ipl-logo

Summary Of On The Subway By Sharon Olds

1460 Words6 Pages

Joey Cunningham September 28, 2015 Textual Analysis Essay On the Subway On the Subway is a poem written by Sharon Olds that explores a typical and casual trip along the subway, narrated by a steady, contrasting compilation of thoughts from the speaker. Through use of several literary elements and devices, Olds draws on the tension felt between two bystanders who appear to be so opposite from each other, but yet have had a history of connections. On the Subway showcases a mindset that underscores the social and racial tensions that the speaker recognizes from society through her own perspective. Through the thoughts and emotions of the speaker Olds creates a critically in depth outlook on the perceptions of society through one woman. Sharon …show more content…

A central theme that presented itself early in the poem and stayed consistent throughout was the idea of opposition. The speaker drew off of the fact that she felt her and the other man were of complete opposite nature, creating a clear connection to the overall message of the poem. To create this sense of opposition, the author used contrasts of light and dark, and in doing this it highlights racial undertones by putting an emphasis on white and black. This is seen several times in the poem but particularly here, when Sharon Olds writes “and he is black and I am white, and without meaning or trying to I must profit from our history” (Olds, 22-24). This drawn contrast of light and dark elements illuminates the signs of racial tensions as the poem’s overall message, and draws even further off of this by implementing the idea of a history shared between the woman and the man, highlighting the history of racism. Playing off of this same idea, the speaker’s …show more content…

The line breaks help to represent the speaker’s emotional turmoil when presented with this man, and also allows the reader to follow her feelings as if they are feeling the same thing. As Olds separates each line, she does so at strategic points to expand on the effect of the poem. Olds uses line breaks at specific and rather important times in the poem to emphasize the thought process of the narrator. This is seen through lines 7-9, stating “he has or my white eye imagines he has the casual cold look of a mugger” (Olds, 7-9). Here the line is broken after “he has,” which forces a pause at this point, then adds a comment about the speaker’s race and how it effects the current situation. The use of strategic line breaks is crucial to the reader’s experience of the poem in that it ultimately demands the reader to identify with the speaker’s understanding of racial tensions through her own persona. This puts the reader in a position to understand the deep and jumbled thoughts that the speaker is feeling, and further identifies for the reader the purpose of highlighting racial undertones in today’s world. The poem would not nearly present the same impact the author wishes to present to the reader without the use of line breaks. To put it into perspective, if this poem was read in prose, the reader would have no

Show More
Related
289 Words | 2 Pages

In “On the Subway” by Sharon Olds, the speaker is on a train and finds herself across a man, she describes has “the casual cold look of a mugger.” It is not clear as to why she sees him as a mugger, but he is larger than her. As the poem unfolds, we get a better look at her thinking process and the differences between the speaker and the man. “He is wearing red, like the inside of the body exposed” is a simile the poet used to express how simple and open the man looked; by comparing him to an open body. On the other hand, she is in a fur coat.

Read More
323 Words | 2 Pages

In "On the Subway", the author, Sharon Olds explicitly describes an experience she had while using public transportation. Sitting across from her was an African American male who casually resembled a common mugger. In her thoughts, she analyzed and considered the obvious differences between her life of lavishness, which represents white superiority, and his supposed life of struggle and abuse, representing black inferiority. Olds displays this analyzation of both worlds by using imagery and simile. To begin, Olds uses the poetic device of imagery in order to give a visual description.

Read More
709 Words | 3 Pages

In the poem “On The Subway” by Sharon Olds, the author implements multiple literary devices to get her message across. Her use of metaphors, similes, and symbolism are perceived in such fashions that the reader can feel the tension experienced first hand by the characters sitting on that subway directly in front of each other. The use of metaphors throughout the poem gives the reader a source of comparison when describing the situation the characters are found in. She is illustrating how she feels in those moments while traveling underground with strangers when she mentions: “... a couple of molecules stuck on a rod of light rapidly moving through darkness.”

Read More
172 Words | 1 Pages

On the Subway Sharon Olds depicts the harsh realities of our world. Some may believe whites have privilege over other races; however, Olds tells the story in a way that challenges that notion. Old’s use of imagery and simile help the reader understand the contrast between the white and black world. Olds uses imagery in describing the (black) male. “Casual cold look of a mugger… hooded lids.”

Read More
621 Words | 3 Pages

Antipodes are tools for facilitating the contrast between two differing antagonistic views on an issue. Furthermore, differentiating the diction on a short is essential to identify shifts, comparison and themes within the text. Literary devices such as tone, poetic devices, organization, and imagery all depict the contrast that develops the poem. First of all, the poem obviously has a negative connotation regarding the dark skinned boy. The author Sharon Olds uses the contrast of light and dark not only to describe the differentiation of classes between being a white person versus being black.

Read More
1271 Words | 6 Pages

In the poem, Johnson’s use of inclusive words like “we”, “our” and “us”, fused with anaphoras in each stanza, allow him to address black Americans in the north and south. Johnson uses phrases like “Let us”, “Let our”, and“We have come”, “Keep us”, and “Lest our” to unify black America and build community and culture shattered by American racism and prejudice. Without a strong foundation, how could black America improve from its “Bitter”, “Stony”, “dark”, “weary”, and “gloomy” past? Johnson’s inclusive word choice forces a shared experience among black Americans, making the issues at hand a national issue and not exclusively a southern one; hence Black Americans had to work together to reach “the white gleam” of “victory”. Johnson’s appeals to black America are further extended in his pleas for strengthening faith and progress for black Americans as well;

Read More
380 Words | 2 Pages

The implied violence Olds uses shows the different characterization between black and white and how individuals conclude thoughts and feelings about race. Sharon Olds pessimistic tone establishes how she feels sitting across from a colored man who has "the casual cold

Read More
1043 Words | 5 Pages

She contrasts two images to show how segregation between white people and people of color still exists. There are numerous protests ongoing in response to the events in the USA and other apparent racist incidents, making this poem pertinent to our current cultural circumstances. Additionally, millions of people use the trending hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media to express their belief that people of color face discrimination. However, the significance of this poem does not stem from the history lesson we are taught. The image of the poet having full access to the Mississippi beach in 1970 serves as a symbol of hope that things will improve and that the world will one day be a better

Read More
488 Words | 2 Pages

The story has many symbols that need close attention from the readers in order to understand what the words actually mean. For instance, the woman says “I am in his power-he could take my coat so easily, my briefcase, my life” meaning that she is afraid of the man because he is black. If he were white like her, she wouldn’t thought he was dangerous or a mugger. Therefore, she is only judging him based on his looks because she doesn’t even know him personally. In addition she mentions how the white society act superior and take advantage of the minority, “ I am living off his life, eating steak he does not eat, as if I am taking the food from his mouth.”

Read More
1143 Words | 5 Pages

Anzaldua intentionally omits punctuation in this case to force readers move on to the next line despite a desire to pause; thus, the separate lines encounter a greater purpose. In effect, the author is able to fabricate a competing scenario between the distinct lines of the poem, as each line competes for the reader’s attention, so do the various sources of the inhabitant’s make-up. In doing this, author is able to mirror the structure of the poem with the internal state of the Borderland

Read More
519 Words | 3 Pages

Connections The poems “Theme for English B,” “I, Too,” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” have a strong interrelated theme. In “I, Too” and “Theme for English B,” the narrators speak of the social injustices that are in the world and how they and their communities are affected by them; yet, they speak of how they and their oppressors are one and the same and someday the much needed social change will come. “Theme for English B” states “You are white-yet as part of me, as I am a part of you.” This statement is cemented in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” in which the narrator links all people together by marking the dawn of mankind and progressing through time, showing how they all came from the same place, and the other two suggest the paradox when some are treated as inhuman.

Read More
1085 Words | 5 Pages

It is a free-verse poem that is a monologue of a cab driver’s rant on the people he despises. The lines are all short and choppy, creating an assertive tone that suits the vocal quality of a ranting monologue. For example, lines like “Look at me” and “Now you take me” are a few words in length. The overall length of this poem is quite long, with a total of 100 lines, which is due to the short lines. The length may represent how long cab ride felt to the African American passenger as the driver was displaying prejudice behavior, even if the cab ride wasn’t realistically that long.

Read More
2649 Words | 11 Pages

This poems speaks of the author’s religion, past, and her experiences with race in America. This poem is a rarity because most of Wheatley’s poems do not explicitly mention race. This poem, however, is an exception. Wheatley’s poem states, “Some view our sable race with scornful eye, ‘Their colour is a diabolic die.’ Remember, Christians, Negro's, black as Cain, May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.”

Read More
960 Words | 4 Pages

Warsan uses short lines that often are fragments and rarely punctuates stanzas. She uses new lines to add pauses or emphasize ideas. For example, “wade through oceans/drown/save/be hunger/beg/forget pride” represents six whole lines but all hit as hard as a complete ballad. I wanted to not only create that strength in the GEK poem but also harness the new-age writing style. In lines such as “The movement from point/A/to/B/Is unimportant,” I hope to have eloquently captured both traits of Warsan Shire’s

Read More
869 Words | 4 Pages

“On the Subway,” written by Sharon Olds, is written from the perspective of what is presumed to be an upper class white woman, who finds herself on a subway with a lower class black boy. In “On the Subway”, Olds focuses on the controversial issue of racial conflict, and the theme of White v. Black. She does so by use of contrast between whites and blacks, by using harsh enjambments, powerful imagery, and by using the tone to convey the purpose. A major strategy used by Olds throughout the poem is contrast; in this case, the contrast between blacks and whites.

Read More

More about Summary Of On The Subway By Sharon Olds

Related Topics

Open Document