Dusting response paper - Essay Example

“Dusting Response Journal. Julia Alvarez’s poem, “Dusting,” is a little girl’s declaration of self-identity. It beautifully expresses the child’s determination to assert herself. The terse, short lines are packed with power and convey the impression that the little girl is completely focused on what she wants from life. There is the feeling that the child is a tightly coiled spring of energy and is just raring to let herself go!The poet’s choice of active verbs, such as “wrote,” “crossed,” “scrawled” and “scribbled” convey the little girl’s urgency and the emphasize her total focus on her actions.

I also think that Alvarez deliberately chooses these words instead of other words which would make the child’s writing neater. The word “crossed” shows that the narrator is not afraid to make mistakes, to experiment and explore various aspects of life. She is willing to start afresh if she makes errors. By scrawling and scribbling, the child declares her refusal to submit to any form of regimentation and insists on freedom of expression. The writing is not neat, controlled and uniform. This shows her individuality and refusal to conform.

The poem is written on two levels. On one level is the little girl who is in search of identity. On the other level is the mother whose life is confined to a daily round of domestic chores. By using the device of contrast, Alvarez skillfully ensures that the reader realizes that the poem is actually based on two themes: the daughter’s assertion of identity and the mother’s submission to the role of homemaker. It is this contrast between the mother and the daughter which makes the poem particularly effective.

The mother-daughter relationship runs underneath the entire narration of the poem. The daughter’s defiance and her refusal to submit to the mother is not proof of a lack of love in the relationship. The mother is not just a housewife who is obsessed with cleanliness but can also be seen as a deeply caring parent. The mother’s erasure of her daughter’s writing can be interpreted as her attempt to show her daughter the safe and secure path of submission to society’s expectations of a woman.

She wants to save her daughter from the pain of mistakes. “Dusting” uses symbolism to effectively convey its message. The child’s writing represents her determination to make her mark on life. After all, what could be more representative of identity than one’s name and one’s signature? At the same time, the mother’s dusting represents the drudgery of domestic routine. The catalogue of furniture: cabinets, rockers, chairs, tables and bookshelves - emphasizes that the mother has extended chores.

Although the mother dusts and polishes all the furniture perfectly, the round of domestic work never ends as it hast to be gone through again the next day. It is a never-ending circle of routine. The beauty of the poem is largely due to the images Alvarez conveys with her words. The lines “squirting / linseed from a burping can / Into a crumpled-up flannel” make the reader actually ‘hear’ the hiss of the cleaning fluid as it is ejected from its aerosol can. By comparing the table tops with polished, shining jewels, the poet shows how thoroughly the mother dusts.

It gives me a particular sense of satisfaction to think that the little girl in the poem represents the poet in real life and that Alvarez has truly made a mark in life as a writer of words. Works Cited.Alvarez, Julia. “Dusting.” Title of Collection. Ed. Editors Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year. 890. Print.