Use Of Contention In Julie Lechevsky's 'Dandelion'?

Although at face value the poem “dandelion” by Julie Lechevsky may appear to just be about dandelions, after taking a closer look at the metaphors, personifications, and other literary devices that are used, it is clear that the poem is about how attention isn’t always a good thing. Lechevsky does this by showing how dandelions are well known but not in a good way, and how her parents give her too much attention.

One way that Lechevsky shows how attention is not necessarily a good thing is by using the metaphor of the dandelion. While dandelions are a well known plant, it is only because they “[go] on television” in commercials for “poison squirt bottles.” Dandelions don’t have any “monographs” written about them. Dandelions aren’t interesting

The only way that a person would be interested in a dandelion is if they wish to “poison” it and kill it. Dandelions are unwanted and undesirable, but still get lots of attention as people go out of their way to kill them. Obviously, if the only attention for the dandelion is negative, then it can be inferred that attention isn’t always helpful and isn’t always something to be desired. At the end of the poem, Lechevsky states that “[she] wishes [she] could grow like a dandelion, from gold to thin white hair, and be carried on a breeze to the next yard.” She says this to show how she wants to blend in, be unnoticed as she floats around in the “breeze”. She doesn’t want the attention that would be given to a dandelion on the ground. Also, the dandelion floating in the breeze is a metaphor for being lifted up and feeling happy. Lechevsky mentions that she wants to grow from “gold to thin white hair.” Gold is often something noteworthy and something that gets lots of attention, while white hair blends in with the crowd and

She does this by using figurative language. The author temporarily deviates from the normal topic of the poem, dandelions, to describe her home life. She ties it into the topic of dandelions though, because the negative attention the dandelions receive is similar to “how life parachutes” to her home. The way she personifies life, as if it comes to her house, suggests to the reader that she does not feel like she is in control of her life. Life is coming to her, as opposed to her driving her own life. Specifically, she feels her life is controlled by her parents, and the excessive attention they pay to her is to blame. She receives plenty of attention from her parents because she is “their jewel.” However, this attention is often too much. The author metaphorically compares her mother’s attention to being assaulted by "uzis of reproach.” Reproach is a synonym for disapproval. Her parents’ excessive attention causes them to notice everything she does wrong and to express their disapproval. This gun reference reinforces the idea that the attention is negative and unwanted, because guns are typically associated with negative ideas like death and violence in the reader’s mind. This negative attention sparks the author’s anger and angst. This is evident in the change of tone and rhythm. At one point, the author calls home