Hamlin Garland’s; “Under The Lion’s Paw”

1392 Words6 Pages
Review Paper: Response: Hamlin Garland’s; “Under the Lion’s Paw” “Under the Lion’s Paw” is a somewhat striking metaphor to describe the plight of a person or Persons in difficulties when placed in a predicament which seems hopeless due to the absolute reliance upon someone or people who are said to be in complete control of a situation which will determine that person’s outcome or fate. Hamlin Garland’s descriptive narrative detailing the American farmer’s plight in the late 1800’s seems to tell a tale of how things were, not only physically demanding but extremely mentally exhausting at the same time. We read of a farm owner, ‘Council’ and his family in rural America. In the opening of the paragraph of this reading we understand quickly that, even if you have what seems to be your own property and business as a farmer, your day to day living is not one that is altogether pleasant or rewarding. “It was the last of autumn and first day of winter coming together. All day long the ploughmen on their prairie farms had moved to and fro in their wide level fields through the falling snow, which melted as it, fell, wetting them to the skin all day, notwithstanding the frequent squalls of snow, the dripping, desolate clouds, and the muck of the furrows, black and tenacious as tar.” (Garland, H. 1891 p.1) The work is hard, the hours are long, and there is little or no time to spend with your family, and there are little guarantee that what you have, at the moment, you will have at the end of any given farming season. The farmer characterized in the passage, seems to be typical of most farmers of that era. We are led to understand that farming was a tough job to do due to the reliance on nature. If you did not get the necessary sun and rain or too much wind or various other types of inclement weather, the
Open Document