Linda Pastan Metaphors

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The poem that I will be explicating is Marks By: Linda Pastan. Pastan uses one metaphoric theme throughout this poem to get her point across. The way that Pastan sets up the main point is by framing how a mom or wife is looked at by their children, she represents this by receiving letter grades from her husband and children as representation in how she is not good enough or appreciated for what she is doing for her family. The mother represented in the poem is not actually being given letter grades, this however allows Pastan to connect emotionally with her readers so they can see that she is feeling underappreciated and being treated like she is not good enough. During this process the mother’s emotions are brought to life. Throughout Marks …show more content…

There is an understood analogy between both the speaker and the audience, by connecting the parallel of life events with letter grades. The connection between letter grades and the mother’s emotions of judgement are brought to life and understood through the use of the letter grades. The first two lines of this poem grab the reader’s attention, “My husband gives me an A, for last nights’ supper.” The mother of this poem is less then happy when it comes to the result of how her family is treating her. They are grading her on what she is doing but not being appreciative of all that she is doing for them. This theme continues throughout the poem, her son says, “I am averages, an average mother, but if I put my mind to it I could improve.” In this poem the mother is belittled and put down for what she is doing. The father of the household taught the children that it was okay to speak to her this way. They are ungrateful for what they have and instead express negative feminism towards their mom. The daughter expresses the same kind of negative feminism towards her mom when she says,” my daughter believes in pass fail and tells me I pass.” The vibe that is continually expressed throughout this poem is that women and mothers are not being treated with the respect that they

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