My Papas Waltz Analysis

The relationship between the father and son in “My papas waltz” is one that some people in the world can relate to. The son in the poem goes to state, “the whiskey on your breath”, which is referring to the overwhelming smell of alcohol coming off his father. He is intoxicated; furthermore, the father seems quite abusive to the son, especially when he is under the influence (Roethke, 687). However, to the son, it is quite a normal act. Even though what the son is going through is a horrible thing, he has taken the situation and eased the pain and seriousness of the situation. The way he describes it as a “Waltz” is easing the seriousness of the abuse. The son probably has built up a sense of humor to suppress the pain that his father inflicts on him. The son and father do not have the best relationship, which is caused by the father’s abusive behavior. …show more content…
The son knows his father is underappreciated for all the effort he puts. The son even states that no matter the day or weather, his father is pushing on; for example, the son says, “Put his clothes on in the blue-black cold…”, “…ached from the labor…”, and “Labor in the weekday weather made banked like fire blaze” (Hayden, 677). The father is a man that is doing all of this for the betterment of his son. However, the last 0stanza’s tone seems to change towards the father. The son says, “speaking indifferently to him” (Hayden, 677). It is as though, he, himself, does not appreciate his father at times. The father is giving his all, and even though the son internally appreciates it, he still wishes for better. This is most likely the reason as to why he has an indifferent demeanor towards his