Compare Woodchucks And Traveling Through The Dark

In the poems “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford and “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin two men must make a difficult decision about nature. In “Traveling through the Dark” the narrator is faced with a tough situation dealing with life and die, while in “Woodchucks” the narrator struggles with his belief about killing. These two poems focus on the reaction of their characters to the death of an animal. “Traveling through the Dark” shows a respectful relationship with nature when a man comes across a pregnant deer who has been hit by a car. “Woodchucks”, on the other hand, shows the long-term effects of killing rodents on the mind. Both poems show the relationship between animal and man as well as man’s dealings with nature. Through the use of imagery, tone, and diction the poet of “Traveling through the Dark” shows the speaker’s compassionate attitude towards the animals while the speaker of “Woodchucks” has an antipathetic attitude toward them.

The poets, Stafford and Kumin, use diction to show the portrayal of the interpersonal connection between the poem’s persona and the animals. Both poems are about a person being directly responsible for the death of animals. However, neither uses kill to describe their actions. Kumin, for example, uses very vivid action verbs to show the actions of the persona in the poem “Woodchucks”. When the poet describes how the speaker “drew a bead on the little woodchuck’s face” and “dropped the mother”, he uses less gruesome images than what the poem describes (lines 17-19). The speaker in the poem states that he is a “murderer”, yet does not show full responsibility for the killings the animals (23). Stafford’s poem, on the other hand, does not have the same dark tone as “Woodchucks”. “Tra...

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...lessness and sadness in the reader.

The personas in “Woodchucks” and “Traveling through the Dark” approach the animals’ lives in opposing ways; the first uses rational thoughts, while the latter uses emotions. In “Traveling through the Dark” the narrator, repressing emotions and keeping a level head, is able to see the recklessness in attempting to save the unborn fawn. However, the narrator in the poem “Woodchucks” succumbs to their emotions, ultimately leaving them in an incompetent and dangerous mind set. Using diction the poets are able to allow the reader to fully evaluate the relationship between the animals and the speakers. The contrasting tones of remorse and lightheartedness illustrate the different relationships between the animals and personas of each poem. The poets” choice of diction, tone, and imagery are all factors that make the poems distinctive.