'S Haron Olds Rite Of Passage'

At the beginning of the poem, the speaker, a twelve-year-old girl, is instantly gripped by a strong feeling of lust toward this mysterious seventeen-year-old boy: the paperboy. She even goes on to describe him as a “gift. A fluke from God” as if she believes that she and this boy are destined to be together (2). From her vantage point, the girl instantly notices the boy’s physical characteristics, traits which the young girl appears to admire when she describes the boy’s “bicep in the twilight” (3). This intense, love-at-first-sight reaction to the boy’s arm shows how irrational the girl’s feelings are. She seems to simply lust after the idea of him. The girl has “no memory of language” from their nightly encounters, further showing how this “relationship” was merely visual and very one-sided (6). The boy, potentially, never even notices the girl; and if he does, he does not acknowledge her presence, let alone her strong emotions. The only memories the girl has are from “loitering, lingering far past curfew,” times in which she merely stares at the boy while he completes his daily paper route (7). The girl's depictions of her mother "lost in steam, stirring" and her father "asleep beside his Manhattan, the half-read mail" almost puts the reader directly into the house. The girl, meanwhile, lost her in her emotions, wanders around her yard "without knowing what I longed for" (16). The parents, both focused on other activities, leave the twelve-year-old speaker to do as she pleases in the night.

As the poem progresses and his ill-behaviors become increasingly unacceptable, the audience can gain insight that there must be more to his actions than just immaturity. Residing in an impoverished area, requires children to develop characteristics to stand out from the rest; furthermore, adolescent’s involved in violence filled neighborhoods tend to act out to gain attention or even utilize poor manners to appeal as stronger than their other older peers. The boy begins with he “[kicked] over trash cans” and “[flicked] rocks at cats;” however, this is substantially less significant than his inadmissible profanity near the end of the poem utilized to validate his strongest provocative beliefs. He continuously commits various defiant behaviors: kicking fences, shooing pigeons, and frightening ants with a stream of piss; however, he does receive any punishments from these behaviors. The audience validates the conclusion that the boy is not highly supervised, and gets away with poor manners due to the lack of authority. Furthermore, as his grandma comes into the alley “her apron flapping in a breeze,” the audience confers she must be upset due to the urgency she simulates. Even though the audience can sense her anger, the grandma surprises the audience along with her grandson by asking, “Let me help you” and delivers a punch right between his eyes. Superficial readers can easily comprehend his immature behaviors as result from seeking attention from older peers; moreover, a closer reading proves that he is seeking attention from a significant impact in his

Sharon Olds utilizes figurative language throughout the poem, Rite of passage including hyperbole, similes, and alliteration. When olds introduces the characters as “short men, men in first grade” it is to hyperbole which highlights the fact that the young boys consider themselves to be very mature. Olds continues the poem by using alliteration when with the phrase “jostling, jockeying” which sounds nice and helps make the poem flow. In order to enhance the reader’s visualization of the story olds employs a simile. See writes that the son has “freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks”. The freckles simile also allows the reader to see that the mom still views her son as an innocent boy. Sharon Olds puts in another simile about how they

In the poem, A Story, by Li-Young Lee, a father struggles with the thought of his son growing older. The poem clearly shows fears of how he is afraid of their complex relationship. Lee uses many literary devices to convey this complex relationship of the father and the son through point of view and structure.

A rite of passage is a transition from one stage of life to another. These passages are pursued when one passes a milestone such as birth, maturity, and achieving adulthood. These milestones will clearly show changes in the characters life. It involves significant change in their views, and of society. A rite of passage is shown in Anthem, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, and Great Expectations. The characters show significant changes as they transition through their life..

In the poem, the mother takes her daughter to a pool party composed of boys. The speaker watches the children dive into the pool and imagines her daughter working math problems to calculate the gallons of water. As she watches the young girl climb out of the pool in her hamburger and french fry print swimming suit, she notes that the other young girls are looking at the boys, and as well as her daughter, she is beginning to recognize the appeal of their masculinity. The language of the poem is associated with the childness of the young girl. The description the speaker gives of the girl leads the reader to believe she is a child. She calls her “my girl,” and describes her of having a sweet face and a sleek ponytail. “She will glisten in the brilliant air, and they will see her sweet face” (1115), the diction of Olds word choice demonstrates the innocence of a young child beginning to approach maturity. She provides detailed portrayal of the character to provide the reader with an image of the diminishing childhood innocence of the

The story set place during the Civil Right movement in a black household of a little girl and her mother. The poem signal that African Americans are not gifted with their freedom when the girl asked her mother to join the Freedom March “to make our country free” (Randall). Getting their freedom taken away, many African American children march the street of Birmingham to regain their natural rights. Taking a stand to fight for one’s right is the responsibilities of everyone. Another example is the mother’s reason for refusing to let her daughter go march because of her fear of the danger behold there. The mother then direct her daughter to “go to church instead” (Randall). Ironically, the girl meet her fate at the place thought to be the most sacred place. This ironic situation revealed that ignoring the violation of the rules upon civil rights is as dangerous as challenging it.

The literary pieces, Bad Boy and “I Was A Skinny Tomboy Kid”, are similar and different in many ways. Both present common themes that girls and boys are expected to have certain roles. Girls are expected to play with dolls, wear dresses, and care about makeup. Boys play sports, hate books and schooling. As a child, it’s hard to be yourself and show your true colors. Being different is quite difficult. Everyone is expected to be this way or that way, we are all special and unique.

Firstly, Merciad Eliade proclaimed the term rites of passage, in Unit One, as a term marking the transitional period in a person’s life as a very important aspect of their religion. While a rite of passage takes place, a person within a culture is given a new role and new responsibilities. Eliade states his opinion of the term rites of passage, as it “...implies a radical change in ontological and social status.” (Eliade, 184) When in comparison with Turner’s interpretation of rites of passage, defining “...rites of passage as ‘rites which accompany every change of place, state, social position and age,”’ (Turner, 512) Eliade and Turner’s interpretation of rites of passage correlate as they both imply a current change in one’s life. In Sonny’s Blues, Sonny changed his actions due to the social status of his performance in the underground club. Baldwin stated, “Sonny’s fingers filled the air with

Rick Moody 's short story "Boys" is written with a distinct style. The author uses a form of a stream of consciousness to convey the purpose at hand, which encompasses writing as if without hesitation or editing - whatever came to Moody’s thoughts, he transferred to text. There was also a substantial use of the word “boys”, placing emphasis on the central meaning of the story. The style is thoroughly descriptive and fails to leave any details of the boys ' lives out. This quality donates a sense of reality and creates a bond between the reader and the characters. The tone of the story comes of as particularly unbiased and serious, as if the author were just stating purely factual information. As events become more somber in the boys ' lives, the author approaches a more sympathetic tone. The boys were supposed to be kids, fooling around playing games and living a care-free childhood, but these boys found themselves in scenarios no boy or child should ever encompass.

A rite of passage is defined as a ceremony marking a significant transition or an important event or achievement, both regarded as having great meaning in lives of individuals. In Sharon Olds' moving poem "Rite of Passage", these definitions are illustrated in the lives of a mother and her seven-year-old son. The seriousness and significance of these events are represented in the author's tone, which undergoes many of its own changes as the poem progresses.

Throughout many works of literature, characters are described to go through a rite of passage, developing the plot and solving conflicts. A rite of passage is when a character goes through life changes, realizing his/her flaws and maturing as a person. Walter Lee Younger is a man that goes through many different character changes, which cause conflict amongst the other characters. Once he goes through his rite of passage, he is able to fix his flaws and mature. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, characterization is used to portray that one must experience a rite of passage in order to mature.

As you read not only has wording made an influence in the piece but also incorporated is a different point of view. “Boys” is introduced to us in third person offering us a long distances shot of the progress as the boys age. In an interview Rick Moody states that the third person is the mother of the boys, narrating the story in an “understated way, she is the perceiver, their mother is the center piece of the story.” (Rick Moody) Viewing the story from a higher place gives the reader a sense of intimacy with the narrator being able to perceive the lives of the characters the “boys” in a different light, the reader becomes a witness to the events in the progression of the “boys’” lives.

The relationship between a parent and child is potentially one of the most influential in a child’s life. A positive interaction often yields admiration, love or a sense of support. A negative relationship may yield distrust, animosity or a sense of solitude. Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” describes the admiration of his hardworking father. The speaker, a young boy, depicts roughhousing with his father in the form of a waltz; expressing his desire to stay up and spend more time together though their relationship is detached. Seamus Heaney’s “Digging,” instills a sense of respect, pride, and a slight affliction for the speaker’s choice of the pen over the spade. The speaker has chosen a different path in life than that of his father and grandfather. Although written at different stages in life, both Roethke and Heaney write a poem about their families utilizing vivid imagery to demonstrate the love and pride they felt for these men.

One of the most difficult, yet rewarding roles is that of a parent. The relationship between and parent and child is so complex and important that a parents relationship with her/his child can affect the relationship that the child has with his/her friends and lovers. A child will watch their parents and use them as role models and in turn project what the child has learned into all of the relationship that he child will have. The way a parent interacts with his/her child has a huge impact on the child’s social and emotional development. Such cases of parent and child relationships are presented in Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy”. While Roethke and Plath both write about a dynamic between a child-father relationship that seems unhealthy and abusive, Plath writes about a complex and tense child-father relationship in which the child hates her father, whereas Roethke writes about a complex and more relaxed child-father relationship in which the son loves his father. Through the use of tone, rhyme, meter, and imagery, both poems illustrate different child-father relationships in which each child has a different set of feelings toward their father.