rite of passage poetry analysis

Rite of Passage Sharon Olds As the guests arrive at my son's party they gather in the living room-- short men, men in first grade with smooth jaws and chins. 5 Hands in pockets, they stand around jostling, jockeying for place, small fights breaking out and calming. One says to another How old are you? Six. I'm seven. So? They eye each other, seeing themselves 10 tiny in the other's pupils. They clear their throats a lot, a room of small bankers, they fold their arms and frown. I could beat you up, a seven says to a six, the dark cake, round and heavy as a 15 turret, behind them on the table. My son, freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks, chest narrow as the balsa keel of a model boat, long hands cool and thin as the day they guided him 20 out of me, speaks up as a host for the sake of the group. We could easily kill a two-year-old, he says in his clear voice. The other men agree, they clear their throats 25 like Generals, they relax and get down to playing war, celebrating my son's life. kids are very serious and scrutinizing each other motherly tone “boys will be boys” older boys feel like they are powerful over younger boys imagery general - a “grown-up” job poem is quite dark because killing is mentioned very casually italics has the effect of not slowing down poem - read it at the same pace as the rest of the poem they don’t understand the concept of killing irony bankers - a “grown-up” job role models to the boys kids think that age matter, it’s important to them reminiscent of how men glorify war and violence the word choice makes us this that the kids are all trying to act like men when they realize they can all beat up a two-year-old, they stop being competitive because they feel superior the kid is trying to settle things down by finding equal ground, mediator don’t really understand that war brings death, instead they play it to celebrate and have fun superiority makes her son look like a innocent little boy but ironically, he is more mature than the other boys rite of passage

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Rite of Passage Poetry Analysis

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Rite of PassageSharon Olds

As the guests arrive at my son's party they gather in the living room-- short men, men in first grade with smooth jaws and chins.5 Hands in pockets, they stand around jostling, jockeying for place, small fights breaking out and calming. One says to another How old are you? Six. I'm seven. So? They eye each other, seeing themselves10 tiny in the other's pupils. They clear their throats a lot, a room of small bankers, they fold their arms and frown. I could beat you up, a seven says to a six, the dark cake, round and heavy as a15 turret, behind them on the table. My son, freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks, chest narrow as the balsa keel of a model boat, long hands cool and thin as the day they guided him20 out of me, speaks up as a host for the sake of the group. We could easily kill a two-year-old, he says in his clear voice. The other men agree, they clear their throats25 like Generals, they relax and get down to playing war, celebrating my son's life.

kids are very serious and scrutinizing each other

motherly tone“boys will be boys”

older boys feel like they are powerful over younger boys

imagery

general - a “grown-up” job

poem is quite dark because killing is mentioned very casually

italics has the effect of not slowing down poem - read it at the same pace as the rest of the poem

they don’t understand the concept of killing

irony

bankers - a “grown-up” job

role models to the boys

kids think that age matter, it’s important to them