Self Vs Family Ap Young

Self vs Family: I hate you, I love you In Photograph, 1958 Young explores the tension between self and family through the use of a strong narrative voice and free verse poetry. With the limited usage of literary devices Young is able to write clearly, directly and with an honest conviction. This poem appears to be written as a reflection as Young depicts the photographs of her pasts with present day contemplation. The photos are stills of the emotional trauma that Young faced from her father. The tension lies in the form of escaping an abusive situation and valuing self, while dealing with the conflict of the person being her father. As Young reminisces it becomes apparent that there is more to the photographs than described. After describing the first photograph Young says “I am watching him” (8: 965) and then again while describing the second photograph she says “my face tilts up

“Boiling lobsters will fly like wet birds.” (26-27: 965). Evidence of the trauma is now clear and the choice for self would be to take any and every opportunity to get out. Yet, herein lies the tension as this is her father, a struggle of familial attachment becomes apparent as Young returns to the checkers game near the conclusion of the poem. “I wait for him to make his move and I would gladly wait forever, deaf to the screams, the scarlet tails that will one day scatter. “(29-33: 965). After describing the events in the traumatic second photo, Young returns to the time before things spiral completely downwards. Back in the checkers game, locked in the house with her father she decides that she would wait for him to make his move and not only then but forever. She “would gladly wait forever” (31: 965), with this salient traumatic image in her head she still decides that she will wait. Essentially equating the incident to the inevitable and not something thing she will take control