The theme presented in the poem Temptation by Alden Nowlan is about men succumbing to the want of pride and recognition of their works. The boy exhibited in the poem is one of the many factors in which are tempting the father into allowing his arrogance to get the better of his decisions. This is shown when the boy states that his father’s “hands are strong,” which goads the father into accepting the challenge that his son had just initiated. If the father had refused his sons bait, then his pride would have been wounded through him not proving his physical strength. The structure of the poem shifts when the father refuses his son with no conviction in his voice. Nature rebels against the father’s decision by illustrating their shirts “balloon