The Farmer's Children Literary Analysis

Elizabeth Bishop uses many literary techniques to convey meaning in “The Farmer's Children”.“The Farmer’s Children” is about a hard working farmer, his wife, three daughters whose names were Lea Leola, Rosina, and Gracie Bell, and two sons named Cato, 11, and Emerson, 12 who live on a very large farm. The farm was so big that they hired a handyman named Judd to sleep there. However, Judd always went out to the town with the father to “sell parts of the land”. But they really went to go drinking. Thus, Cato and Emerson were forced by their stepmother to sleep at the old farm house and watch out for it. One cold December night, the boys froze to death, the father blamed Judd and fired him. Some literary techniques that Bishop uses include symbolism, …show more content…
The gloves being hid and the corn and the reaper show how negligence can lead to death as kids leave home without knowing what to do in case of a tragic emergency. When leaving the house, Cato and Emerson were hunting down their gloves. However, it was nowhere to be seen, and the stepmother forced them to go outside without their gloves. According to the story, “Cato couldn’t find his knitted gloves… ‘Ma! Lea Leola’s got my gloves. She’s hid them on me!’ … At the door Emerson said, ‘It’s cold, Ma.’ ‘Well, Judd’s got his blankets over there. Go on, go along and shut the door. You’re letting the cold in’” (Bishop 289). Bishop uses the quote to accentuate two major clues that could have been avoided. The stepmother’s negligence into favoring her daughters more than her STEPsons led to her believing her daughters. The stepmother didn’t listen to what Emerson and Cato had to say. Since Lea Leola started crying, she screamed at Emerson and Cato. Had Emerson and Cato got the gloves, the ending of the story would have been less tragic. The second clue was when she told Emerson to close the door. It shows the cold setting outside and how even when inside the house, the stepmother was getting cold. Another hint which shows Emerson and Cato’s fate was with the corn and the reaper. This part of the story foreshadows the death of Cato and Emerson by showing how it …show more content…
Bishop uses imagery to enhance our understanding of the story and to show how the many different shades of imagery depict what will happen in the near future. The color grey shows how contrasting the outside weather is and provides us with a hint leading to the parent’s negligence towards the boys causing their death. According to Bishop’s story, “Outside it was almost as bright as day. The macadam road looked very gray and rang under their feet, that immediately grew numb with cold…”(Bishop 289). The day being bright represents Emerson and Cato’s life filled with a happy future. However, the road symbolizes that the trail is very dull, sad, and cold. The path that Emerson and Cato are taking is not the right path they should be taking. In the end, this is conveyed to us since they die! The color grey also shows how the snowy road was harmful and cold to the boy's feet. To add on, the description of the kitchen (Pg 288) shows the house to be safe and comforting; a huge contrast to the winter weather on the outside. This relates back to the theme because if the parent’s had thought twice and realized how cold it was outside, Emerson and Cato would not have died. The color blue is also used to show the parent’s negligence towards Emerson and Cato.“The moon was behind them. Cato looked over his shoulder and saw how the tin roof of the farmhouse shone, bluish, and