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Compare And Contrast Imagery In Those Winter Sundays

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Fathers are often the parent who kids, especially sons, look up to and use as an inspiration. They inspire them to one day become successful in life and be able to provide for a family of their own, similar to how they, the fathers, did. This is apparent in both, the poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and the image of a baby holding on to his father's middle finger by Alex Taylor. The writer and photographer both portray the father and son relationship as one that requires a great deal of sacrifice by the father in order for their sons to lead a better life, whether this is in the form of education or even just a warm home to wake up in. However, they are able to get these points across in different ways, whether it is through the …show more content…

One similarity that the image and the poem bear in common is featuring cracked, dirty hands as the particular image that goes through the audience's mind while viewing these works of art. In “Those Winter Sundays”, Hayden uses imagery to get this image into the reader's mind with the line “cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather.” (3-4) If the author just ended the line with “cracked hands”, the reason behind the cracked hands could have been up for debate, whether it be old age, dryness, or labour by hand. However, by recounting the cause of the cracked hands, the reader is able to conjure up a more vivid image of what the hands must look like and understand why they look like they do. It was also crucial that the author mentioned this towards the beginning of the poem. If it were to be stated towards the end of the poem that the father had cracked hands, it …show more content…

In the image, Taylor was able to capture the perfect moment of the baby's hand clinging to the dad’s middle finger. Through the use of composition, the artist is able to depict the baby as literally leaning on his father, but it can also be inferred the baby will symbolically lean on his father for the rest of his life. Whether it be getting all sorts of advice from his father, learning how to play sports, or even financial support, one way or another the kid will be leaning on his father until he is competent to support himself and become his own man. This is also shown in “Those Winter Sundays”, by how the narrator's father “had driven out the cold and polished [his son’s] good shoes.” (11-12) The narrator stated how he would speak “indifferently” to his father and fear the “chronic angers of that house” (9) even though he would do all these thoughtful things for him. The son is leaning on his father for support, even though at the time he didn’t realize all the good his father was doing for him, and he only looked at the negative. This was shown through the use of anaphora towards the end of the poem when the narrator said “What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?” (13-14) It is clear that the narrator now regrets treating his father like that and wishes he could go back and change

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