No matter the circumstances, the white mentality will always surface. This idea is is explore in Sharon Olds' poem “On the Subway.” In this poem, a character describes her inner thoughts upon meeting a young black man. She exposes the reality of the conditions a young black man faces and the prejudice that renders them powerless against their own ethics and morals. The author uses diction, syntax, and point of view to convey the protagonist's inner thoughts and their reliability. This poem's diction direct the reader to the meanings behind the thoughts of the protagonist. As the poem begins, the protagonist distinguishes herself from the “young man.”She then characterizes his feet as “huge” making the reader suspect something unusual about
