The Butterfly

The Butterfly

The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.

Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing

against a white stone...

Such, such a yellow

Is carried lightly ‘way up high.

It went away I'm sure because it wished to

kiss the world goodbye.

For seven weeks I've lived in here,

Penned up inside this ghetto

But I have found my people here.

The dandelions call to me

And the white chestnut candles in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don't live in here,

In the ghetto. 

(By Pavel Friedmann 4.6.1942)

Summary

“The Butterfly” is a narrative poem that is written in the first person’s point of view. It tells the story about an individual imprisoned in the Ghetto, who contemplates about the last butterfly he saw. The contrast of freedom, symbolized by the butterfly versus imprisonment, symbolized by the ghetto is the main theme of the poem. “The Butterfly” was written in free verse and does not follow any rhyme scheme. 

Genre

Poetry 

Poetry is more than just "[c]ondensed language" (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p.12). "Poetry is the shorthand of beauty; its distilled language captures the essence of an idea or experience and encompasses the universe in its vision" (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p.13).

"Poetry combines rich meaning with sounds of language arranged in an interesting form" (p. 139). Poets beautifully manipulate language by employing poetic devices, such as imagery, rhythm, and rhyme (see Figure 4.2 on page 147) to create meaning in an artistic way that it sounds appealing not just to the ear, but also to the mind and spirit. Excellent children’s poetry “speak to our sense of delight, wonder, recognition, or emotional state” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p.144). Figure 4.1 on page 144 depicts a checklist for assessing quality in poetry. Excellent poetry should demonstrate an interesting as well as understandable content and an innovative language that is careful in its word choice and is rich in poetic devices to enhance meaning. Outstanding poets structure a poem in a way that the form helps its readers to understand the poetic subject or mood. 

Analysis

The poem contains some imageries, which are “[w]ords that appeal to the senses” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe 2010, p.147). Examples of imagery are listed in line two: “richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow”.

“The Butterfly” also contains some personifications, which are “[h]uman traits given to inanimate objects” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe 2010, p.147). Examples of personifications are given in line three (“Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing”), line seven to eight (“It went away I’m sure because it wished to kiss the world good-bye”), and line 12 (“The dandelions call me”).

In addition, the poem contains several symbols, which are “word[s] that stand[…] for more than its denotative meaning” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe 2010, p.147). The butterfly is a symbol of freedom. It is personified and is the only one that can escape the ghetto. The color yellow is a symbol of sunshine, hope, and happiness. It is interesting that the butterfly as well as the dandelions are both yellow, symbolizing that freedom and the other prisoners are the protagonist’s hope that make him happy. The color white is a symbol of death, as the white stone or the white chestnut branches.

The author uses a negative connotation when describing his living condition. He feels “[P]enned up inside this ghetto” (line 10), implying to the inhumane conditions in the ghettos. A connotation is “[t]he individual emotional implications or private meaning of a word” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe 2010, p. 147).

Classroom Activities

Reader Response Questions

1. Who do you think wrote this poem? (WHO?)
2. What experiences do you think generated this poem? (WHY?)
3. To what is the poem referring? (WHAT?)
4.  How does this poem make you feel? (HOW?)
5. What does the butterfly represent and what is its antagonist?

Activity 1

Present visual presentation to class, so students get an understanding of the reasons behind the poem and its historical background.

Write important facts about Theresienstadt on the board:

• served as a transit camp for Czech Jews 
• ghetto-labor camp 
• served as a holding pen for Jews
• as part of the Nazi strategy of deception
•  140,000 Jews were transferred to Theresienstadt, nearly 90,000 were deported to other concentration camps, and around 33,000 died in Theresienstadt itself
• 15,000 children passed through the camp between the years 1942 and 1944. Only 132 of those children were known to have survived.
• highly developed cultural life with lending library, orchestra, lectures, schools, and artist studio 
• Children wrote poems and drew pictures and stuffed them inside the cracks of walls and mattresses of their dormitories 
• After the liberation of Theresienstadt on May 8, 1945, many children's work were reclaimed and restored as "The Butterfly" for example and put into a book called I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children's Drawings and Poems from the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, 1942-1944

Assign children into groups. Then distribute other poems that are in the same book as the initial poem "The Butterfly". Each group is asked to compare and contrast the two poems, paying especially attention to the poetic devices, and to create a collage, which is explained to the class and displayed in the classroom.

Activity 2

Distribute several sheets of colorful paper, glue, scissors and string and instruct students to create a butterfly as a symbol for hope, respect, and tolerance for the 132 surviving children of the camp. The butterflies are displayed in the classroom as a reminder that every child, despite his or her religion, culture, or skin color is just as unique and beautiful as the butterfly next to him/her. 

This activity aligns with the Saint Leo core value of Respect, which states: “Animated in the spirit of Jesus Christ, we value all individuals’ unique talents, respect their dignity, and strive to foster their commitment to excellence in our work. Our community’s strength depends on the unity and diversity of our people, on the free exchange of ideas, and on learning, living, and working harmoniously.”

Personal Response

After assessing the quality of "The Butterfly" by carefully evaluating its criteria by referring to the checklist of figure 4.1 on page 144, I concluded that this poem is an interesting and well understandable piece of literature. It contains a variety of poetic techniques which enables the reader to empathize with the protagonist’s state of mind.

I would highly recommend to implement "The Butterfly" in every classroom to introduce children to authentic historical testimonies of people from the past. The Holocaust was one of the most awful events in human history and every mankind should be educated on these inhumane actions, so that this will never be repeated. I believe that we should face our children with historic events, because of them our world evolved to what it is now. “The Butterfly” is not suitable for primary-grade readers, but can be read in an intermediate grade classroom. 

Benefits of reading poetry with children include the engagement of young readers into listening which ultimately enhances their language resources, and the development of their phonemic awareness, the enhancement of their literacy skills, as well as the improvement of their cognitive abilities.

Similar Works

• Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
• Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
• Maus I: A Survivors Tale by Art Spiegelman
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• Similar poems:

I am a Jew

I am a Jew and will be a Jew forever.

Even if I should die from hunger,

never will I submit.

I will always fight for my people,

on my honor.

I will never be ashamed of them;

I give my word.

I am proud of my people,

how dignified they are.

Even though I am oppressed,

I will always come back to life.

 ( By Franta Bass)

At Terezín

When a new child comes

Everything seems strange to him.

What, on the ground I have to lie?

Eat black potatoes? No! Not I!

I've got to stay? It's dirty here!

The floor- why, look, it's dirt, I fear!

And I'm supposed to sleep on it?

I'll get all dirty!

Here the sound of shouting, cries,

And oh, so many flies.

Everyone knows flies carry disease.

Oooh, something bit me! Wasn't that a bedbug?

Here in Terezín, life is hell

and when I'll go home again, I can't yet tell.

(By "Teddy" 1943)

Author's Background Information

The poem “The Butterfly” was written by 21 year old Jewish Czechoslovak Pavel Friedmann on a piece of thin copy paper on June 4, 1942 while being imprisoned in the ghetto of Theresienstadt. He was a victim of the Holocaust and died in the Auschwitz concentration camp on September 29, 1944. After the liberation of Theresienstadt on May 8, 1945 the poem  has been included in the anthology of I never Saw Another Butterfly: Children's Drawings and Poems from the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, 1942-1944 and served as an inspiration for the "Butterfly Project" of the Holocaust Museum of Houston, which is an exhibition that created 1.5 million paper butterflies to symbolize the same number of children that were victims of the Holocaust.

References

Eichenberg, F. (1964). I never saw another butterfly. Children's drawings and poems from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, 1942-1944. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Galda, L., Cullinan, B.E., & Sipe, L.R. (2010). Literature and the child (7^th ed.). Belmond, CA:Wadsworths, Inc.

I Never Saw Another Butterfly. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from http://milkweedinspired.weebly.com/i-never-saw-another-butterfly.html

Theresienstadt. (2016). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005424

Totten, S., & Feinberg, S. (2001). Teaching and studying the Holocaust. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.