The Fury of Overshoes

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Peter Pan never wanted to grow up, for he always wanted to be a boy and have fun. On the other hand, the general argument made by author, Anne Sexton, in her poem, “The Fury of Overshoes,” is that childhood is most appreciated when a person must be independent. A university student finds that he can relate to the speaker. The high school student, still a child himself, will feel the same as the speaker in her youth. A college student and a high school student reading this poem would conclude this poem with different feelings.

In the first half of the poem, the speaker reminds readers of childhood. She presents the readers with imagery, a form of descriptive language, by illustrating the colorful overshoes lined up against the wall of the kindergarten, “black, red, brown, all/ with those brass buckles” (lines 1-5). This part of the poem helps the reader settle into the setting and mindset of the speaker. She repeats “remember... remember,” inviting the readers to recall their childhood, how everything looked then, and how different aspects of life mattered (5, 15). “You couldn't/ buckle your own/ overshoe,” the speaker states as she continues to list the difficulties, failures, and impossibilities of life as a child (5-9). As children, people are completely dependent on others to do things for them and correct the world around them. It is frustrating for children to not be able to accomplish even simple, self-help tasks.

There are a couple of similes the author uses in the poem to stress the helplessness she felt in childhood. In the lines, “The tears/ running down like mud” (11,12), the reader may notice the words sliding down the page in lines 12-14 like mud and tears that flowed in childhood days. The speaker compares a...

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...k I can transition into a more mature person. I experienced a happier childhood than Sexton, so I admire my former dependence and joyful memories; however, she wishes to be as a child and have her responsibility taken off of her shoulders. Growing out of childhood is required, but not forgetting it.

Children take life for granted and wish their time away for adulthood. For instance, several children's games mimic adult life and fool children into believing a career as an adult is all the fun they imagined it would be. They spend numerous hours walking with tiny steps in the adult world wanting to mature into it. Later in life, those children have grown into adults and now look back with envy while new children are coddled. Most adults will always look back on their youth and wish it had passed more slowly. They may wish they never had to become [the big people].

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