James Wright’s poem “Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio” was published in 1963, and like many of his other works, points focus toward the nature of human life in the Rust Belt region of America. Within the Rust Belt, poverty was common due to the after effects of the Great Depression and the decline in mining. Sports and entertainment were one of the ways that individuals afflicted by poverty were able to escape the reality of their conditions.Wright’s open form poem follows a narrator's thoughts of his immediate and regional surroundings while watching a high school football game. One may look at this poem as the football game providing not just a mental escape for the parents and townspeople, but also hope for the sons to make it out of …show more content…
As the narrator sits in the “Shreve High football stadium”, he thinks of the actions of two groups of individuals: “I think of Polacks nursing long beers in Tiltonsville, and gray faces of Negroes in the blast furnace at Benwood”. Furthermore, the two groups are later characterized as both “dreaming of heroes”. The diction of the sentence gives rise to a deeper understanding of the two groups. For example, the action of “nursing” the beer as opposed to drinking or sipping signals the group is using the alcohol to self-medicate, and further that they are taking their time with their “long beers” in order to save money. The concept of a desire to save money, yet also drink call to the idea that they would better numb their pain than even try to make a better life for themselves. The “negroes” having their faces described as gray thus absent of color is symbolic of their mundane lives, and lack of life or energy. Therefore, they are emotionally complicit in their conditions and giving up on fighting back. One may interpret the two groups “dreaming of heroes” as a positive nod towards hope, yet they appear to have given up. Thus, their action of dreaming signifies that escape, or becoming the hero, is out of reach, and more of a lofty desire than an attainable goal. Overall, their hopelessness fosters the idea of the …show more content…
The first line of the last stanza “Therefore,” suggest that previous ideas of physical need and despair provide a telling prelude to the fate of the children. The following lines “their sons grow suicidally beautiful at the beginning of October…” are further telling to their destiny. As aforementioned, the phrase “suicidally beautiful” and the setting of October are indicative of a period of death and decay. Following this notion, is the line “And they gallop terribly against each other’s bodies” which literally takes the poem back to the football game, but also symbolizes the struggle of the sons. They “gallop terribly” denoting an uncontrollable rapid progression, and are doing so “against” one another as if attempting to be the hero the community dreams about. However, just as the poem begins with the setting of the stadium and ends with their struggle, their lives are ultimately determined by a cycle of poverty beginning with the idealization of a hero, failure to provide the family, and hope for the child just like the “proud fathers” in the stadium. However, the chances of escape are extremely
Lewis could have used more elaborate words when describing the children’s state, but her description of the children as “laughing” and “wet” evokes a pleasant simplicity that is associated with childhood. The fact that the children come from playing in a river is an idyllic interaction heightens the poem’s connection to the natural world. The line that follows, “And all goes on as it should,” lends to the peaceful, idyllic tone in the poem. For the speaker, everything (“all”) is right in the
...ir eyes off of the naked women dancing. The outbursts towards the black men is farther evidence that during that time, blacks had little to no say and had not felt equal to their white counterparts. Perhaps the most conspicuous symbol of all is the battle itself. The white men pitted a group of black men against each other; the black men were in a no win situation. Instead of expressing their displeasure with the white men, the black men were forced to take their anger out on each other. The narrator also seems to seek approval by the white men; remembering his speech as he fights the other men. According to the protagonist: Should I try to win against the voice out there? Would not this go against my speech, and was not this a moment for humility, for nonresistance?” ( ). He’s worried about defying the white men; letting them down by not performing well enough.
At the beginning of the poem, the audience is able to witness an event of a young boy asking his father for story. While the father was deemed a “sad” man, it is later shown that his sadness can be contributed to his fear of his son leaving him. The structure then correlated to the point of going into the future. The future was able to depict what would happen to the loving duo. The father's dreams would become a reality and the son's love and admiration would cease to exist as he is seen screaming at his father. Wanting nothing to do with him. The young, pure child can be seen trying to back lash at his father for acting like a “god” that he can “never disappoint.” The point of this structure was not really a means of clarification from the beginning point of view, but more as an intro to the end. The real relationship can be seen in line 20, where it is mentioned that the relationship between the father and son is “an emotional rather than logical equation.” The love between this father and son, and all its complexity has no real solution. But rather a means of love; the feelings a parent has for wanting to protect their child and the child itself wanting to be set free from their parents grasp. The structure alone is quite complex. Seeing the present time frame of the father and son
The children have not been exposed to the outside world where in such places, death was not taken lightly because it was not accepted as a norm. Also in the larger more connected city centers, there were places to go and people to speak to about how they were feeling. The children soon realize that the teacher which has been sent to them cares about their wellbeing and grief process, where the three previous may not have put so much regard into the topic. As the children and the teacher reach Yolandes grave, the teacher feels the isolation in a literal sense, “We came to a wooden cabin standing in isolation among the little trees.” the teacher saw how many of the children lived and realized how detached the children really are. The children however, know that this is where Yolande lived and have accepted it because it is how most of them live. The children evidently grieve and accept death much differently because of the isolation. The teacher observes the child “The child had a delicate little face, very wasted, with the serious expression I had seen on the faces of most of the children here, as if the cares of the adults had crushed them all too early.” The teacher immediately connects with the child and decides to ask the children to pick roses in order to
The first four stanzas are a conversation between the mother and daughter. The daughter asks for permission to attend a civil rights march. The child is a unique one who believes that sacrificing something like “play[ing]” for a march that can make a difference will be worthwhile (2). However, the mother understands that the march is not a simple march, but a political movement that can turn violent. The mother refuses the child’s request, which categorizes the poem as a tragedy because it places the child in the chur...
When the poem is read aloud, the explicit rhyme and rhythm of the lines becomes extremely obvious. In fact, the bouncy rhythm is so uplifting, it occasionally makes the audiences feel like it is too predictable and straight-forward. An example would be “bright with chrysolite”, the word “chrysolite” feels like it is forcefully implemented for the sake of the rhyme. This is somewhat similar to a children’s tale. Most children’s tale as we know it, conveys messages straightforwardly and are easily understood by children, it also has an amiable tone and a merry mood that engages the children 's attention. Similarly, the rhyme and rhythm of this poem is very obvious and explicit, creating a delightful, casual mood that appeals to a young audience. Even though the legend dealt with deep insights about parenting that are intricate and puzzling, the father delivered it in such a gratifying, simple manner that made even the most dark and dreadful matters: like the description of precarious beasts and vicious monsters to sound like a blissful adventure of friendly animals. The sole purpose of this contradiction between the tone and message is to make this seemingly strong and serious topic more tolerable and captivating to the son of the father. Unsensible, impulsive youth is very similar to restless children, a long insipid lecture about deep insights is very difficult for them to buy into. In the same time, a harsh, threatening warning will only make them obey unwillingly, and creating a doubtful relationship will make them uncomfortable to communicate or appeal to their parents. Clearly, the percipient father recognized the ineffectiveness of these unsuitable parenting methods. Instead, he conveyed the message in a uncomplicated, friendly way that made his son to accept his teachings more comfortably. A
However, through a more careful and close observation of this segment, this revolt goes beyond the simple cultural divide and exposes the deeper, underlying theme of the entire novel as a whole: tyranny. Through this act, the slaves set forth a brutal cycle of tyranny and oppression, which, upon first glance, appears to be likely to lead to their liberation. And, although they do eventually receive ‘freedom’ from their imperial masters, the black inhabitants of the island are continually held down by whomever is in power at the time. In terms of this segment and chapter, the slaves see an opportunity to seize the freedom they so desperately desire and believe they deserve. However, when they do achieve this sense of freedom, which can be represented by their successful raid of the plantation house, they immediately engage in the vices of the white men by drinking the liquor in the basement and acting in an uncivil manner.
In the opening chapters, the narrator receives a scholarship to attend the “state college for Negros”. He is told that in order to win the scholarship, he must stand and deliver a speech to a congregation of the community’s most important members. However upon arriving to the hotel where he is to give his speech, he is blindfolded, and forced to participate in a “Battle Royale” amongst other young African-American men. During the battle, he is able to halfway lift the blindfold, partially restoring his sight. The combatants swing wildly at one another. The Narrator says, “Blindfolded, I could no longer control my motions. I had no dignity.” He is dehumanized, brutalized, and demoralized. His blindness is symbolic, as he doesn’t hold any authority in the situation. He is powerless, at the mercy of the white men who are toying with him. The narrator believes that he was attending the convention to procure a scholarship to further his education; however, in reality he was mere entertainment. H...
... overall themes, and the use of flashbacks. Both of the boys in these two poems reminisce on a past experience that they remember with their fathers. With both poems possessing strong sentimental tones, readers are shown how much of an impact a father can have on a child’s life. Clearly the two main characters experience very different past relationships with their fathers, but in the end they both come to realize the importance of having a father figure in their lives and how their experiences have impacted their futures.
While reading the poem the reader can imply that the father provides for his wife and son, but deals with the stress of having to work hard in a bad way. He may do what it takes to make sure his family is stable, but while doing so he is getting drunk and beating his son. For example, in lines 1 and 2, “The whisky on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy” symbolizes how much the father was drinking. He was drinking so much, the scent was too much to take. Lines 7 and 8, “My mother’s countenance, Could not unfrown itself.” This helps the reader understand the mother’s perspective on things. She is unhappy seeing what is going on which is why she is frowning. Although she never says anything it can be implied that because of the fact that the mother never speaks up just shows how scared she could be of her drunk husband. Lines 9 and 10, “The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle”, with this line the reader is able to see using imagery that the father is a hard worker because as said above his knuckle was battered. The reader can also take this in a different direction by saying that his hand was battered from beating his child as well. Lastly, lines 13 and 14, “You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt” As well as the quote above this quote shows that the father was beating his child with his dirty hand from all the work the father has
The poem contains the central idea that many of these children never understood what home really means. In Native American culture the people venerate earth and it is referred to as mother nature which we see in the poem. The rails cut right through their home but they don’t view them like the average person. They view the tracks as if they are scars across mother earths face and her face is the Native American’s homeland. She is scarred for eternity but she is perfect in their dreams. This symbolism is ironic because the children try to reach home using the railroad that ruined natural life for them and many other Native Americans. In the second stanza the speaker says “The worn-down welts of ancient punishments lead back and fourth” (15-16). Which can be talking about the marks on the children’s bodies after getting caught while running away. But the “word-down welts” can also symbolize the welts that were put on mother nature throughout history. The last five lines of the poem sums up the symbol of hope through their memories and dreams. The last line of the poem says, “the spines of names and leaves.” (20-24). The “spines” symbolize the physical strength of the children and their ability to maintain hope individually “names”, and for their tribe
The poem demonstrates the discord that exists when people do not treat others humanely. When we discriminate based on culture or wealth, the ending is a tragic one. The author is able to combine diction, which makes violence occur in the readers mind after every stanza, with a view into both worlds in the society to demonstrate the flaws within the form of government. The author not only brings the tragedy to life, she makes it personal. The poem causes the reader to empathize with the workers and realize that they were slain for no reason other than a cultural difference and an inability to leave.
.... With the correct sum, the loud and rushing “giant waterfalls” that characterized the parent-child relationship in the first stanza are now quiet “streams” and “sweet pools”. In addition, the “old metal cup…that nobody could break” is representative of their unbreakable family bond of love. Through moments of chaos and divergence, this loving bond prevails. (Nye, Naomi Shihab)
The main event is the death of the child, which has happened previously to the beginning of the poem. This event foreshadows the death of the marriage which will happen after the poem. The husband and wife go through the grief process in many different ways. The wife believes that her husband does not understand her or the grief in which she feels. Online 10, she shouts at him, “You couldn't care!...
The phrasing of this poem can be analyzed on many levels. Holistically, the poem moves the father through three types of emotions. More specifically, the first lines of the poem depict the father s deep sadness toward the death of his son. The line Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy creates a mental picture in my mind (Line 1). I see the father standing over the coffin in his blackest of outfits with sunglasses shading his eyes from the sun because even the sun is too bright for his day of mourning. The most beautiful scarlet rose from his garden is gripped tightly in his right hand as tears cascade down his face and strike the earth with a splash that echoes like a scream in a cave, piercing the ears of those gathered there to mourn the death of his son.