Symbolism In Grace Butcher's In Search Of Grace

In elementary school, I was obsessed with poetry; or, what I considered to be poetry. Really, I was just obsessed with Shel Silverstein. At every visit to the school library, I would rush to the poetry section and look for the thick, white, plastic binding of any Silverstein collection. It didn’t matter if I’d already checked out the book three or four times already, as long as it was different than the one I had just replaced on the metal return cart. I didn’t really have a favorite collection. I liked Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. I liked that literature could be fun and funny, but also have meaning and sound beautiful. I was always asking my mother to explain the poetry to me and, even when I did not understand, I loved …show more content…
Later on, Jordan found Grace Butcher’s work again, and the poems had special meaning, symbolizing the stage of life in which she was. Butcher’s work, “What the Crow Does Is Not Singing,” influenced the way Jordan looked at herself and her world. Throughout the essay, Jordan quotes bits of the poem, relating them back to her present life, “Everywhere I look this afternoon, there is something crying for attention, some task I can’t address, some evidence of how far behind I am… But though I look out darkly, I will sing the morning myself” (Jordan 237). Although she did not fully understand the symbolism and meaning of Butcher’s work at first, the literature impressed on her conscious and became relevant and encouraging to her as she …show more content…
Silverstein’s “Masks” is a short poem that demonstrates the importance of being an individual and being transparent about who you are. Like many children, I often felt excluded and was occasionally picked on because of my preferences and attitudes. Although I never fully understood “Masks”, I remember loving the poem and feeling the importance of the words. “She had blue skin, and so did he. He kept it hid and so did she. They searched for blue their whole life through, then passed right by— and never knew.” (Silverstein 20). Now in college, I have found the fastest way to make friends is being true to who I am. I tried a while to say less, stay in the background, and keep a low profile. As soon as I began opening up to others and showing them who I was, I began connecting and making lasting relationships. Now as I read “Masks” as an adult, I find it eerily truthful and pertinent, just as Jordan felt when reading “What the Crow Does Is Not Singing.” Although the words are not as symbolic or interpretive in their meaning, I experienced a similar connection to the work and to my childhood through “Masks” and knew it had made an impression on my