I felt that the main message in this poem is that a divorce is difficult and how it is for the people affected by the divorce to deal with it. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker appears to be a young child telling his/her experience with the divorce. The speaker seems very angry towards the father, "when mother divorced you, we were glad" (line 1). The "we" I think referrers to the other family members maybe her siblings who experienced the same hardships. The line "she took it and/ took it, in silence, all those years" (lines 1-2) is I think really talking about maybe an act of abuse from the father whether it be physical or verbal. The poem then talks about the father's job which made me believe that the father was possibly a workaholic and was never home to spend time with his family. Another aspect that made me think that the father was a workaholic is that the speaker mentions of his suits in line 11. “Would they take your suits back, too”. The speaker seems to only see her father's identity as being tied into the suits. I thought that it also meant that it would be end to the years of silence. The mother of the family is kind of out to destroy the father's image. She turns the children against him, "She had taught us to take it, to hate you and take it until we pricked with her for your annihilation" (lines 15-17). I thought it was interesting how there was a sort of twist toward the end with the speaker wondering who really was the victim. I felt sad and sympathy towards the father by the end of the poem, because his life is pretty much completely ruined. I believe in second chances and I felt that the father really deserves one. I also felt bad for the children because they are being raised by the mother who tries to brain wash them and tries to turn them against their father. The mother is acting childish by getting his own children to hate him. I don’t see the point to doing that, he will always be their father no matter what.
Why did you do two poems???
ReplyDeleteI really related to this poem, my parents divorced when I was about 11 years old. I am sorry but I completely disagree that the father deserved a second chance though, I gave my dad a second chance and he crushed me worse than anyone ever could have. I may be a little biased, but honestly, what's to say he wouldn't hurt them again? Once an abuser, always an abuser in my opinion. In this story, the kids are the victims, not the mom, not the dad. The kids are the ones that are most affected. Parents may even blame their kids for the divorce which is never true. I think as soon as the father started to hit the children, the mother should have said "I'm not dealing with this crap, I'm taking the kids and leaving." It's something I wish my mom had done, and I really feel for the speaker in this story. I feel absolutely no sympathy for the father. If he really loved the kids he would not hurt them in this way.
ReplyDeleteBut really good response, you gave me a little bit of a different point of view! :)
I agree with the main message being divorce is difficult since it is. My parents divorced when I was I think three months old and my brothers were about three and two. Even though we (I believe) have no memories of the divorce, it still has its difficulties to this day. Unlike the mother in this poem, my mom doesn't try to turn me and my brothers against our dad. They are actually on good terms but I believe only speak to each other when it involves me and my brothers or when my mom wants to know the number to someone on his side of the family. I feel bad for the father in this poem but don't believe he should get a second chance. Just like what Charlene said "Once an abuser, always an abuser."
ReplyDeleteThis poem doesn't specifically say that the father was violent towards the mother or the kids. Although it does say, "She took it and took it, in silence..." (lines 1-2). It could have been that she took being disrespected by him cheating on her. I'm thinking the person he cheated on her with was from work, which led him to getting fired. The kids didn't feel any sympathy for their father because at the time they are filled with rage. Their family was broken even before the divorce occured, but they had to blame someone.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is deeply emotional, it does sound like a child going through the experience of their parents divorce. I can connect to this story, but I've never known somebody who has gone through a divorce, so I'm saying I don't know the feeling. Reading this poem really makes you think and feel as if you were the child who felt this way, and going through it. This poem is really of the child's internal feeling, what they feel inside. It's sad.
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