Similarities Between A Barred Owl And The History Teacher

“A Barred Owl” and “The History Teacher” are two poems that show how adults lie to children in order to protect then and their innocence. Both poets use imagery and symbolism to show that adults occasionally lie to young children, but that these lies can have very distinct consequences. “A Barred Owl” also uses personification to explain the message, while “The History Teacher” uses irony to convey the meaning.

Both poets use imagery to portray their messages. In “A Barred Owl,” Wilbur describes the young child in her “darkened room” when “the warping night” brought in “the boom.” This imagery helps show the idea that they young girl is alone in the dark when she hears a frightening noise, but is then calmed down by her parents who “make

[her] terrors bravely clear.” The imagery helps to show that there are many frightening things that a young child cannot understand, but a simple, although possibly untruthful, explanation can confront them. Similarly, Collins uses imagery to portray the meaning of the poem, but in this case, the meaning is that lying to older children fosters ignorance in their society. Collins describe the kids at the playground in detail, as they “torment the weak/and the smart.” The description of the children illustrates the irony of this poem. The teacher was “trying to protect his students’ innocence,” but in reality he was creating ruthless kids who did not empathize with one another. This helps the poet make his point that lying to older children about serious, significant parts of life is detrementional to their development. Although both poets used imagery to portray the meaning of their poem, they each described a unique meaning. Wilbur used imagery to depict the fears and terror that were scaring the young girl, while Collins described the children harassing each other at the park, which shows how the teacher’s lies were creating ignorant children.

Symbolism was also used by the two poets in order to show their message.

In “A Barred Owl,” the “owl’s voice” symbolizes fear and lack of understanding that children have. The young girl was frightened by an everyday item, which shows that young kids can have irrational fears because they don’t understand the world. This helps convey the message because there are many things that kids don’t understand, and therefore they fear, which also brings a necessity for adults to comfort the kids and help them understand, even if this means telling them a few small, white lies. Collins also uses symbolism to make his point. The various lies that the history teacher tells his students, such as that “the Ice Age was really just/the Chilly Age, a period of a million years/when everyone had to wear sweaters,” symbolize a broader range of fabrications that many adults tell to kids, even when they should be telling the truth. The children in “The History Teacher” aren’t being taught about many of the dark, yet important, parts of history and therefore don’t learn how to treat one another with respect and kindness; they become ignorant people who spend their time at the playground tormenting one another. The lies and ignorance of the children symbolize that if adults keep deceiving kids on a variety of topics, society will become less understanding and more unaware of how to treat one another. Symbolism is used to both poems to describe different meanings. The general fear kids have is

symbolized by the owl in “A Barred Owl,” and the negative consequences of misleading children is symbolized by the history teacher’s lies in “The History Teacher.”

Wilbur and Collins also use unique literary devices in order to make their point.

In addition to imagery and symbolism, Wilbur uses personification to convey the message. The noises heard in the child’s room are personified into a question of “‘Who cooks for you?’ and then ‘Who cooks for you?’” which helps show that parents can easily transform the fears of young children into something they can understand. The personification helps the poet make his point because the simple lie allows the child to go back sleep, without causing any real harm. On the other hand, Collins uses irony in order to make his point. While the teacher is trying to preserve the innocence of his students by telling them lies about important historical events, he ends up creating ignorant kids who, when they interact with their peers, “muss up their hair and break their glasses.” The insensitivity of the students that comes from the misinformation demonstrates the dangers of lying to older kids, who need to hear the truth in order to become responsible citizens who have a solid understanding of the world around them as well as all parts of history, whether desirable or

disturbing.

Imagery and symbolism are two important literary devices that help portray the meaning in the poems “A Barred Owl” and “The History Teacher.” The imagery used helps describe the fears and lack of understanding that young kids have in “A Barred Owl,” and it shows the dangers of lying to kids in “The History Teacher.” In “A Barred Owl,” symbolism is used to show that there are everyday fears that adults are used to, but kids don’t yet understand and in “The History Teacher,” it is used to show that lying to children on a broader perspective will lead to a more ignorant, heartless society. Personification is also a tool used in “A Barred Owl” which allows the fears of a child to be converted into friendly animals. “The History Teacher” utilizes irony to portray the negative outcomes of lying to older children.