In ‘Heidi With Blue Hair’, how does the poet present ideas about conformity? by Patrick Lloyd https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3 en-us 2021-05-19 13:55:43 UTC 2021-05-20 09:36:39 UTC hello@padlet.com For Heidi with Blue Hair by Fleur Adcock pll6 https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1539621372 When you dyed your hair blue
(or, at least, ultramarine
for the clipped sides, with a crest
of jet-black spikes on top)
you were sent home from school,

because, as the headmistress put it,
although dyed hair was not
specifically forbidden, yours
was, apart from anything else,
not done in the school colours.

Tears in the kitchen, telephone-calls
to school from your freedom-loving father:
‘She’s not a punk* in her behaviour;
it’s just a style.’ (You wiped your eyes,
also not in a school colour.)

‘She discussed it with me first –
we checked the rules.’ ‘And anyway, Dad,
it cost twenty-five dollars.
Tell them it won’t wash out –
not even if I wanted to try.’

It would have been unfair to mention
your mother’s death, but that
shimmered behind the arguments.
The school had nothing else against you;
the teachers twittered and gave in.

Next day your black friend had hers done
in grey, white and flaxen yellow –
the school colours precisely:
an act of solidarity*, a witty
tease. The battle was already won.

]]> 2021-05-19 13:57:47 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1539621372 Bella https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543072955 intention - "unfair to mention your mother's death" perhaps Heidi's blue hair was a way of regaining control back during the grief of her mother, maybe to distract herself.]]> 2021-05-20 09:05:00 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543072955 Molly G https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543073531 Presents conformity as totally unnecessary and a pointless societal standard.
'specifically forbidden' - suggests it is a crime to be different 
The idea of a 'battle' shows the difficulty of breaking stereotypes and what society considers normal, people would rather fight than accept differences.
irregular structure reinforces that conforming is ridiculous and not worth spending time on]]> 2021-05-20 09:05:17 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543073531 Keira https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543073569 Presents conformity as something that only arises when it suits the person in power.  
Tone= judgmental tone that makes people feel bad for expressing themselves and allows the person of power to feel superior. Conformity is restricting and gets rid of variety in society due to the idea that everyone must look and dress the same in order for it to be acceptable, it rejects anyone that attempts to rebel against society's view of perfect.
"Battle"= it's not just her that tries to express herself and gets shamed for it, its thousands of other people in the world, "battle" is smaller than a war, it refers to the battle with school, not the battle with the world (war), this suggests that it's a bigger issue than people think it is. The battle she is fighting is symbolic of the wider battle that needs to be fought to bring change. Furthermore, battles affect everyone, not just the people who fight the battles, perhaps this implies that there are kids at her school that wish they had the courage to express themselves but seeing how they treat Heidi has prevented them from doing so, maybe if the school (and society) was more accepting more people would be happier because it would be a less judgmental world.
Structure= lot of enjambment, stanza lengths are fairly regular, no ordered rhyme scheme, irregular structure reinforces the idea that conformity is nonsense and pointless, poet is refusing to conform to standard poem structure.

]]> 2021-05-20 09:05:18 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543073569 Louie https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543073790 IN: The poet presents conformity as futile for a system to properly function and as a thing that is being used to control people into doing pointless things just to establish a power dynamic.

V:  "specifically forbidden" emphasises the power dynamic, "forbidden" connotes a very strict set of rules, that while are menial and pointless, still keep students conforming to the rules and keeping them in line.

I: The imagery of the school colours presents the conformity as a constant thing, throughout the school whereby students can only express themselves in line with the school. If the students dare speak out against the school, it would seem they are punished heavily just for going against the school ever so slightly.

S: The structure is very loose, the enjambment in rife and the sentence length varies greatly, this presents the idea that while the school will try to enforce conformity for all of its students, it is pointless as eventually, it will all come down as people realise conforming is futile and will come to the conclusion that they should rebel against it so that they can express themselves properly. ]]> 2021-05-20 09:05:24 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543073790 Luke P https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543074531 The poet presents conformity as something that only appears when an authority desires it. It is displayed to be totally unnecessary in the phrase "Not specifically forbidden" as it shows that the rules only apply when they authority dictates so.
Also the incredibly specific description of the hair colour at both the start and the end indicates that both of the students very clearly understand what they are doing and have dyed it such colours out of free will.
Enjambment- There is lot of enjambment within the poem which reinforces the non conforming nature of the poem as an ordered structure is being rebelled against.

]]> 2021-05-20 09:05:41 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543074531 Kris https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543074734 IN- Presents conformity as outdated and essentially useless in a modern societal structure.

]]> 2021-05-20 09:05:48 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543074734 Harry https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543075201 IN - someone trying to break societies rules and society rejects them resulting in her being upset with everyone including the people that accepted it ]]> 2021-05-20 09:06:02 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543075201 Harrison https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543075523 Presents the idea of conforming to societal norms as utterly redundant and is used as a mean to control people's behaviour and to establish power over society.  ]]> 2021-05-20 09:06:12 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543075523 Jack https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543075724 V -  the "ultramarine" description is specified to show that the specifics mattered to girl and she had chosen to dye her hair of her own accord and not out of pure ignorance. 
S - The poem has an irregular structure and doesn't rhyme to reflect the chaotic nature of the situation. 
IN -  "also not in school colour" when talking about the tears mocks the hypocrisy of the school in disallowing the girl to have her hair dyed despite it not being against the rules. 
IM - "Shimmered behind the arguments" suggests that the mother's death is tangible in conversation despite the fact it has no real relevance, emphasising the effect it has had on the girl and perhaps giving reason to the rebellious behaviour we see in the poem. ]]> 2021-05-20 09:06:18 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543075724 Tom https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543077001 The poet presents ideas of conformity as an idea that is not recognised and taken seriously, particularly when attempting to enforce order in the lives of young people. ]]> 2021-05-20 09:06:53 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543077001 Olivia https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543079006 presents conformity as something that is pointless, someone is trying to break the rules of society and something that only appears when it suits. 'not done in the school colours' ]]> 2021-05-20 09:07:50 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543079006 Bella https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543079271 "solidarity" from her dad and friend, which could indicate the theme of the poem - you can change a person's life through support.]]> 2021-05-20 09:07:58 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543079271 Codey https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543081188 "you wiped your eyes, also not in a school colour" could show how the school displays that they stand for the happiness of the children yet cause them sadness from pushing for this fruitless conformity.]]> 2021-05-20 09:08:52 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543081188 Sam https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543081910 perhaps conformity is presented as causing more issues than it solves by preventing people from having an outlet for their feelings]]> 2021-05-20 09:09:13 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543081910 kelsie https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543082612 presents conformity as an idea that seems irrelevant. That people in society should be seen as individuals and different because if everyone is the same there is no change nor any distinction between people. Yet in society being different is rejected because its abnormal and not what people expect.

]]> 2021-05-20 09:09:33 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543082612 Abby https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543084091 T- it has a negative tone and it shows that people are punished for expressing themselves. 
V- 'dyed' shows permanence
S- Reflects how the person in the poem isn't feeling free ]]> 2021-05-20 09:10:12 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543084091 Ella https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543084333 Conformity is represented as something that people do not take seriously.
Someone trying to be different to everyone else in society and is rejected.]]> 2021-05-20 09:10:20 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543084333 Bella https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543087152 the headmistress said Heidi's hair was "not done in school colours" which seems like an excuse for her criticism that wasn't reasonable without the defence of school colours - determined to make a large issue out of something that was not. "specifically forbidden" this irrational rule creates a light tone of humour due to the bizarre rule.]]> 2021-05-20 09:11:38 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543087152 wahib https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543089163 the poet suggests that the idea of enforced order is laughable and is pointless within society 

the clolours grey, and flaxen yellow are associated with ilness perhaps the poet is suggesting these forcefully enforced rules are a disease within society - wahib
]]> 2021-05-20 09:12:38 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543089163 Bella https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543103414 Enjambment - first 6 lines tumble and move quickly, creating a tone of urgency or perhaps anxiety - complete sentence and no full stops along 5 lines poet indicates something is unfinished]]> 2021-05-20 09:19:40 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543103414 liv https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543104513 all stanza lengths each contain 5 lines, enjambment in the poem suggesting something is to be carried on ]]> 2021-05-20 09:20:14 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543104513 Jacob https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543119736 Heidi is being refused her right to mourn for the death of her mother in  a way she sees as appropriate to due the way her school interprets her intentions. While heidi has done her hair into a mohawk the school views this as inappropriate, the poet states that Heidi's actions went against no set rules but more that it was not something they wished to see, this is done on purpose to show how strictly society wishes for the young to conform to their.]]> 2021-05-20 09:27:38 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543119736 Callum https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543121192 2021-05-20 09:28:24 UTC https://padlet.com/pll6/uvu963taw9ngoog3/wish/1543121192