Singapore By Mary Oliver

As humans, it is not difficult for us to judge others by their appearance or by their actions, and sometimes this can lead us to believe that we are superior to other individuals. Oftentimes, one has to be placed in a humbling situation in order to overcome this way of thinking. In humbling circumstances, people often are able to see others from a different perspective regardless of what they had thought or believed prior to that occurrence. The speaker in Mary Oliver's “Singapore,” has this type of eye-opening experience. In reading this poem, a superficial reader might at first be puzzled by the statement "a darkness was ripped from my eyes," but a closer reading of the poem helps us see that the speaker, placed a humbling situation, has …show more content…
The speaker initially describes herself as eminently displeased, stating that “disgust argued in [her] stomach.” At this point in the poem, the speaker is only thinking of herself and the uncomfortableness the situation creates for her; she is not considering that the woman might be required to complete this task and that she may not have any choice but to wash the ashtrays in the restroom. In an effort to avoid confrontation with the woman, the speaker resorts to rummaging around in her pocket to find her ticket because she is embarrassed by the woman and by how she was working. She is also troubled by the fact that she is coming in contact with someone of much lower social class than …show more content…
The speaker claims that she does not “doubt for a moment that [the woman] loves her life.” She is sees this in the woman because, even though her work is not pleasant, she still is able to find the strength to display kindness and to exchange smiles with someone that presumably has a better quality of life and is much wealthier than herself. The speaker realizes that the woman’s “smile is just for her [the speaker’s] sake, and in noticing this, the speaker is able come to the conclusion that life truly is beautiful, and that the world is more than “pain and logic.” The speaker understands there is a “light that can shine out of life,” a realization stemming from simply watching the woman work. In other words, the speaker is ridded of the “darkness” that causes her to think pessimistically and judge