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Essay about Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich

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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich

Who is Aunt Jennifer? Does she even exist? I had to ask myself these questions before even going further into the poem. The answers opened the door to a deeper meaning behind Aunt Jennifer's Tigers. Based on Adrienne Rich's background I believe Aunt Jennifer did exist. However, Aunt Jennifer was not Rich's aunt. Aunt Jennifer represented women all over the world, particularly women in American, who were caught under the oppressive hand of a patriarchal society. Adrienne Rich was perhaps one of those women. Rich, one of the most influential poets of her time, dealt with controversial issues such as sexuality, race, language, power, and women's culture. Her passion in this area forced her to look …show more content…

That ownership is not clearly defined, however, until the second stanza of the poem when it is revealed why they are hers to own. From the first few lines we know some key facts about the tigers that Jennifer owns. Her tigers have energy. They are free to "prance" and run across the screen. The environment that the tigers enjoy is explained in detail in the line following. The tigers are bright like "topaz" and they inhabit a world that is green.

As Rich continues she begins to go deeper into the real meaning behind the creation of Aunt Jennifer's tigers. Aunt Jennifer's tigers do not fear men. They conduct themselves in a heroic, manly fashion as line 4 explains. The tigers that Aunt Jennifer's owns are confident and certain of who they are and what they want.

Only after understanding the tigers can you actually begin to understand Aunt Jennifer and again her ownership of them. The first stanza serves to explain what the tigers represent, while the second stanza explains who Aunt Jennifer is. Aunt Jennifer is described to be working with a piece of wool. She is obviously doing needlepoint to a panel that will be placed in a pillow, quilt, or screen of some kind for the home. Her fingers are fluttering to create the beautiful image of the tigers. Aunt Jennifer is expressing herself through the creation of her tigers. However, creating those tigers and expressing those feelings are hard to get out. The reason why is revealed in the next line.

Those feelings are

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