Analysis of Theodore Roethke "My Papa's Waltz"

The first stanza of Roethke's poem suggests that the narrator is a little boy and his father may be an alcoholic. The little boy can sense the whisky on his father's breath and as the father waltzes with him the little boy says, "But I hung on like death," which implies that his father may be a comfort to him even though he has alcohol on his breath. This poem also has a way of suggesting that the father may be abusing the boy with lines such as, "At every step you missed; My right ear scraped a buckle," as if his father may be abusing him in some way. The narrator also uses words like "romp" to show how he and his father waltz which is not graceful at all and instead puts an aggressive image into the readers head. The narrator also says, "You beat time on my head," which is another aggressive image that could be taken more literally as the father beats his head. Since the narrator is a little boy he might not understand his fathers violent actions which is why it is called a "waltz," something that should be beautiful and elegant. Using the word "waltz" could also mean that the father frequently abuses the little boy and that their interactions have become so automatic and natural that it turns into a type of dance they do with each other. The last two lines "Then you waltzed me off to bed; Still clinging to your shirt," implies that even though the father is abusive the narrator still loves him and wants to be around him because he is his father.

Imagery and Symbolism in James Joyce "Araby"

Joyce starts out, "Araby," with the sentence, "North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free." Personification is used in the line to represent the "blind" street, which means that the street is unaware of any existence or inhabitants on it. Joyce brings this image back in the next line saying, "An uninhabited house of two storeys stood at the blind end, detached from its neighbors in a square ground." This line implies that the road the uninhabited house is on is a dead end and the house is unconscious of any habitants or life at all. Joyce may have used this image to create a tone of obliviousness as the story is about a young boy who is oblivious to the older girl, that he shows interest in, complete disregard of him. Joyce even comments on the way the boy feels towards the older girl by saying, "But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires." This image is used to show how the girl has lots of control over the young and impressionable boy. This connects to the end of the story and how the young boy's heart was broken by seeing the girl working at the market talking to the two boys. The market closed at the consequential time of his heart break which may represent the end to childhood oblivion for the young boy. Joyce writes, "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." By the end the boy has a moment of realization and he knows that his carefree childhood has come to an abrupt end.

Identity in Gwendolyn Brooks "We Real Cool"

The question of identity in Gwendolyn Brooks, "We Real Cool," is unusual because it implies a sense of unity or solidarity among the pool players. Using the word "We" at the beginning of each sentence suggests that the pool players at the Golden Shovel do not have a strong sense of identity and they all identify as one. This could connect to the idea of adolescence and how young people might not have a strong sense of self-identity. Brooks suggests that the pool players are young by saying "We left school," this meaning that the players must have either dropped out of school or are playing pool when they should be at school. This poem also contains a sense of rebellion as the players "Lurk late" and "Sing sin." The combination of adolescence and rebellion among the young pool players alludes to the idea that the pool players, or the narrators, are posers and the idea of rebellion is appealing so they indulge in vices, such as skipping school, drinking, and staying out late, to try to act in a certain "cool" way. The last line "We die soon" implies that without a strong sense of identity the narrators will waste away and turn into beggars or drifters. Even the way the poem is written, in the way of a chant, suggests that there is a serious lack of identity among the young pool players and this will ultimately be their downfall.