Aunt Jenifers Tigers

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An Analysis of “Aunt Jenifer’s Tigers” Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer Tigers" is a poem about a woman struggling to accept the degradation of her daily life while being focused on attaining some sense of immortality once that life ends. Aunt Jennifer must find a way to deal with her unhappy station in life, and she does so by sewing. Sewing is her escape. In this case she's escaping to a jungle where wild animals rule the land and never show fear. The tigers created by Aunt Jennifer are demanding respect from their predators. This demand for respect is something that Aunt Jennifer is incapable of doing for herself. In the meantime, she will deal with her problems by escaping from them. This escape into her art is shown vividly in the opening lines of the poem where the imagery is alive and shows what Aunt Jennifer is capable of doing; it also provides a glimpse into Aunt Jennifer's psyche in its portrayal of animals who don't allow themselves to be victimized by anyone. The tigers are prancing across the screen. The image of something prancing brings to mind a being that is confident and self-assured and happy; all things that Aunt Jennifer is not. The tigers are "Bright topaz denizens of a world of green". The use of colors implies that Aunt Jennifer's tigers are able to enjoy a sense of freedom that she does not. Yellow connotes the sun and fierce energy, while green reminds one of spring and rebirth. Aunt Jennifer is longing for love and rebirth. She cannot find it at home so she goes on journeys into her sewing. The tigers to Aunt Jenifer are exactly what she wishes she could be herself. And in creating them so vividly, they will live on long after she has passed on. Aunt Jennifer’s sadness is made apparent in the second verse of the poem. Aunt Jennifer's fingers are "fluttering through her wool" in the first line of the stanza and this suggests that Aunt
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