Henry Lawson, an Australian poet and writer, is said to be the first among his contemporaries to have truly reflected the Australian way of life. He became deaf from the age of fourteen and this made him connect more with the deep realities of life. In the poem “Faces in the street”, Henry has penned the cry of the unemployed masses who are homeless and thus forced to live on the streets.
In his poem, he makes a sharp contrast between the filthy rich and the poor. Henry from a very early age realized that he was connected to the poor in some way and he spent his life in serving the poor. He points out that the wealthy people are not aware how hard the life of a homeless individual is. It is impossible for an average individual even to live without a blanket in their cozy homes but these poor people have to stay awake the whole night because the chilly winds does not allow them to sleep. Because of the visibility of such bitter experiences, Henry Lawson grew up to be a confused man. In this poem he is just standing and viewing the streets. He can feel the pain of these homeless people and is keen and eager to improve their condition.
Henry’s own life was painful but he was very kind to others. He wanted the government and the citizens to join hands and eradicate unemployment and homelessness completely. When he says, “And cause I have to sorrow, in a land so young and fair,To see upon those faces stamped the marks of Want and Care; he actually wants the rich to take care of these few homeless people. He is really depressed to see that in a land where the majority of people are happy with their lives, some people have to live their lives in a manner that they are fully dependent on others for food and clothing, two important necessities of life. Shelter is something they do not have. He insists the wealthy people to give some sort of employment and fair wages to these people.
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Henry is interested in bringing about happiness on the faces of the people living on the street. He can feel their pain and he is willing to eradicate it. The poet says that people today are so busy with their lives that they fail to realize the fact that they are blessed. Whenever a moment comes when an individual feels that he or she is left with nothing, they should try to look at the faces of these people living on the street and thus consider the fact that God has given them everything they wanted. Henry wants to bring about a change in the society by bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.