Analysis Of Andrew Hudgins's Poem 'In The Well'

Life is like a roller coaster -- with many ups and downs. The speaker of the intense story in the poem “In the Well” by Andrew Hudgins literally experiences one of life’s “down’s” as his father lowers him down into a well in order to rescue his neighbor’s lost dog. The speaker tells his story as he “could taste” his “fear” (4-5). He is closely surrounded by “dark” and “rot”, and then he hits his head and tastes blood (6). As the speaker goes through his story, he illustrates how he faced his fear and rescued the dog, but as he hauled it up, the dog died in his arms. This was catastrophic for the speaker because we went through all that trouble for nothing. But suddenly, the dog breathes and he’s alive. This “up” shows how there is light

The speaker begins, “My father cinched the rope, / a noose around my waist” (1-2). The father was making sure his child was secure and safe, but the speaker felt that this act from his father would lead him to his death, like how a “noose” leads to death. The speaker did no know what to expect with what he was about to do, and at the same time the reader is confused about what is happening. The speaker is “lowered into darkness” where he is so close to his fear that he can “taste” it (3-4). His fear of being emerged in darkness, whether literally or figuratively, surrounds him, and he feels like he ingests it and it fills him. In his story, the speaker uses the word “then” to emphasize the changes from one event to the next. He say how his fear, “tasted first of dark, then earth, then rot” (6). The speaker’s story intensifies in figurative darkness as he travels down into literal darkness in the well and into

It was not even his dog. This shows that people may be faced with challenges that may not even benefit them in the long run. But helping others while overcoming fears can strengthen people mentally and emotionally. Growing and learning from the haunting times in the past is the true reward in the end. The speaker faced his fears and found the dog, but it was almost too late because it was near death. Death is the lowest point of a catastrophic time. The speaker and his father could have given up right then, but they persevered and were not going to let any last signs of life leave that dog. As the speaker rose up to his father, he was probably filled with the assurance that it is possible to revive the dog’s life. Seeing the “light,” or knowing that good times are close enough to touch, can be just enough to push a person to finish what they started. The father and his son did not hesitate in using their “hands” to resuscitate the dog. Hands our a gentle, caring tool. By incorporating their use in the story to give “breath” to the dog, the speaker shows how overflowing love concentrated in one spot can bring new life and joy. Andrew Hudgins’s story in the poem “In the Well” exemplifies the realities of hardships leading to profound joy. Life is not always easy, and the speaker of the poem experiences this head-on by diving into an the dark well without knowing what to expect. The goal at the end