Compare And Contrast Traveling Through The Dark And Woodchucks

In the poems “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford and “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin, two distinct speakers are portrayed by their contrasting approaches to the death of wild animals. “Traveling through the Dark” shows a thoughtful relationship between a man and nature as he comes across the gruesome sight of a pregnant deer that has been hit on the road. “Woodchuck,” on the other hand, introduces the unpleasant reality of human egotism toward animals as the main character is seen slaughtering birds. Although “Traveling through the Dark” and “Woodchucks” both illustrate nature and the death of animals, a combination of tone, diction, and imagery stresses a barrier amidst them, revealing the dissimilar mentalities of both speakers in handling situations expressively. While both poems are written with the same mission in discussing the relationship of humans and nature, how both authors choose to justify their speakers’ tone in discussions is different. “Traveling Through the Dark” begins with a sorrow and melancholy tone. The speaker is seen describing the incident of discovering a deer’s carcass on the road and stopping to determine what to do. The quote “Her fawn lay there waiting, alive, still

While both speakers commit the same act in getting rid of the animals they meet, a significant wall characterizes them from each other. The speaker in “Traveling through the dark” is able to win readers’ hearts with the hesitation of “thinking for us all” (57) and not actually killing the deer in the first place. Simultaneously, the speaker in “Woodchucks” juxtaposes the tranquil of nature in their word choice and actions, creating a position as a murderer in the readers’