Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Two Interpretations of My Papa's Waltz

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” can easily be interpreted in two different ways. Before class discussion, I was convinced that “My Papa’s Waltz was a somber poem that expresses a son’s love for his father, despite his father’s alcoholism and abusive ways. I thought that, although the poem states playful interactions between the father and son, the majority of the poem focuses on the father’s drunken aggression toward the boy. After discussing “My Papa’s Waltz” in class, I realized if the poem is interpreted literally, it is about a young boy, remembering a night with his father when they danced around the house aggressively. With this analysis, there is no intentional abuse on the father’s part, and no clear evidence of alcoholism. Now, I believe the poem is about that of my second interpretation, but both interpretations are admissible.

If the poem is not read literally, there is a vast amount of evidence that, “My Papa’s Waltz,” is the story a young boy revealing the hardships he has lived through with his alcoholic father, while still possessing a great love for his dad. The boy would then be the narrator of “My Papa’s Waltz” and thus the son of an alcoholic father. If the poem is not read literally, it is easy to focus on the physical abuse, and anger the father possesses, which was directed toward the boy. In the first line of the poem, the son is speaking to his dad and says, “The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy dizzy.” Here the son is telling his father, that his drinking is a problem, and the boy is worried. In the next line, he says, “But I held on like death: such waltzing was not easy.” Here, thoughts are seemingly directed toward abuse. The son is telling his father, that he struggled to survive (mentally and physically) in the home, but did everything he could to try and survive and rise above the problem. The pain that comes through in this sentence is subtle, yet intense. In the next stanza, the tone begins to change. The violent acts, change to fun, rough-housing. The son expresses how his father and he physically fooled around in the kitchen. There is a sense of happiness and joy here. But this feeling of joy does not last long, for the tone changes again in stanza three when the son returns to speaking of his father’s beatings. Beatings are reasonably inferred because the son says that the father held his wrist. The grabbing of a wrist suggests harsher interaction. If the father was not trying to harm the boy, it would be more logical that he would hold his hand, not his wrist. In this stanza, the boy also suggests that his father seemed to brush him with a buckle. This could refer to a time when the father was drunk, and went to strike his son using a belt, missing his backside completely, and instead, hit his ear. The negative tone continues in stanza four when the son says, “You beat time on my head/With a palm caked hard by dirt.” But in the second half of the sentence the mood and tone change with, “Then you waltzed me off to bed/Still clinging to your shirt.” The stanza starts off with a description of the torture the boy endured, but ends with the boy confessing love for his father, despite his faults. After reading this poem, if it is not interpreted literally, it is evident that even though the son has been beat around by his dad, he still loves him and has a desire to be loved in return. Thus, even after a violent battle, the son remains loyal to his father, and clings to him, in search of love and compassion.

If the poem is interpreted literally, it is clear that the young son is remembering a night when he and his father waltzed around the home. The father is intoxicated, but that does not make him an alcoholic, for if you interpret the poem literally, the poem is one full scene, but if not interpreted literally, each stanza seems to be a different period of time, which makes the first sentence of the poem more significant. The waltzing is still rough, yet not intentional. The father holding the boy by the wrist now shows the father is holding him by the wrist due to the dance. It is not an act of violence at all. Also, when the boy explains that, “With every step you missed/My right ear scrapped a buckle,” it shows that when the father missed a step in the dance, the small boy would scrap his ear on his father’s belt buckle. The last stanza influenced me that the poem is not the grim tale I had one believed, but a happy memory. The last line states, “You beat time on my head/ With a palm caked hard by dirt/Then waltzed me off to bed/Still clinging to your shirt.” Here the father is helping his son keep time with the steps, and the boy is grasping on to his father’s shirt, and while holding on to his dad, they continue to waltz to bed.

I now interpret the poem literally. The father and son are dancing and it seems the young boy remembers his life with his father as joyful and playful. He and his father have a close relationship. And although the father has been drinking and the dance is more threatening, (like when they are dancing in the kitchen and knock pans from the shelves) neither feel as if they are in total danger. They are energized and excited.

Thus, throughout “My Papa’s Waltz,” I view the father as a loving, caring, dad, and not a belligerent drunk. After discussion, I was not left with the unsettled response I began with. I have been persuaded that “My Papa’s Waltz,” is an uplifting story of father and son sharing a precious moment together, whilst waltzing around the house.

Jane Eyre

(sorry this is so late, as of last thursday I was still unable to post blogs)

I am reading Jane Eyre and I absolutely love it! I chose this book because my mom told me she has read it three times because she loves it so much, so I figured I would like it too. I also have heard a lot about the book and figured this would be a good time to read it. I am around page 210, so I still have a little way to go.

I think that Jane is such a strong admirable character and I really admire her. I love how Jane is so independent and always stands up for herself. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, when she was a child at Gateshead, because she always spoke her mind and did what she felt is right.

Right now, I am reading about Jane’s time as a governess at Thornfield. Jane has just conversed with Mr. Rochester and I feel like a strong relationship may develop between them. Again, Jane is self-dependent, and a good role model.
I think I may write my paper on Jane’s struggle and how she has persevered and overcome tough times. I want to write about her strength and independence, and how she is someone to admire.

Monday, April 6, 2009

My Papa's Waltz

My Papa’s Waltz

“My Papa’s Walt” is a somber poem that expresses a son’s love for his father, despite his father’s alcoholism and abusive ways. The title is quite ironic, because waltz gives readers the impression that the poem is uplifting, but in reality, the poem mainly expresses a sons concern. Although the poem states playful interactions between the father and son, the majority of the poem focuses on the father’s drunken aggression toward the boy.

The narrator of “My Papa’s Waltz” is the son of an alcoholic father. This is evident through the tough exterior the boy puts on and the rough-housing manner in which father and son interact. When I first read the poem, I did not realize the love the son possesses for his father. Instead, I focused on the physical abuse, and anger that I saw in the father, which was directed toward the boy. In the first line of the poem, the son is speaking to his dad and says, “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy.” Here I feel the son is trying to explain to his father, that his drinking is a problem, and the boy is worried. These descriptive first lines, place the reader in the situation of the young boy breathing in the whiskey scent. The reader can place themselves in the young boy’s situation, and can picture being compelled back, once the father begins to speak, due to the surprise of the strong odor from his breath. In the next line, he says, “But I held on like death: such waltzing was not easy.” Here my thoughts are directed toward abuse. The son is telling his father, that he struggled to survive (mentally and physically) in the home, but did everything he could to try and survive and rise above the problem. The pain that comes through in this sentence is subtle, yet intense. In the next stanza, the tone begins to change. The violent acts, change to fun, rough housing. The son expresses how his father and he physically fooled around in the kitchen. There is a sense of happiness and joy here. But this feeling of joy does not last long, for the tone changes again in stanza three when the son returns to speaking of his father’s beatings. Beatings are reasonably inferred because the son says that the father held his wrist. The grabbing of a wrist suggests harsher interaction. If the father was not trying to harm the boy, it would be more logical that he would hold his hand, not his wrist. In this stanza, the boy also suggests that his father seemed to brush him with a buckle. I believe this refers to a time when the father was drunk, and went to strike his son using a belt, missing his backside completely, and instead, hit his ear. The negative tone continues in stanza four when the son says, “You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt.” But in the second half of the sentence the mood and tone change with, “Then you waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt.” The stanza starts off with a description of the torture the boy endured, but ends with the boy confessing love for his father, despite his faults. Even though the son has been beat around by his dad, he still loves him and has a desire to be loved in return. Thus, even after a violent battle, the son remains loyal to his father, and clings to him, in search of love and compassion.

In my opinion, this poem expresses all the negative things the son wishes to tell his father, but it also expresses the hope and love the boy carries for his dad. I do feel that overall the son has suffered a very difficult life, but in the end, he seems to hide those memories, and embraces the positive moments between he and his father.

While reading descriptions of the poem, I read that “My Papa’s Waltz” is a comedy. No matter how many times I read this, or how many times I search for irony, I am unable to obtain it. I do not see this poem as funny at all, even if that was the author’s intention. I feel that this poem is about a young boy reaching out to his father in desperation. Throughout “My Papa’s Waltz,” I view the father as dirty, drunk, and belligerent, and I see the son yearning for affection from his father. I felt that the poem was very honest, and that is what captured my attention, and provoked my unsettled response toward the poem.

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