In the poem “Our Son Swears He Has 102 Gallons of Water in His Body,” Naomi Shihab exhibits the relationship between a teen and his or her’s parents. During this period of a child’s life, relationships become strained and distorted for many reasons. After an analysis of the poem, the reader can witness this relationship between this teen and his progenitors through a use of diction, imagery, and significant details. To fully show this relationship, the author employs the last stanza where the true interpretation of the connection can be found. Throughout the beginning lines of the poem, the author's use of diction and punctuation help to develop a frustrating relationship between the main characters. In line 2 the speaker says “Divide becomes multiply so he’d wrestle his parents who defy what he insists.” By using the word “wrestle” one can infer the teen is very aggressive and determined to assert his ideas on his parents. This same concept is presented when the son says “I did the problem and my teacher said I was right!” To state the phrase “I did the problem” shows that the teen was expressing he completed the problem and didn’t ask for help. In accordance with the word …show more content…
Some evidence is the poem is more signifacant than others. Shihab says “Light strokes the dashboard” which has a deep meaning (line 5). If light is stroking the dashboard this can be interpreted to mean that there are brief moments of a calm mood. By “stroking’ the light moves gentle and without pressure which means it’s not enough to change things. This notion can be inferred in response to line 6 which states “We are years away from its source.” The parents and teen are a long way from reconciliation in their relationship, the relationship has become a detriment. Details like these help to provide more insight into the relationship and precipitate more inferences on the
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
One example of analyzing the poem is how the lines stop in random places. This can also be called, enjambment. The poem is describing a fight. When fights happen, they are fast and quick and intense, the author tries to recreate the chaos and speed of the fight by using enjambment. The second example of analyzing the poem is that the stanzas are broken up into four lines. The only lines that are not broken up into four lines are the last ones, which are broken up into couplets. The third example of analyzing this poem, is that there are a lot of metaphors that bring out the intense and vehement emotion, such as, “A wall of fire sethes…”. This brings out all the emotions in the air, and what the angry parents feel like, even though the author doesn’t say that they were mad, you can guess how much anger and tension is in the
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
In the poem “A Story”, Li-Young Lee depicts a frustration in a man’s relationship with his son. The poem engenders a complexity and ambivalent nature of parenthood through the “story” of the father’s silence.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
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
Not only the words, but the figures of speech and other such elements are important to analyzing the poem. Alliteration is seen throughout the entire poem, as in lines one through four, and seven through eight. The alliteration in one through four (whisky, waltzing, was) flows nicely, contrasting to the negativity of the first stanza, while seven through eight (countenance, could) sound unpleasing to the ear, emphasizing the mother’s disapproval. The imagery of the father beating time on the child’s head with his palm sounds harmful, as well as the image of the father’s bruised hands holding the child’s wrists. It portrays the dad as having an ultimate power over the child, instead of holding his hands, he grabs his wrists.
Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...
A famous speaker states, “Somewhere a mistaken word distorts the sum: / divide becomes multiply so he’d wrestle his parents” (Nye line 1-2). Have you disagreed with your parents about something you strongly agree with? In “Our Son Swears He Has 102 Gallons of Water in His Body” by Naomi Shibab Nye, the son and parents relationship face obstacles left and right. As a result the parents think they are right and their son thinks he is correct. After carefully analyzing the poem, the reader learns, that the parents just wants their son to take responsible. The child is wrong in this situation, but he needs to comprehend that he isn’t always right.
The poem of A Story by Li-Young Lee analyzes the coming of age of a son through the eyes and emotions of a father. On the surface, it seems like a simple situation of a father telling the son a story to entertain him. But it is upon closer inspection and deep analysis that reveals the true meaning of the poem that the poet is trying to convey to the reader.
There is no greater bond then a boy and his father, the significant importance of having a father through your young life can help mold you to who you want to become without having emotional distraught or the fear of being neglected. This poem shows the importance in between the lines of how much love is deeply rooted between these two. In a boys life he must look up to his father as a mentor and his best friend, the father teaches the son as much as he can throughout his experience in life and build a strong relationship along the way. As the boy grows up after learning everything his father has taught him, he can provide help for his father at his old-age if problems were to come up in each others
The speaker reflects on the teenage girl’s childhood as she recalls the girl played with “dolls that did pee-pee” (2). This childish description allows the speaker to explain the innocence of the little girl. As a result, the reader immediately feels connected to this cute and innocent young girl. However, the speaker’s diction evolves as the girl grew into a teenager as she proclaims: “She was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (7-9). The speaker applies polished language to illustrate the teen. This causes the reader not only to see the girl as an adult, but also to begin to grasp the importance of her situation. The speaker expresses what the bullies told this girl as she explains: “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty” (12-13). The sophisticated diction shifts towards the girl’s oppressors and their cruel demands of her. Because of this, the reader is aware of the extent of the girl’s abuse. The speaker utilizes an intriguing simile as she announces: “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” (15-16). The maturity of the speaker’s word choice becomes evident as she uses a simile a young reader would not understand. This keeps the mature reader focused and allows him to fully understand the somberness of this poem. The speaker concludes the poem as she depicts the teenage girl’s appearance at her funeral: “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (19-20). The speaker elects not to describe the dead girl in an unclear and ingenuous manner. Rather, she is very clear and
Li-Young Lee’s poem, A Story, explores a complex relationship between a father and his five year old son. Although the poem’s purpose is to elaborate on the complexity of the relationship and the father’s fear of disappointing his son, the main conflict that the father is faced with is not uncommon among parents. Lee is able to successfully portray the father’s paranoia and son’s innocence through the use of alternating point of view, stanza structure, and Biblical symbolism.
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
Nonetheless, this really is a tale of compelling love between the boy and his father. The actions of the boy throughout the story indicate that he really does love his father and seems very torn between his mother expectations and his father’s light heartedness. Many adults and children know this family circumstance so well that one can easily see the characters’ identities without the author even giving the boy and his father a name. Even without other surrounding verification of their lives, the plot, characters, and narrative have meshed together quite well.