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Similarities Between Woodchucks And The Fish

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The poem “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kuman and the poem “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop give the reader two examples about how man interacts with nature. Charles Darwin wrote “the love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man”; it is clear that the narrator of one of the poems is much more noble than that of the narrator in the other poem. Not only do the narrators contrast each other in the two poems, the poems also differ in the theme, tone, and situation (Citr).
The theme of the poem “Woodchucks” is no regard for the life of living creatures and death. The theme is apparent from the first sentence of the poem when Kumin writes of the narrator’s thoughts; the narrator is dissatisfied when attempting to eradicate what he thinks …show more content…

The tone of “Woodchucks” changes throughout the poem, it starts out with an irritated narrator who becomes obsessed at the end. In the beginning of the narrator is irritated that his “hands off” approach to killing the woodchucks by gassing them and failed. As the poem progresses he slowly takes pleasure in shooting each woodchuck and as days pass and he fails to eradicate all of the woodchucks the narrator becomes more obsessed and driven to kill. The narrator’s obsession is apparent towards the end of the poem when Kumin writes of the narrator keeping his gun “cocked and ready day after day after day” and dreaming of killing the elusive last woodchuck that he yet to kill …show more content…

Woodchucks is a story told by an unknown narrator who we, as readers, assume is a male due to the narrator trying to protect the crops from the invading woodchucks and from the hideous acts and thoughts. It is apparent by the narrator going to the “Feed and Grain Exchange” to get gas bombs to kill the woodchucks then the use of firearms the story takes place in a rural or farming area. The poem tells a story of a man who is being driven to the brink of insanity trying to control nature; as the man fails he becomes more and more driven and sinister and begins to develop a godlike complex and is unwilling to stop until every woodchuck is

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