Abby Dester English II 10/24/2012 My Papa’s Waltz Abuse is the last thing this poem portrays. If indeed this poem represented a boy being abused by his father the title “My papa’s waltz” would instead be titled “My father’s drunken dance” The author uses subtle hints to this. The word Papa means that the little boy looks to his father with respect and innocence. The word waltz is used to describe how they were dancing around the room. To me “waltz’ is not one would use with an abusive father.
Those words sound really negative, when in reality the son is holding on to his father, while dancing, so he would not fall to the ground. An important factor in “My Papa’s Waltz” is the father coming home wreaking of whiskey. So a person automatically would think the father went on a drunken rant. "My Papa's Waltz" is a poem presented in a form that uses specific images and language to present a happy memory that a boy has of his father, even in a situation where his father was drunk. Words such as romped and waltzing, express the enthusiasm of the event and the boy's response to it.
He is so drunk that even the smell of his breath could make his son, who is just “a small boy”, feels a bit woozy. In the first two lines, it establishes the father is drunk by the sense of smell, which is a situation that can lead to violence. The action of dancing is normally associated with a series of elegant step but the imagery from this poem show that it is not. Baird also suggests that the “waltz” may be the father’s unconscious way of punishing his son. (Baird 12) Readers can imagine the action of their waltz from line five to six.
My Papa’s Waltz By: Theodore Roethke My Papa’s Waltz Theodore Roethke wrote this poem to make his readers actually think about what he was trying to tell them. Some people think this poem is about a son and father dancing. While others seem to believe it is about abuse. In the first line of the poem “The whiskey on your breath” it is saying how the father has been drinking (line 1). “Could make a small boy dizzy” is telling us that the fathers breathe smells of alcohol.
According to the textbook, “the central details in "My Papa's Waltz" relate to the father—his breath, his irregular dancing, his battered knuckles and rough hands—there are important descriptions of the boy's responses, and the mother's too.” (Journey) Those details make the theme of the poem. The central theme to this poem is the ambiguous nature of this families’ relationship. For example: “The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy.” (1942) And, “The hand that held my wrist Was
Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz” Formal Argument In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke the speaker, a young boy, takes us through a dance with his father. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia felt that the boy’s experience was a fun, playful one however, my interpretation of this poem differed. The speaker uses details in this poem that tell the story of a fun yet frightening dance with his father. The speaker starts by letting us know that the father is drunk.
My Papa’s Waltz "My papa's waltz" is a reflection of a childhood experience involving a father. Roethke’s use of diction and details covers the narrator's comply attitudes toward his father, the boy is a little sacred about his father. In the poem "My papa's waltz" Theodore Roethke, the narrator is reflecting on a childhood experience including his father. It appears that the young boy is afraid of his father. The first line says, "the whiskey on your breath/ could make a small boy dizzy"(1-2).
Poetry is much more difficult to write than an essay and because of this there are fewer “great” works of poetry than there are books or short stories. The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a very well known and wonderfully written poem because of how well the author expresses the speaker’s relationship with his father. From the first line of the poem the reader can tell that the relationship between the speaker and his father is probably not a very loving relationship. He tells that the whiskey smell on his father’s breath could make a small boy dizzy. This leads the reader to believe that the two probably had a strained relationship much of the time due to the alcoholism his father struggles with.
He also blames himself. But most of all, he regrets for not saying ‘I Love You’ to his Dad when he still has time. He completes all the treatment from Betty Ford Center and he is all sober now. REFLECTION OF THE STORY This true story can inspire a lot of people out there who spends most of their time on their addiction, especially drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex. Those 4 sets of addictions is the most terrible addiction in my opinion.
Thomas’ and Gilbert’s families both have similar aspects about their families, but also have many different ones. ‘The Black Balloon’ seemed more realistic than ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’ because it portrayed a convincing family and their lifestyle. In the two movies Thomas’ and Gilbert’s families have an “unrealistic” expectation that the boys will take care of disabled brother. In Thomas’ case, before his mother goes to hospital Thomas mashes his faeces into his bedroom carpet. Afterwards Thomas and his mother have an argument, “I don’t want anything to do with him…he’s a freak!” However when his mother is in hospital with the baby, his father can’t care or doesn’t know how to care for Charlie.