Shawn Olds On The Subway

On the Subway, a poem by Shawn Olds, is about two different people on a subway, a black male and a white female. That right there are the two portraits, the two different worlds of a black male and a white woman. These portraits, in the poem, are contrasted and developed by tone and imagery.
The imagery in the poem depicts a portrait of a black male as violent, a thug, tings of that nature. We see this when Olds expresses, "He has the casual cold look of a mugger, alert under hooded lids." We can imagine here the male just sitting there, with his hood on, having a evil look ready to steal something, which is exactly what is implied. This depicts the portrait of a criminal. Another example of this portrait is when Olds articulates, "I look

at his raw face, he looks at my fur coat, and I don't know if I am in his power---." Through her diction, we can picture the black male staring at her nice coat, ready to pounce on her and take it. Once again this indicates the portrait of a thug, a monstrous man . These two examples strongly depict the black male's portrait as monstrous and criminal;. The same way the black man is shown as this through the imagery, the white woman is shown as vulnerable. In those two examples, she is shown as an easy target for the man, as he just stares at her. Through the examples, it is depicted that she could be taken advantage of.
The tone in this poem also shows the black male as monstrous.

The tone is disrespectful and ignorant, and this shown by how stereotypical she speaks of him. We see this when Olds writes, " he could take my coat so easily, my briefcase, my life." That is extremely disrespectful, and it makes it seem like every black male will rob or attack a white individual. Another example of a rude, ignorant tone is when Olds remarks, "the way he absorbs the murderous beams of the nations heart." Her strong language here is saying that he and the black male population in general absorb the uncivilized, violent beams of the nation and hold it within them. This is ignorant, once again implying that all black males are thugs, where this generalization is wrong. The indication of blacks not being on the same pedestal as whites is also present. This seen when Olds remarks, " or if he is in my power, the way I am living off his life, eating the steak he does not eat." She is trying to say here that whites are superior to blacks, as "eating the steak he does not eat" is saying she lives more luxurious than blacks, once again being ignorant and disrespectful. Throughout the rest of the poem, she was depicting a portrait of blacks being more superior, however that was safety and vulnerability wise. Here, she indicates whites are more superior in the society aspect. That one line shows the white portrait. Superior in society, vulnerable everywhere

else.
Overall, the portrait of white vulnerability is shown through the use of tone and imagery. while describing the malicious and evil nature of blacks at the same time. I do not agree in any way, however that's how the author feels. Blacks against whites is the theme in the poem, and the point trying to be made is that blacks win violently. Her insights are revealed as well. The fur coat is false protection of her. She has all this privilege, yet she still feels like she's taking from blacks. She doesn't realize the greatness of blacks till the end. She realizes the power and wealth of blacks, specifically the black male. Overall, she changed how she is, but still depicted the blacks as bad people.