Stress Differences between Rita Dove's Grape Sherbet and Jim Daniels My Father Worked Late - Essay Example

? English Inserts His/ Her Inserts Grade Inserts (26, 047, Outline Introduction 2. Contrasting Rita Doves “Grape Sherbet” and Jim Daniel’s “My Father Worked Late” 3. Conclusion 1. Introduction Rita Doves “Grape Sherbet” and Jim Daniels “My Father Worked Late” are poems that depict children’s memories of a father. The narrators are in their childhood and have diverse experiences with their respective fathers. The role of a father takes different form in different setting. This essay will call attention to the differences between Rita Doves “Grape Sherbet” and Jim Daniel’s “My Father Worked Late” 2. Contrasting Rita Doves “Grape Sherbet” and Jim Daniel’s “My Father Worked Late” Rita Doves “Grape Sherbet” speaks about the memories of a father. The narrator together with their siblings spends time with the father who offers them grape sherbet. Later on, the narrator and the siblings learn that their father had taken them to a grave yard. The motive is to make the children learn to associate memories with positive experiences as opposed to mourning. The children quickly learn the importance of the day. Jim Daniels “My Father Worked Late” lays emphasis on the dilemma of a working father. The father who is the sole provider of the family had to put some extra effort and cope with stress to support his family. The working father utilizes most of his time to ensure that the family is catered for. He ends up spending little time with the family. The most dominant play of polarity is the narrators who give the memories of their childhood and fathers. The father in “Grape Sherbet” spends time and involves the children when conducting a memorial day at a graveyard. On the other hand, the father in “My Father Worked Late” utilizes most of his time at work to ensure that he provides for the family. The subject matter “Grape Sherbet” is about memorial. The narrator’s family holds a memorial where the father is participating. The children learn that the memorial is for the dead and the reality of life and death dawns to them. The subject matter in “My Father Worked Late” is a working father who works tirelessly for the family. He becomes overwhelmed by the work and has limited time to be with the children. He is stressed and sometimes causes tension in the family. The narrator in “Grape Sherbet” wants to highlight the importance of a memorial. Using the young children in the poem enables them to make known the reality of life and death. Children do not understand what death is. The poet may be implying that, creating memories enables those who are gone to live. The narrator in “My Father Worked Late” wants to recognize the effort of the hardworking father. He works late to support the family. Work is stressful and tiring, yet the acceptable behavior requires the father to provide for the family. The setting for “Grape Sherbet” is on Memorial Day while the setting for “My Father Worked Late” is on a regular working day in a rural setting. In “Grape Sherbet” there is a celebratory atmosphere where there is cooking and feasting in the occasion “The day? Memorial after the grill… we cheer” (Righeto 54). The setting talks about a single day. The setting in “My Father Worked Late” narrates of the encounters of a hardworking father. The narrators capture experiences from many days (Daniels 5). In “Grape Sherbet” the role of a father as the source of affection and love for the children is revealed. The father spends time with the family on the Memorial Day. The children gallop in the graveyard in play. In “My Father Worked Late” the father is to provide the family with basic necessity and not to provide love. The father becomes detached from the family as a result of demanding work. The father shows distress from his work and becomes unfriendly to the family. Children rarely get affection from their father. The father’s relationship with the mother was sometimes lacking, the narrator says “Some morning we woke up to find him asleep on the couch” (Daniels 5). Life is portrayed differently in the two poems. The children in “Grape Sherbet” learn the reality about life, that life has an in end. Death is related with the sherbets. The memories live on in their memory like the taste of Sherbets. The reality of life and death is not clear to children. The milk teeth are not a significant loss, others grow in their place. In “My Father Worked Late”, life is portrayed as full of hardships that people must learn to live with. The narrator in “Grape Sherbet” begins by speaks about the Memorial Day fondly and ends on a low tone. The narrator talks of pleasant experiences with the siblings and the involvement of their father who offers them Sherbets. The happiness is lost when they realize that they are in a graveyard. Children innocently and carelessly play in the grave yard. The narrator learns that the behavior was not appropriate for the occasion. On the other hand, the narrator of “My Father Worked Late” maintains a sad tone throughout the poem. The children waited for their father late in the night to receive their tired father. The father would be in an awful mood and yell “yelling at anything that moved”. “My Father Worked Late” is delivered in a sad mood. The father of the narrator has to face the reality of life which seems inescapable. The father undergoes hardships; however he is not considered a hero in the end. His efforts to accept and support the family are viewed as heroic. Many fathers work to support their families like the narrators father. The poem depicts the situation where fathers may feel trapped by the conditions in life. The situation can be identified with in the present where the working class encounter challenges. Rita Doves “Grape Sherbet” uses a metaphor, “a torch of pure refusal”. The metaphor refers to the grandmother who is diabetic and can only watch the rest of the family eat the sherbet. The torch refers to attitudes towards her (The Ohio Reading Road Trip 151). Moreover, the poem does not show rhyme. The poem further uses words with deeper meaning such as Sherbets. The message is delivered in a simple and precise manner. The choice of words reveal the emotions and situation of the narrator on the memorial day. The poet in “My Father Worked Late” uses simple language to convey the message. The approach enables the reader to recall and relate their personal experiences. The choices of words are particular and relevant to the situation the father of the narrator. The narrator ensures that they create a clear picture of the real situation. The dilemma of the working father is explained. The dilemma is that the father is not certain when he goes to work whether he will come home with food or the day will end before he gets something to take home. He works hard, is stresses and does not have enough time to spend with the children. 3. Conclusion The message of their childhood memories with their father is conveyed successfully. “Grape Sherbet” is set on a Memorial Day where the narrator speaks of the memories of the single day fondly. The tone is joyful at the beginning and becomes sad in the end. The narrator wants to communicate the importance of a memorial day. On the other hand, “My Father Worked Late” setting covers regular working days. The mood and tone are sad as the narrator speaks of the hardworking fathers would become stressed. The narrator recognizes the efforts of the father to support the family. Works Cited Daniels, Jim. Show and Tell: new and Selected Poems, London: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003. Righeto, Pat. Understanding Rita Dove, United States: University of South Carolina Press, 2006. The Ohio Reading Road Trip. “Rita Dove: Selected Poems.” (2010) Web. 26 201 April 2012. http://www.orrt.org/teachers/lesson9.PDF Read More