Throughout the poem, “The Obligation to Be Happy,” by Linda Pastan, she writes about the obligation to remain happy despite challenges. The first few lines say that happiness is harder than housework, love, and the rites of beauty. This form of “rites” means a religious or other solemn act or ceremony. These comparisons help illustrate to the readers the difficulty of always being happy. Next, Pastan states that despite the challenges you face, others still expect happiness from you. She does this by saying that the sun must rise each day, regardless of the clouds and rain, just as you must be happy regardless of the troubles you're facing. In the second stanza, this continues. Pastan states here that she attempts to be happy, even if she
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I try to hoist it on my narrow shoulders again” (15-16) showing the effort she puts into appearing happy on the outside, despite her internal emotions. Pastan then refers to Midas in the phrase “I stumble around the house, bump into things. Only Midas himself would understand” (18-21). The reference to Midas in this stanza refers to King Midas from Greek Mythology. According to Greek Mythology, Midas lived as a greedy king and everything he touched turned to gold. Lastly, Pastan compares happiness to “a knapsack heavy with gold coins” (17) to illustrate the obligation to be happy as a heavy burden and weight on her shoulders. The heavy weight and burden of the necessity to be happy weighs down on Pastan’s shoulders causing her to stagger and bump into things …show more content…
Overall, Pastan tries to convey that the obligation to always put on a happy face sometimes becomes impossible because of life’s obstacles. The author accomplishes this by showing the audience that emotions can become a burden and a weight people must carry on their shoulders, that despite blessings of love and health, happiness isn’t always an option. Pastan wants to show the audience that despite their best efforts to put on a smile, the downward tug on their mouth inevitably prevails.
Linda Pastan usually bases her writings off of domestic life, which would make sense in this poem selection. However, Pastan also often relates her writings to her childhood and the Jewish home she grew up in (Poetry). This poem showcases Jewish culture because, in the Jewish religion, happiness is considered a very important value, especially in the context of The Service of God. Jewish teachings stress the importance of joy and happiness. For these reasons biographical information obviously played an important role in the interpretation of this poem, however, reader-response theory plays an important role as
I try to hoist it on my narrow shoulders again” (15-16) showing the effort she puts into appearing happy on the outside, despite her internal emotions. Pastan then refers to Midas in the phrase “I stumble around the house, bump into things. Only Midas himself would understand” (18-21). The reference to Midas in this stanza refers to King Midas from Greek Mythology. According to Greek Mythology, Midas lived as a greedy king and everything he touched turned to gold. Lastly, Pastan compares happiness to “a knapsack heavy with gold coins” (17) to illustrate the obligation to be happy as a heavy burden and weight on her shoulders. The heavy weight and burden of the necessity to be happy weighs down on Pastan’s shoulders causing her to stagger and bump into things …show more content…
Overall, Pastan tries to convey that the obligation to always put on a happy face sometimes becomes impossible because of life’s obstacles. The author accomplishes this by showing the audience that emotions can become a burden and a weight people must carry on their shoulders, that despite blessings of love and health, happiness isn’t always an option. Pastan wants to show the audience that despite their best efforts to put on a smile, the downward tug on their mouth inevitably prevails.
Linda Pastan usually bases her writings off of domestic life, which would make sense in this poem selection. However, Pastan also often relates her writings to her childhood and the Jewish home she grew up in (Poetry). This poem showcases Jewish culture because, in the Jewish religion, happiness is considered a very important value, especially in the context of The Service of God. Jewish teachings stress the importance of joy and happiness. For these reasons biographical information obviously played an important role in the interpretation of this poem, however, reader-response theory plays an important role as