Cause And Effect In Auto Wreck Poem

In Shapiro's "Auto Wreck," the speaker questions the role of cause and effect in human experience as opposed to random chaos. In the poem, the speaker views an “accident” as situations that seem to occur without a concise cause and effect relationship. In life, we usually see a clear relationship between what happens in our lives. However, when that order eventuates in chaos, we tend become guilty of seeing ourselves as victims of these situations. Thus, despite the uncertainty of the horrors of being alive, no one is innocent because we are guilty of not preventing these “accidents” in life and taking action after these “accidents” occur.
First and foremost, we are guilty of not taking action to prevent “accidents” before they occur. In Shapiro's "Auto Wreck," the speaker states, “this” accident …show more content…
Soldiers in war die because another human being shoots them. Also, due to various causes, the end result is suicide. In both of these situations, we see a cause and effect relationship. Similarly, there is a cause and effect relationship in these “accidents.” This is because after an “auto wreck,” we become knowledgeable of the causes. However, what truly matters is the effect of what we do with what we learned from the causes. In the poem, the speaker along with the others in the accident decides to accept this “banal resolution.” Thus, the speaker and the bystanders are to blame for failing to be effective in order to prevent this disaster from reoccurring. For example, if the cause of the accident was intoxication, the effect of this cause would be for the speaker and the others to take action to ensure that others do not drink and drive. Thus, we are responsible for taking action after these “accidents” to prevent them from