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Summarize "Do Something, Brother" by M. Gopalakrishna Adiga.

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"Do Something, Brother" by M. Gopalakrishna Adiga satirizes mankind's compulsive need to prove themselves through destructive actions, without considering the consequences. Adiga criticizes humanity's desire to plow ahead without reflection, often leading to the destruction of nature. The poem ultimately suggests that mankind's obsession with demonstrating power may lead to self-destruction, particularly with the discovery of atomic weapons. The poet urges people to stop this cycle of violence and destruction and to think before acting, for the sake of preserving the Earth.

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This poem satirizes people's tendency to prove themselves by compulsively carrying out actions without trying to be in sync with nature or considering the consequences of their actions. For example, in the first stanza, the poet writes, "Pull out this leaf/Nip this little leaf/crush that flower." In the second stanza, he writes, "Earth, water, the skies/They're all your geese with golden eggs:/gouge them out, slash them." The poet refers to the fable of the goose with golden eggs in which the goose is killed so that its golden eggs can be extracted all at once rather than once per day. The poet criticizes man's destructive desire to destroy the bounty of nature to prove himself and his virility.

The poet writes satirically about people's desire to go forward when they encounter something that waylays them or confuses them, such as "winter mists, walls of fog." In these situations, the poet...

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writes, "No, no, this won't do. You're a simple man, and that's your strength." The poet satirizes people's desire to go forward no matter what without reflection, acting compulsively and destroying the world around them to prove their own strength.

At the end of the poem, the poet suggests that man's tendency to prove himself will end in destruction, as he writes: "Break down the atom/reach for the ultimate world within;/Find God's own arrow/and aim straight at the heart/of God's own embryo world." This is a reference to people's discovery of atomic weapons and the threat that humans now pose to their own world. Humans have become so intent on proving their power that they now might destroy themselves. 

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"Do Something, Brother" by M. Gopalakrishna Adiga is a satirical poem that points out Man's violent tendencies in constantly having to do something, without any thought of the consequences due to his actions. He compares Man to Mother Earth. She gives constantly while Man takes whatever he wants, needs, or feels like destroying. In this poem, Adiga shows that man's self centeredness just might be the end of the world as we know it. The poet mocks the idea that many religions give us--the idea that the world is here FOR Man. The poem, at the very end, tells the reader,

"Be doing something Brother, don't sit quietly
don't be merely a burden for Earth, to relieve
Earth's burden do as I tell you.
it's correct. It's natural."  (Adiga ll. 78-81 translated by Rowena Hill)

In other words, people should stop the violence and destruction and "doing for doing's sake" and instead, think before acting in order to take care of Mother Earth. We are all in this together. 

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