An Analysis Of Lucille Clifton's 'Forgiving My Father'
Language is where the two poems begin to be revealed as such different pieces. Money is written in a casual tone. Much of the poem is different terms for money. The rest of the poem is slang terms and common phrases for what money might do or what one might do with money such as “it greases the palm” or “chock it up, fork it over, shell it out” The repetitive use of names for money contributes to its showing the obsessive power money can have over us.
In the first stanza, the speaker reflects bitingly on his father’s commitment to his joyless job in an “automotive warehouse”. The narrator attitude to his father's commitment is obvious primarily in the imagery he chooses to express his distaste at his father’s choice to work for a paycheque, rather than for his own fulfillment. “A pay cheque over his mouth” suggests that his father hates his job but does not complain about, perhaps because the money to support his family is more important than his own happiness. However, the son does not respect this choice or his father’s commitment to support his family. Rather, he sees this job as shackles, as slavery, the “clocks stretched around his legs” revealing his resentment at his father working to “get his time in”.
“Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen's boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit Grand-daddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too” (628). She becomes frustrated because it is finally making sense to her that her family is impoverished and that thirty-five dollars would be considered a luxury to them, she knows now that there is definitely economic inequality out there and it is not within her power to fix.
Grief, (n) a strong mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss. Grief is what Salva burdened in his long and exhausting journey. The novel A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park begins in 1985 in Sudan, with Sudanese cultures growing tense with one another, a civil war breaks out. Finding refuge from the war Salva trekked through harsh conditions and rough terrain through Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Determination is one of the key factors that led to Salva’s survival.
Every story consists of different elements, such as characters, plotlines, and settings. Nonetheless, many stories portray the same messages or ideas. “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, depicts a reckless father who is loved by his child, while “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, depicts a hardworking father whose child is indifferent to him. Though the poems depict exceptionally different childhoods, both contribute to the idea that perceptions of parents alter as one grows into adulthood. Both poems use harsh words and critical tones in order to convey this notion, however in “My Papa’s Waltz,” they signify the recklessness of the father and how the narrator perceives his father as an adult, while in “Those Winter Sundays,” they
At the beginning, he implicitly puts her request down. Near the end, however, he blames the helplessness created by the request as the reason for the denial. He first tells her that she does not fully comprehend the impact of her request. She “should have considered what she was asking.” By doing this, he establishes his position clearly, one that meant her son would not get patronage because of the impossibility of the task.
Comparing and contrasting Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, one finds the two poems are similar with their themes of abuse, yet contrasting with how the themes are portrayed. Furthermore, the speaker 's feelings toward their fathers’ in each poem contrast. One speaker was hurt by the father and the other speaker was indifferent about how he was treated by his father. The fathers’ feelings toward the children are also different despite how each treated the child. Both poems accurately portray the parent-child relationships within an abusive home, even if they have different
That “something inside that was always denied/For so many years” is love, fun, and happiness. In the parentheses of the lyrics, the line that says “We gave her everything money could buy” shows how the girl’s family is financially stable and how her parents are very protective and gave her in a ‘normal’ life. From the girl’s actions, she can be shown as a person who loves adventure and excitement and dislike being normal because it is boring. This shows us that the girl wants to break free from her parents’ protective bubble and explore new things and feelings such as love, fun, and happiness which can not be bought with money. Instead, these feelings come from building relationships with other people and having a good time with them which
Edna St. Vincent Millay, in her sonnet “Oh, Oh, You Will Be Sorry,” writes that the speaker gets bully on what she does and at the end, she has gone somewhere. She develops this idea by first, introducing the title’s noun which is “ word” and suggesting to exchange her “ book” with a “kiss” so that she will have the book with her; second, by questioning, who says “...such a little head!” and describing the image of her after she puts the new “hat” on in order to show how pretty she is; third, by exaggerating the love of her towards the “enemy or ...friend” and by declaring that she would not bother to share her “opinions”; forth, by stating irony when she mentions “ sweet and crafty, soft and sly”; fifth, by implying that she will be gone
Jamaica Kincaid’s The Autobiography of My Mother signifies a pivotal point in her writing style. Her earlier novels have some semblance of her personal life, but, in this novel, the protagonist Xuela does not share a common experience with that of the author’s life. The mother-obsessed protagonists of her earlier fiction are absent. Instead, we have a seventy year old half-Carib Dominican.
While most of the poem is spent trying to ensure that she will be remembered after she dies, the speaker realizes that keeping her memory alive must not occur at the price of another’s happiness. She does not want her beloved to be sad that she is gone, but wants him instead to understand that the afterlife and a physical existence are two separate realms, and, moreover, to rejoice in the memories of the good times they have spent together. Remember’ gives the griever permeation to move on. This may be because “Remember”, was written by the person that would soon die, unlike “Funeral Blues” which is entirely negative towards death not only forbidding themselves from moving on but also forbidding the world from moving on after the tragic passing of the loved one. This may be one of the many different attitudes the two poems have towards
The poet says that every time she is writing a deposit slip and checks she thinks of him. He is the one who taught her how to save money, this shows us how the father is
The reality of the situation was that she had no control over her father’s death. There was nothing or no way that she could have prevented the events that took place. Although she was extremely angry with the situation at hand she learned that she had other things to be grateful for. She wanted people to know that even though something or someone has passed away you can’t stay stuck in the state of depression forever. You have to step back and look at your life because the reality is, life still moves on.
The daughters statement was clearly just her opinion on her mother passing not with any back up evidence which would of gave the mother a more solid thought on just her passing. So the speaker doesn’t seem so enthusiastic about the way her family judges her value, her worth, or her performance. The mother seems in distress which is also just like a student being graded in school and they don’t meet the standards that are set for them by others. The irony here is that rather than parents mark their children, it is the children and father who is marking her, which is the commonly thought to be the most important figure in the household and family.
Anne Bradstreet’s three elegies for her grandchildren are very sanding and have many similarities, as well as differences. The three poems by Bradstreet are titled, “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild, Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old," " In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Anne Bradstreet, Who Deceased June 20, 1669, Being Three Years and Seven Months Old," and "On My Dear Grandchild Simon Bradstreet, Who Died on 16 November, 1669, Being But a Month, and One Day Old.” In the very first poem, it would seem her first grandchild had pasted away at a year and a half old. Bradstreet’s talk about how God gives and takes away.
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