Figurative Language In The School Children By Louise Gluck

In the poem “The School Children” by Louise Gluck, the author utilizes figurative language to reveal that it is human nature that an innate fear of the unknown can motivate one to seek a sense of control in one’s life. The fear of the unknown can keep one from progressing, so it comes as no surprise that one would seek control in order to gain insight as to how future events will unfold.
In the first stanza, the speaker states, “And all morning the mothers have labored / to gather the late apples, red and gold, / like words of another language” (Gluck). Here, the author utilizes a simile to compare the red and gold apples to “words of another language.” By employing this comparison, the author suggests that the mothers put intense time into …show more content…
Without a common language, it is extremely difficult to simply hold a conversation with another person. By emphasizing the purpose and the difficulty of learning a new language, the author reveals that the apples are being used to communicate or identify with someone distant and unreachable. Furthermore, the teachers are described as being “on the other shore waiting to receive these offerings” (Gluck). By claiming that the teachers are “on the other shore,” the author furthers the notion that the teachers are very separate and isolated from the mothers. As a child, parents play a key role in one’s life and are the primary caretakers up until that point. Sending a child off to school for the first time leaves parents in a sense of worry because they do not know how their children are being cared for. The mothers are picking these apples to use them as a means of communicating with the teachers who are now in charge of their children. By sending their children off to school, the mothers are stepping out of their realm of control because …show more content…
Here, the author utilizes a metaphor to compare the fruit, or apples, of a fruit tree to ammunition. Ammunition can be defined as the objects, such as bullets and shells, which are shot from weapons. Ammunition is majorly used in war as a means of defense, therefore comparing the apples to ammunition suggests that the mothers are using these apples as a means of protecting their children or possibly themselves. Using the apples as “ammunition” can be seen as an attempt to gain control of the situation by the mothers. Ammunition for weapons are used as a means of defense against a threat. Within this poem, the threat is not made clear or it is possible that the mothers are simply using the ammunition to protect from the unknown. When one does not know what to expect in life or in any situation, a feeling of fear arises. In order to get past that fear, one seeks control. The mothers are acting on their want for control by using the apples as “ammunition” to give them a sense of preparedness for any threat that arises. While the mothers cannot control what happens to their children at school, it is within their circle of control to prepare for possible