My Father’s Waltz By Theodore Roethke (1942) Michelle Parker ENG 125 December 1, 2012 Things I found engaging in “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke (1942) were the language the content, and the theme. The language was compelling because it was really the thoughts of a young boy trying the help his drunken father get to bed. The content was engaging because it just showed the struggle he was dealing with. The ambiguous nature of family relationships is the theme. An example of the language in the poem that helps you “see” what the boy is thinking and feeling is: “The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy But I hung on like death” (1942) And, “The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle.
The father, although he is drunk, is not angry or mean, he is just trying to be playful. It is with this playfulness, that he causes the boy pain. While the boy likes to dance with his father, the speaker also indicates to us that the experience is not a pleasant one. The speaker paints the picture of a drunk, stumbling father who, without meaning to, hurts the boy; “At every step you missed/My right ear scraped a buckle” (11-12). The tone of the poem indicates that the boy is yearning for a dance without any missed steps.
He loves his son and was not deliberately trying to hurt him here it's just that he was drunk and didn't realize he was scaring and hurting the kid. The first couple of lines suggest that they may be dancing, or in this case waltzing it is clear that with the authors word choice there is a sizable difference in the physical build to the boy and his father. “The whiskey on your breath/could make a boy dizzy” (lines 1-2) The way the boy expresses his though about his fathers breathe is shown that this isn’t the first time he has smelled whiskey on his breath,
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).
“Could make a small boy dizzy” is telling us that the fathers breathe smells of alcohol. The smell of alcohol is getting to the son that is why he feels dizzy (line 2). In the line “But I hung on like death” is stating that the son was on his father’s leg and he was holding on tightly. The description “like death” introduces a note of fear (line 3). The line “Such waltzing was not easy” indicates that the father and son were dancing.
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.
In the first line of this poem the speaker says “The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy” this proves that the child’s father was an alcoholic and that the child did not like it because of the feeling he got from the whisky. The speaker said “But I hung on like death” this line of the poem shows that he hung on no matter how much pain that he felt while taking the abuse from his father. When people get abused they tend to compare their pain with something peaceful, fun, and enjoying acts. The speaker chose the word “waltz” because waltzing symbolizes a dance which people enjoy so calling it that probably took his mind off of the pain that the beating that were given to him. In the second stanza in the poem the speaker said “We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf” this shows how hard the father was beating him that it resulted to pans being moved around in the kitchen.
When his father becomes aware that David is playing with his sister and her dolls, he puts David down for engaging in feminine activities instead of interacting with boys his own age Page 46 line 13 from the button to the top, you hear that David’s father has a harsh tone in his voice, when David is playing with his little sisters dolls: “Damn grown boy playing with dolls”. When These negative remarks comes it makes David feel ashamed that he is letting his father down David is a quiet boy, who does not like to get his finger dirty. He is an innocence boy who does not want to hurt anyone. But one
From the first moment he met his piano teacher- Eduard Keller, he was quick to judge based on his appearance “Had he spruced himself up especially to meet me? I was childish enough … to think it likely.”, and the way Keller spoke. Paul puts the label on him that ‘he is a Nazi’ and doesn’t give himself the chance to get to know Keller when he first meets him. By the end of the novel Paul learns to appreciate the lessons that he had with Keller throughout his adolescent year and matures to respect what Keller had done for him. Paul illustrates love towards many characters throughout the novel.
This is through the intimate use of language and personal tales of experiences such as the poem “Sport” in Chapter 1. At this stage, Herrick depicts Billy as an imperfect person, shaped by a depraved childhood rather than an evil person. The train driver Ernie symbolizes the good humanity Billy; an element of his life he never truly experienced due to his upbringing. Ernie takes Billy in without question from a cold night into warm shelter and food. Through the connection, a mischievous boy emerges a good side to him, as he leaves Ernie a note and gives him his father’s champagne.