Boys and Time
In nature people change often depending on the time of their lives. Time is a factor of change and growth, everything changes over time. Metal rusts, girls become women, seasons change, naive becomes conscious, boys become men; things change and become something new. There are many more other ways to represent how things change over time but for this argument, boys changing through time is the topic. In the poem “Boys” by Rick Moody, the life of two young boys growing into men is told, and Moody tells how the boys change dress and activities during different stages of their lives.
As youngsters, the boys display signs of innocence in the first couple segments of the poem. Moody gives the reader an image of how the kids dress at the time by saying, “Twin boys, kettles on the boil, boys in hideous vinyl knapsacks that young couple from Edison, NJ., wear on their shirt fronts,” (Line 5). This exemplifies how the kids are young and forced to wear outfits picked by their parents without any influence by their own thoughts. Moody adds, “Boys,
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trailing after their father like he is the Second Goddamned Coming of Christ Goddamned Almighty,” (15-16). Meaning that the boys at the moment are young and naive and currently have no influence in their own lives; they are following their parents footsteps and observing them. As you can see, Moody calls the knapsacks ‘hideous’ with intent to give the idea that the kids didn't choose that knapsack; nobody would chose to wear the knapsack if it is labeled ‘hideous’. Being said, boys at young age show innocence and unawareness of the world. Later in the poem, proportional to later in their life, the boys show signs of consciousness by expressing their feelings in form of their fashion. When the boys are older, in order to show how they have developed, Moody says, ”Boys call each other Retard, Homo, Geek, and later, Neckless Thug, Theater Fag, and enter the home exchanging further epithets.” (Line 51-52). In this segment of the poem, Moody intends to catch attention to these strong vulgar words that are not learnt just by nature, these type of words are learnt through hearing them in person and being able to analyze what they are. The boys know that these are offensive words and they are showing signs of consciousness of this world. Besides being conscious the boys are still being naive by not being conscious that those words are disrespectful not only to individuals but to a group of people whom feel offended by those terms. The boys are evolving at this point and growing up as the poem goes on proving my point that the poem is in timeline form. When boys enter their teenage years they tend to get a new style, something new and unique matching their newly developed personality.
Mentioned inside the context, the boys start to rebel and do things that would not please their parents such as stuffing bandanas down kids throats, or sneak girls into their room or sneaking in and out the house late at night, or even masturbating in places like Moody said,“ in train-station bathrooms, in forests, in beach houses, in football bleachers at night under the stars, in cars (under blankets), in the shower, backstage, on a plane,” (Lines 61-63). This shows how the boys are growing up like any other guy around the world no matter what culture they are part of. Around teenage early years, kids tend to do things such as mentioned before; it is part of what being a boy is about and at that moment in their lives, at this point they start developing unique
personality. Finally, after years of immaturity and naiveness, the kids in the poem finally come to their senses of growing up the tough way. In the poem, Moody states, “Boys enter the house carrying their father, slumped. Happens so fast. Boys rush into the house leading EMTs to the couch in the living room where the body lies,” (Lines 144-145). In these three sentences the story turns completely around. Moody uses the word slumped as a word that stands out and causes the reader to feel the emotions in his text. This is the climax of the story where the boys finally realize it is time to grow up and become men. Tragically losing their father allowed the boys the transition from small naive children to mature men. At the end of the story, the boys finally are grown ups. Moody writes, “Boys, no longer boys, exit [the house]” (154). Here, Moody delivers the final words to the audience and lets them know that after the entire context/timeline the boys have grown out of their childhood and achieve the ultimate goal, maturity. The poem “Boys” takes us on a journey of lifetime where anybody, no matter what gender, can observe the life of your average guy. Through a text organized by timelines, Rick Moody gives us the imagery, and through symbolism in objects, Moody gives us the ideas. Moody put together the life of a male on paper and shows the world how when one event can change things as we know them.
Without the use of stereotypical behaviours or even language is known universally, the naming of certain places in, but not really known to, Australia in ‘Drifters’ and ‘Reverie of a Swimmer’ convoluted with the overall message of the poems. The story of ‘Drifters’ looks at a family that moves around so much, that they feel as though they don’t belong. By utilising metaphors of planting in a ‘“vegetable-patch”, Dawe is referring to the family making roots, or settling down somewhere, which the audience assumes doesn’t occur, as the “green tomatoes are picked by off the vine”. The idea of feeling secure and settling down can be applied to any country and isn’t a stereotypical Australian behaviour - unless it is, in fact, referring to the continental
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When the parents run off without them and never come back for a long time, and when Uncle Trash scams the boys out of everything they own and takes off for days at a time, then sells their belongings and buys cigars and alcohol with the money he made. Growing up being forgotten about can have serious, long lasting effects on children. The author tries to portray the boys as being forgotten so the audience reading will understand that it is a serious issue. “During the knocking down nobody notices our mother. She is a flatfooted running rustle through the corn all burned up by the summer sun”. At the end of the story the mother finally returns to see her house burned down by the sons she left in the hands of their drunken
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