Poem Comparison

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Charles Bukowski's poem, "My Old Man" portrays a conflict between a father and son. The complete opposite of this poem is Nancy Willard's poem, "Questions My Son Asked Me, Answers I Never Gave Him", which conveys affection between a parent and child. The author points out that the themes of these poems are different: Charles Bukowski gives the father and son a strong sense of disconnection and refusal of one another; whereas, in Willard's poem, the theme exposes involvement and acceptance between a parent and child. The paper relates that Charles Bukowski creates a sense of misery with the son having a feeling of unimportance; Nancy Willard's poem expresses a deeper meaning of time through life.

From the Paper:

"The imagery created through the questions and answers in Willard's poem, produces an outlook on life relating time. In the course of the parent and son's intimate relationship, it allows them to involve time on the view of life within the questions and answers. Through time the son will find out if butterflies make noise, if he can eat a star, and if the years ever run out. Even the answers given to him are through time. For example the last question asks, "Do the years ever run out?" This question inquires the time in living every day to a year to find his answer. Even though his parent answers, "God said, I will break time's heart", the son must live and learn so he can eventually interpret the answers to his questions."

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