Paul Zimmer's Head Thudding Against The Blackboard

In “Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard” by Paul Zimmer, a child is punished for missing math problem on the blackboard. The author invokes many images during the poem starting with the “..nun/began to pound my head…” (Zimmer, 4-5). Zimmer does this to create a mental image in the readers head. Pound has a negative connotation giving the piece a sad tone. The author continues the create a negative mental image with “… I cried/ she threw me back into my seat” (Zimmer, 6-7). In the ends, Zimmer decides to get revenge on his teacher by becoming a poet. Although a negative attitude towards education emerges from this poem and that the author believes society puts too much values on academic performance, this experience shaped who he became.

When the author fails a task the teacher gives, she is scolded. Now she thinks of her teacher every time she fails. The author describes how the teacher “carved and cleaned her nails,” making sure they are perfect like each student (Heitzman, 2). The teachers nail is a symbol in the poem for the students. She carves them, shaping them, giving them new information everyday for them to use and advance their knowledge. She also cleans them. When the students do something wrong, she punishes them for their mistakes. The theme that emerges from this poem is that someone from ones childhood, like a teacher, can impact oneself greatly. Now the author “..hear(s) her every time I fail” which help the theme emerge (Heitzman, 23). These two images create the idea that negative memories during childhood usually are remembered as adults and impact us for the rest of our