternal love and harsh reality.
Key insight: The collective pronoun "our" suggests this experience represents thousands of abandoned children, not just one person's story.
The Journey from India to America
The poem reveals the stark cultural divide between East and West through powerful imagery. Children are described as being "found naked," "covered in garbage," and "stuffed in bags" - language that emphasises their complete vulnerability and society's treatment of them as waste.
The reference to Milwaukee isn't accidental - it's associated with Native Americans who, like these Indian children, faced cultural genocide. The airport represents globalisation and opportunity, whilst the waiting American parents embody the "nuclear family" ideal with their ceremonies and "doing things right."
However, there's criticism here too. The American parents "don't know" about the trauma behind their adopted child - they can't understand the "fetish" of burial attempts or the complex cultural forces that created this situation.
Remember: The italicised "We couldn't stop crying" suddenly reveals the narrator is the abandoned baby, creating a powerful emotional shift.
The Brutal Reality of Infanticide
This section contains the poem's most disturbing imagery, describing what happens in "desolate huts" outside village boundaries. The language becomes deliberately clinical and detached - "squeeze out life," "feel for penis or no penis" - which reflects both the narrator's psychological distance from trauma and the mechanical nature of these acts.
The verb choices are crucial: "slither" (associated with snakes and Biblical sin), "toss" (showing carelessness), and "trudge" (suggesting exhaustion). These mothers are portrayed as victims themselves, forced to "lie down for their men again" in an endless, oppressive cycle.
The structural elements reinforce the themes - asterisks divide stanzas like cultural divides, tercets might represent life stages, and the lack of rhyme scheme reflects chaos and uncontrollable circumstances.
Critical point: The poem doesn't blame the mothers but shows them as victims of patriarchal oppression, creating a complex moral landscape rather than simple villains.
Key Themes and Connections
The poem explores several interconnected themes that you should focus on for analysis. Suffering and morality intertwine as the narrator grapples with understanding her origins without condemning those involved. Motherhood appears in multiple forms - abandoning mothers, adoptive mothers, and the religious mother figure of Mary.
The fragmented identity experienced by adopted children becomes evident through constant shifts between first and third person narration. This dissociation reflects the psychological impact of cultural alienation and trauma.
For comparative analysis, this poem connects well with other texts exploring family relationships, cultural identity, and moral complexity. The themes of abandonment, protection, and finding belonging resonate across different cultural contexts.
Exam tip: Focus on how the poem's structure (diary format, shifting perspectives, religious imagery) reinforces its themes rather than just identifying what happens in the story.
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Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
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Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good
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Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
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This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.
David K
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The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
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In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
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very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.
Rohan U
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I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good
Thomas R
iOS user
Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
Android user
This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.
Rohan U
Android user
I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user
The Deliverer - A Study of Poems from the Decade
millie
@millie_xmtr
"The Deliverer" is a haunting poem about female infanticide in India and international adoption. Written in diary format, it follows an adopted woman reflecting on her origins and the brutal reality of gender-based violence that led to her rescue.
Title and Setting Analysis
The poem's title "The Deliverer" cleverly plays with multiple meanings - from childbirth to religious salvation to rescue. This ambiguity sets up the complex themes you'll encounter throughout.
The epistolary format makes everything feel intensely personal, like you're reading someone's private thoughts. The setting in Kerala, India isn't random - this region has historically struggled with infanticide due to cultural preferences for male children and the dowry system that makes daughters seem like economic burdens.
Religious imagery runs throughout, with references to the "Lady of the Light" (Virgin Mary) and convents symbolising hope and sanctuary. This contrasts sharply with the abandonment described, highlighting the gap between religious ideals of maternal love and harsh reality.
Key insight: The collective pronoun "our" suggests this experience represents thousands of abandoned children, not just one person's story.
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Join milions of students
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The Journey from India to America
The poem reveals the stark cultural divide between East and West through powerful imagery. Children are described as being "found naked," "covered in garbage," and "stuffed in bags" - language that emphasises their complete vulnerability and society's treatment of them as waste.
The reference to Milwaukee isn't accidental - it's associated with Native Americans who, like these Indian children, faced cultural genocide. The airport represents globalisation and opportunity, whilst the waiting American parents embody the "nuclear family" ideal with their ceremonies and "doing things right."
However, there's criticism here too. The American parents "don't know" about the trauma behind their adopted child - they can't understand the "fetish" of burial attempts or the complex cultural forces that created this situation.
Remember: The italicised "We couldn't stop crying" suddenly reveals the narrator is the abandoned baby, creating a powerful emotional shift.
Sign up to see the contentIt's free!
Access to all documents
Improve your grades
Join milions of students
By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
The Brutal Reality of Infanticide
This section contains the poem's most disturbing imagery, describing what happens in "desolate huts" outside village boundaries. The language becomes deliberately clinical and detached - "squeeze out life," "feel for penis or no penis" - which reflects both the narrator's psychological distance from trauma and the mechanical nature of these acts.
The verb choices are crucial: "slither" (associated with snakes and Biblical sin), "toss" (showing carelessness), and "trudge" (suggesting exhaustion). These mothers are portrayed as victims themselves, forced to "lie down for their men again" in an endless, oppressive cycle.
The structural elements reinforce the themes - asterisks divide stanzas like cultural divides, tercets might represent life stages, and the lack of rhyme scheme reflects chaos and uncontrollable circumstances.
Critical point: The poem doesn't blame the mothers but shows them as victims of patriarchal oppression, creating a complex moral landscape rather than simple villains.
Sign up to see the contentIt's free!
Access to all documents
Improve your grades
Join milions of students
By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Key Themes and Connections
The poem explores several interconnected themes that you should focus on for analysis. Suffering and morality intertwine as the narrator grapples with understanding her origins without condemning those involved. Motherhood appears in multiple forms - abandoning mothers, adoptive mothers, and the religious mother figure of Mary.
The fragmented identity experienced by adopted children becomes evident through constant shifts between first and third person narration. This dissociation reflects the psychological impact of cultural alienation and trauma.
For comparative analysis, this poem connects well with other texts exploring family relationships, cultural identity, and moral complexity. The themes of abandonment, protection, and finding belonging resonate across different cultural contexts.
Exam tip: Focus on how the poem's structure (diary format, shifting perspectives, religious imagery) reinforces its themes rather than just identifying what happens in the story.
We thought you’d never ask...
What is the Knowunity AI companion?
Our AI Companion is a student-focused AI tool that offers more than just answers. Built on millions of Knowunity resources, it provides relevant information, personalised study plans, quizzes, and content directly in the chat, adapting to your individual learning journey.
Where can I download the Knowunity app?
You can download the app from Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Is Knowunity really free of charge?
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Most popular content: Analysis
Most popular content in English Literature
English - inspector calls quotes and analysis
Quotes from every main character
English Literature10
Most popular content
English - inspector calls quotes and analysis
Quotes from every main character
English Literature10
Can't find what you're looking for? Explore other subjects.
Students love us — and so will you.
4.9/5
App Store
4.8/5
Google Play
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good
Thomas R
iOS user
Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
Android user
This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.
Rohan U
Android user
I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good
Thomas R
iOS user
Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
Android user
This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.
Rohan U
Android user
I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user