“On the Subway,” by Sharon Olds tells the experience of a white woman seated on a subway with a black man. As they face each other, the narrator contrasts their appearances which leads her to specific conclusions. “He is wearing / red, like the inside of the body / exposed. I am wearing dark fur, the / whole skin of an animal taken and / used.” The imagery used in this comparison describes vividly the difference between the two, just based on their appearance. “The boy,” as she calls him, looks raw, like the inside of a body. She, on the other hand is covered in the fur taken from that body. In other words, he is like an animal to her, and she is a person who lives comfortably in disregard of the animals struggle. Her tone is as if she ss
