Welcome, everyone, to a fascinating journey into the heart of a truly unique poem! Today, we are going to explore Victor Hernández Cruz’s brilliant work, “Problems with Hurricanes.” This poem offers a fresh, surprising, and deeply insightful look at how we perceive danger and what truly matters when facing the forces of nature. Prepare to have your expectations delightfully overturned as we delve into its layers of meaning and discover the wisdom hidden within its lines.
Problems with Hurricanes
By Victor Hernández Cruz (born 1949)
A campesino looked at the air
And told me:
With hurricanes it’s not the wind
or the noise or the water.
I’ll tell you he said:
it’s the mangoes, avocados
Green plantains and bananas
flying into town like projectiles.How would your family
feel if they had to tell
The generations that you
got killed by a flying
Banana.Death by drowning has honor
If the wind picked you up
and slammed you
Against a mountain boulder
This would not carry shame
But
to suffer a mango smashing
Your skull
or a plantain hitting your
Temple at 70 miles per hour
is the ultimate disgrace.The campesino takes off his hat, as a sign of respect
toward the fury of the wind
and says:
Don’t worry about the noise
Don’t worry about the water
Don’t worry about the wind,
If you are going out
beware of mangoes
And all such beautiful
sweet things.
Problems with Hurricanes Summary: Unpacking the Core Message
Victor Hernández Cruz’s “Problems with Hurricanes” presents a wonderfully unconventional perspective on natural disasters. Instead of focusing on the obvious dangers of powerful winds, torrential rain, or widespread flooding, the poem introduces a surprising and almost humorous threat: flying tropical fruits. Through the voice of a wise “campesino,” a rural farmer, the poem challenges common perceptions of danger and dignity.
- The Essence of the Poem: The poem’s core lies in its playful yet profound redefinition of hurricane dangers. It shifts attention from the grand, destructive forces of nature to the seemingly innocuous, everyday objects that become lethal projectiles during a storm. This unexpected twist makes the poem memorable and thought-provoking.
- Central Idea: At its heart, “Problems with Hurricanes” explores themes of honor, disgrace, and the cultural significance attached to the manner of one’s death. The campesino argues that while dying in a dramatic natural event, such as drowning or being struck by the wind, carries a certain honor, being killed by a flying fruit is considered a source of deep shame for the individual and their family. This highlights a unique cultural value placed on a dignified end.
- A Cultural Commentary: Beyond the immediate danger, the poem offers a subtle yet powerful commentary on cultural mindsets. It reveals how different societies might interpret and assign meaning to life and death, particularly in the face of uncontrollable natural forces. The poem invites readers to consider how perceptions of respectability and legacy can shape our understanding of even the most tragic events.
Problems with Hurricanes Analysis: A Deeper Dive
Understanding the Voice and Setting
The poem immediately establishes a distinct voice and setting through the introduction of the “campesino.” This Spanish term for a peasant or farmer instantly evokes a rural, likely Caribbean or Latin American, environment. The campesino’s wisdom is not academic but rooted in generations of lived experience and observation, suggesting an oral tradition of knowledge passed down through stories.
A campesino looked at the air
And told me:
With hurricanes it’s not the wind
or the noise or the water.
The direct address, “And told me,” creates an intimate, conversational tone, as if the reader is being let in on a secret or a profound piece of local wisdom. The campesino immediately subverts expectations by dismissing the obvious, universally feared aspects of a hurricane—the wind, noise, and water—setting the stage for the poem’s central, ironic revelation.
The Unexpected Threat: Flying Fruit as Projectiles
The true genius of the poem lies in its identification of flying fruit as the primary “problem” with hurricanes. This image is both startlingly comical and deeply unsettling. Cruz employs vivid imagery to transform these normally benign, delicious objects into formidable weapons.
it’s the mangoes, avocados
Green plantains and bananas
flying into town like projectiles.
The simile “like projectiles” is crucial. It elevates the fruit from mere produce to high-speed missiles, emphasizing their potential for causing severe harm. This is not simply about being hit by a fruit; it is about the sheer indignity and unexpected lethality of something so commonplace, and ironically, so “sweet.” The poem forces a reconsideration of what constitutes a genuine threat.
Honor, Shame, and Cultural Perception
The poem’s most compelling argument revolves around the cultural perception of a dignified death. The campesino posits that dying in a grand, uncontrollable natural event, such as drowning or being violently struck by the wind, carries “honor.” In stark contrast, being killed by a fruit is deemed “the ultimate disgrace.” This distinction is not based on logic but on a deeply ingrained cultural code of honor and respect.
Death by drowning has honor
If the wind picked you up
and slammed you
Against a mountain boulder
This would not carry shame
But
to suffer a mango smashing
Your skull
or a plantain hitting your
Temple at 70 miles per hour
is the ultimate disgrace.
The contrast is powerful. A death that demonstrates the overwhelming power of nature is seen as noble, perhaps even heroic, while a death caused by something trivial and seemingly absurd is considered shameful. The poem subtly suggests that the family would bear the burden of explaining such a ridiculous demise to future generations, highlighting the importance of legacy and community perception.
The Final Warning and Its Significance
The poem concludes with the campesino’s final warning, which encapsulates the poem’s central irony and offers a profound insight into human perception.
Don’t worry about the noise
Don’t worry about the water
Don’t worry about the wind,
If you are going out
beware of mangoes
And all such beautiful
sweet things.
The repetition of “Don’t worry about” creates a rhythmic, almost hypnotic effect, emphasizing the absurdity of fearing the obvious while overlooking the truly unexpected. The concluding line, “beware of mangoes and all such beautiful, sweet things,” serves as a powerful paradox. It suggests that danger can lurk in the most innocent and appealing forms, and that true vigilance requires looking beyond surface appearances to anticipate unforeseen threats.
Literary Devices in Problems with Hurricanes: Crafting Meaning
Anaphora and Repetition
The poem effectively uses anaphora, the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines. This device creates a memorable rhythm and emphasizes key ideas.
- In the final stanza, the repetition of “Don’t worry about” builds a sense of dismissal for the conventional dangers, drawing attention to the unexpected warning that follows:
Don’t worry about the noise
Don’t worry about the water
Don’t worry about the wind,This repetition underscores the campesino’s unique perspective and the poem’s central irony.
Imagery and Symbolism
Cruz masterfully employs vivid imagery to create strong visual impressions and enhance the poem’s impact. The fruit itself takes on symbolic weight.
- The description of fruit “flying into town like projectiles” is a striking image that transforms everyday objects into menacing weapons. This imagery is crucial for conveying the unexpected danger.
it’s the mangoes, avocados
Green plantains and bananas
flying into town like projectiles. - The “beautiful, sweet things” can symbolize the deceptive nature of appearances, suggesting that what seems harmless or appealing can, under certain circumstances, become dangerous. This adds a layer of universal wisdom to the poem.
Irony and Paradox
The entire poem is built upon a foundation of irony and paradox, which are central to its memorable quality and thematic depth.
- The primary irony lies in the campesino’s assertion that flying fruit, rather than the hurricane’s wind or water, constitutes the real “problem.” This subverts common expectations and creates a sense of humorous surprise.
- The paradox in the final lines, “beware of mangoes / And all such beautiful, / sweet things,” highlights the unexpected source of danger. It is paradoxical to warn against things typically associated with pleasure and sustenance, yet it perfectly encapsulates the poem’s message about unseen threats.
Free Verse and Form
“Problems with Hurricanes” is written in free verse, meaning it does not adhere to a strict rhyme scheme, meter, or stanzaic pattern. This choice of form is highly effective for the poem’s narrative style.
- The conversational, unconstrained flow of free verse mirrors the natural, storytelling voice of the campesino. It allows the poem to feel like a direct, unfiltered recounting of a piece of folk wisdom.
- The absence of rigid structure also reflects the unpredictable and chaotic nature of a hurricane itself, allowing the lines to break and flow organically, much like the wind and water the poem describes.
Juxtaposition
The poem effectively uses juxtaposition, placing contrasting ideas or images side-by-side to highlight their differences and create a deeper meaning.
- The most prominent juxtaposition is between the “honor” of death by grand natural forces and the “ultimate disgrace” of death by flying fruit. This contrast underscores the poem’s exploration of cultural values surrounding death and dignity.
Death by drowning has honor
…
This would not carry shame
But
to suffer a mango smashing
Your skull
…
is the ultimate disgrace.This sharp contrast is what makes the campesino’s argument so compelling and memorable.
Quotes for Discussion and Analysis
The following lines from “Problems with Hurricanes” are particularly insightful and serve as excellent starting points for deeper discussion and analysis:
How would your family
feel if they had to tell
The generations that you
got killed by a flying
Banana.
These lines powerfully convey the poem’s central theme of shame and the cultural importance of a dignified death, inviting readers to consider the social implications of such an unexpected demise.
Don’t worry about the noise
Don’t worry about the water
Don’t worry about the wind,
If you are going out
beware of mangoes
And all such beautiful
sweet things.
These concluding lines encapsulate the poem’s core message, highlighting the irony and paradox that define its unique perspective on danger. They challenge us to look beyond the obvious and consider the hidden threats that might emerge from the most unexpected, even “beautiful,” sources.
Victor Hernández Cruz’s “Problems with Hurricanes” is a delightful and thought-provoking poem that uses humor and irony to deliver a profound message. It reminds us that wisdom often comes from unexpected places, that cultural perspectives shape our understanding of the world, and that sometimes, the greatest dangers are not the ones we anticipate, but the “beautiful, sweet things” that fly into our lives. This poem encourages us to look closer, think differently, and appreciate the unique insights that diverse voices bring to our understanding of life’s challenges.