Question

Based on the excerpt, what is the speaker’s perspective on the riot? The speaker thinks that the riot was a mistake. The speaker thinks that the riot was somewhat inevitable. The speaker thinks that the riot should have happened in the fall. The speaker thinks that the riot was entirely preventable.

Answer 1

The speaker thinks that the riot was somewhat inevitable.

Answer 2

I believe the missing excerpt is from Midsummer by Derek Walcott, which is as follows:

 

With the stampeding hiss and scurry of green lemmings, 
midsummer's leaves race to extinction like the roar
of a Brixton riot tunneled by water hoses;
they seethe toward autumn's fire—it is in their nature,
being men as well as leaves, to die for the sun.

 

So, based on the excerpt, the speaker thinks that the riot was somewhat inevitable.

 

To add, Midsummer is a sequence of 54 lyrics that record one year's passing in the poet's life from summer to summer.