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Literary Techniques Used In Sharon Olds's 'On The Subway'

Decent Essays

In the short story “on the subway” by Sharon Olds the author uses the techniques imagery, diction and tone to relate the topics of discrimination, racism and different social classes.
The first literary device we see is imagery and through it the author expresses the suffering of the black race and the advantage rich white people take over the working class. In the first sentence of the story the narrator points out that “his feet are huge, in black sneakers laced with white in a complex patterns like a set of intentional scars”. as a reader, one can infer that the author wants to make a reference to slavery and the fact that back in the day slaves were whipped when they misbehaved or did something their master did not like. The author also uses imagery in their clothes while the boy “is wearing red, like the inside of the body exposed” , the rich narrator is wearing “dark fur; the whole …show more content…

The narrator shows her prejudice against the boy when she points out that “he has the casual look of a mugger, alert under hooded lids.” this can also mean the way minorities have to be alert and watch their backs to not being taken advantage of. Another way she shows her prejudice is by feeling trapped and uncomfortable being close to him like “two molecules stuck in a rod of light”. By saying “ And he is black and i am white, and without meaning or trying to i must profit from his darkness” the author addresses the way rich people sometimes take advantage of the minorities because of their race without knowing. When the narrator says “ there is no way to know how easy this white skin makes my life” she is evaluating how the boy’s lfw may in fact be more complex than she thought it was but comes to the conclusion that she may never really understand because she is not like him and will never

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