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Internal Conflict In The Poem Bluebird By Harper Lee

Decent Essays

In the poem “Bluebird” Bukowski shows that there is an internal conflict inside of him. This internal conflict is shown not to be one of emotion or problems from a mistake he made in his life, but a problem of trying to hide your true self and fit in with society. This poem’s uses of irony and symbols present us with the theme that it is hard to always hide that you do not fit in with the tendencies other people have placed on you.
The main use of irony in this poem is the idea of being “tough”. In the poem he states that he is too tough for this bluebird that symbolizes sadness and emotion, is constantly trying to make others aware of it. Bukowski then writes,” but I pour whiskey on him and inhale/ cigarette smoke”, drinking and smoking all relate to weakness in a person. What he does to keep the bluebird at bay and gives him a reason to say he is too tough is actually affecting him so much, it is making him become dependent on things that make him weaker. …show more content…

The end of the poem when he states,” it’s nice enough to/ make a man/ weep, but I don’t/ weep, do/ you?”, to show that even when he can express his emotion to himself, it is still treated as something prohibited. Although the speaker keeps the bird lock from other people,” I only let him out/ at night sometimes/ when everybody is asleep”, to show he still clings to his sadness and enjoys being able to show it even though he is alone. Instead a cage his heart is used to symbolize a safe where he can keep the bird locked away from becoming lost or destroyed. When he says,” you want to blow my book sales in /Europe? ”, at the time a book written by a man who showed emotion would have had people view him differently. If a male had written a work and did not fit their conventional views then is would have hurt his

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