Comparing Seamus Heaney And Li-Young Lee

Fathers play different roles in every child's life. Some teach directly, while others teach by example. Those who teach by example are likely to make a strong impact on the lives of their children by indirectly instilling values and morals in them. As the father lives his life the son watches closely and picks up the mannerisms of his father. Seamus Heaney and Li-Young Lee both wrote about their relationships with their fathers, and how their fathers' teachings both by example and action made a positive impact on their adulthood. Born to a family of hard working farmers, Seamus Heaney was the pioneer of his traditional Irish family. In stark contrast to his father and grandfather, Seamus Heaney was a poet. In “Digging” Seamus Heaney depicts a scenario of himself writing near a …show more content…
Captivating the young boy, Lee’s father uses a strong, comforting voice described as “still, a well/ of dark water, a prayer (Lee line 7-9). The description of Lee’s father’s voice gives the poem a deep, caring tone. As the speaker, Li-Young Lee, is mesmerized by the story, his father yanks the splinter out of his son’s hand and gives the splinter to him. The splinter that is given to Lee symbolizes the gift he has been given by his father. “Had you followed that boy/ you would have arrived here/ where I bend over my wife’s right hand” (Lee lines 18-20). Years pass, and the speaker has now changed his role from the one with the splinter to the one being looked upon to get it out. Using the gift given to him by his father, Lee re-gives the gift to his wife by using the same tactic as his father did to pull the splinter out of her hand. That same loving tone seen in the beginning of the poem from Lee’s father is shown through Lee. Not only did his father give Lee the gift of how to remove a splinter, Lee’s father taught him how to care and