Sharon Olds writes about the details of the youth guest’s that attended her son’s birthday party in her poem “Rite of Passage”. The poem uses a significant amount of similes to describe the specific details of the kids and their interaction amongst each other while at the party. Olds does a great job of giving specific similes to describe the look of the children so you can truly picture the children. With the way that she describes the children and their interaction it feels that you are standing along with her observing the same thing she is. The way that Olds describe her son and the details that describe her son, gives the reader a great understanding of the love that she has for her son.
Olds use details of the children’s conversation, such as on child saying, “ How old are you? –Six. –I’m seven. –So?” (7-8), to show that there is great rivalry amongst younger children. Another few sentences that describe the rivalry and conversation of the children are, “ They clear their throats a lot, a room of small bankers,/ they fold their arms and frown. I could beat you/ up, a seven says to a six.” (10-13) With explaining that the children held a competitive tone it did not support that there was any true physical confrontation between the children. The simile that the children are “small bankers” explains that the children stand with great posture as if they are trying to show dominance amongst each other. With many of us experiencing the interaction of smaller children, it is easy to hear, visualize and relate to the experience that she is experiencing.
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When Olds incorporate the details of her son such as:
“………………my son, freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks, chest narrow as the balsa keel of a model boat, long