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Family violence theme in my papas waltz
Abuse in my papas waltz
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Family violence theme in my papas waltz
Abuse in my papas waltz
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Family violence theme in my papas waltz
The poem My Papa Waltz by the title sounds like it could be sweet and loving. The poem is actually very dark in my opinion. In the poem the father is drunk, stumbling and hurting the boy. Even though they could just be having a good time, running around, and the father could also be trying to teach the boy to grow up, I believe that the poem is about a boy being abused by his father. Because he also states that the father is so drunk that his breath could get a small boy drunk.
This particular poem is about parents that have no idea what's going on in their kid's daily life and what they go through. With this type of action, the parents act as if all is good and make little to no effort to get involved in their day to day activities. This shows the kid that the parent does not care or seems like it. The kid will be influenced to do things they normally wouldn't do. If the parent would at least make an attempt to get involved, it may influence them for the better but until then it will not happen.
Although “Papa” may not be the most sensitive man around, but he is still to be a hero in his son's eyes. Referring from the title of “My Papa’s Waltz”, “Papa” does not seem like he’s being violent intentionally but not accidentally hurting his son. This poem also, symbolizes dance in the relationship of a father and
The mother has nothing but a “countenance” expression to the actions the father is doing to his child. It can show that the narrator didn’t know anything better but to love. Although the poem may sound simple and easy to understand, My Papa’s Waltz is really a complex story
Roethke’s My Papas Waltz Many literary scholars, researchers and readers in general, driven by intrigue, have tried to dissect, analyze, and interpret the ambiguous meaning of Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz.” Their explications however, result in ambivalent, and sometimes controversial views. Some critics argue that “My Papas Waltz,” portrays the physical violence inflicted by a father to his child.
The theme of this poem is family relationships, sacrifice, and the nature of love. Sometimes kids don’t seem to realize that parents would do anything for their kids. They don’t sit the time out to think about how every decision that their parents makes has an effect on them. What if the script was flipped and the child id giving the father's shoes with no thanks after working hard day and night. Prepares his childs shoes every morning making sure that the house is warm before anyone gets up in the morning.
The relationship between father and son is one that is both sacred, yet complex as each side of the relationship faces hardships. This relationship between a son and his role model, a father and his child, is one, has its ups, but one must also know it has downs. In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke’s use of ambiguity through diction allows room for the audience to interpret the text in a positive or a negative way, representing the relationship between a father and a son, which on the outside can be interpreted in an either positive or a negative way. Roethke’s use of diction creates an element of confusion for the audience of his poem.
Meanwhile, Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” the speaker implies abuse through a metaphor about dancing, where, in lines 5, 6, and 11- 13 the speaker vaguely mentions abuse, saying “We romped until the pans/ slid from the kitchen shelf”, “at every step you missed/ my right ear scraped a buckle./ you beat time on my head.” These lines imply the father is abusive, boisterously beating the child in the kitchen so much so that pans fell, without actually saying so. In both poems, the speaker experiences abuse from the father figure in their
The father/son relationship are shown in both poems. Both are adults reflecting on their past. “My Papa’s Waltz” is about how the father would dance daily with the son. Although it was painful when he sometimes missed a step and his “right ear scraped a buckle”, this was a memorable memory for the son (Line 8). The poem has a happy tone of the sons childhood days.
In the poem, My Papa’s Waltz, the speaker, Theodore Roethke, writes about a father and son waltzing. Further investigation suggests there is more going on than a waltz. The poet utilizes figure of speech and a negative toned vocabulary throughout the poem. Thus, alleviating the reader of the harsh truth of an abusive relationship whilst never dehumanizing the father.
In the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”, Theodore Roethke illustrates the complex relationship between a little boy and his father by juxtaposing images of love and violence through word choices that portray feelings of fear yet affection for his father. Roethke’s shifting tone encompasses distress and a sense admiration that suggests the complexities of violence both physically and emotionally for the undercurrents of his father and son relationship. The poem begins with a series of negative images, each of which are considered violent and undesirable in a family. For example, “The whiskey on your breath” suggests alcoholism, and “Could make a small boy dizzy” emphasizes that a boy is suffering from the effects of the alcoholic parent.
Many believe it’s about a loving father who remembered a memory about him and his son. Others believe what the majority of the people believe…that is, abuse. Plath on the other hand, didn’t write her poem to be controversial. She set the theme to be about the mother’s new life. The rhythmic pattern in “My Papa’s Waltz” is three beats per line of a waltz and also includes allusions, enjambment, and similes.
I felt terrible growing up as a kid seeing my mother being the father of this family, I always told my mother to let him go, but she never listened and always said “you need a father in your life no matter what the circumstance is”. I tried my best to convince her, but she still kept my father. The reason why this poem is similar to my life is because the piano tuners wife and I have almost been through the same situation and how the women and I craved for improvement. The piano tuners wife finally understands who her husband really is and myself growing up seeing my father change. In conclusion we both started to learn what our circumstances are and how it impacted our
The poem then takes a different route than what I remember in the movie Cinderella. In the poem the ball lasts a total of three days, the slipper is golden, instead of a fairy godmother we are greeted with a white dove, and the stepsisters chop off pieces of their feet to try to fit into the slipper. This poem has a different approach than the Disney version, but still has the same moral that hardships can become great. This poem is also told by a speaker, has many literary devices, and the
Diction has a strong affect on how readers interpret a passage. This is proven through Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”. The poem presents a boy roughhousing with his father. However, some critics see the roughhousing taking place as abusive, due to the negative word choice displayed throughout the poem. The author set a positive and negative tone throughout the poem, representing the respect and fear he had for his father.