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In the poem Crutches, the speaker uses the metaphoric view of being disabled to show the reader the impact of the world being impaired rather than just one. The speaker uses a informative tone to address the reader throughout the poem. The speaker begins in stanza one with stating that it is not the help that we criticize, it is the motivation to move on even when we can’t that makes everything so difficult. Throughout this poem, the speaker addresses the sexist point of view that states that a ‘woman is to stay in her place”. Stanza two addresses what it is that a woman should and should not do. She implies that society has shaped the world into believing that a woman is not to need for anything so they turn to religion to embrace a common purpose for themselves. There is also the comparison of man versus woman throughout the poem where woman can’t be strong like men so they hide their anger with smiles and alcohol. On the contrary men CAN be strong and it drives them emotionally insane. As you can see the speaker address the emotional strength versus the physical strength that has stereotypically shaped the thoughts of both men and women. Giovanni also uses the motifs of weakness and hurt to help portray how the human mind works. She proves that where WE all fall emotionally we usually want to be independent which leads to us having no one to fall back on for help. Both men and women work to prove a point implying that crutches are irrelevant, but in truth crutches is something that they both need where crutches symbolize someone to swing back on when all else fails. In the second to last stanza, the speaker begins to sum up her message by implying that although you may feel guilty about asking someone for help, having no one to help you in life with the annoyances that bother you can lead to destruction.
In the poem Crutches, the speaker uses the metaphoric view of being disabled to show the reader the impact of the world being impaired rather than just one. The speaker uses a informative tone to address the reader throughout the poem. The speaker begins in stanza one with stating that it is not the help that we criticize, it is the motivation to move on even when we can’t that makes everything so difficult. Throughout this poem, the speaker addresses the sexist point of view that states that a ‘woman is to stay in her place”. Stanza two addresses what it is that a woman should and should not do. She implies that society has shaped the world into believing that a woman is not to need for anything so they turn to religion to embrace a common purpose for themselves. There is also the comparison of man versus woman throughout the poem where woman can’t be strong like men so they hide their anger with smiles and alcohol. On the contrary men CAN be strong and it drives them emotionally insane. As you can see the speaker address the emotional strength versus the physical strength that has stereotypically shaped the thoughts of both men and women. Giovanni also uses the motifs of weakness and hurt to help portray how the human mind works. She proves that where WE all fall emotionally we usually want to be independent which leads to us having no one to fall back on for help. Both men and women work to prove a point implying that crutches are irrelevant, but in truth crutches is something that they both need where crutches symbolize someone to swing back on when all else fails. In the second to last stanza, the speaker begins to sum up her message by implying that although you may feel guilty about asking someone for help, having no one to help you in life with the annoyances that bother you can lead to destruction.
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ReplyDeleteI like how you recognize the motif of strength and weakness as it relates to gender. Which lines from the poem can you add to strengthen your argument?
ReplyDeleteYour first sentence is a little confusing. How can you clear-up what you're trying to say?
You lapse into summarizing the stanzas. Consider including more lines from the poem and then talk about the effect of them specifically.