Linda Pastan Essay

during their time in school? That uncomfortable feeling when getting a bad mark is the same emotion Linda Pastan portrays with her main character, a woman is both a mother and a housewife. Pastan’s character is not pleased with this grading system that her family has thrust upon her. Grades define her worth and as Pastan writes, she is disappointed and threatens to “quit” being a mother. In the poem “Marks” by Linda Pastan, the use of tone, metaphor, and imagery develops the universal theme of a woman’s pride in her household. The depressed or indifferent tone being used, helps shape the reader’s understanding of an unappreciated mother. As one reads the poem, the main character is basically stating her frustrations are absent of any real feelings. She reviews the grades her family has assigned her…

Madison Dunn English 133-22HY Stanford October 9, 2014 Poem Explication The poem “Ethics” by Linda Pastan is about the narrator focusing back on her ethics class and mainly on a question that was asked every year that would challenge the narrators thoughts, emotions, and point of view. The poem takes shape first from an old memory from school days of the author and is then bridged through images of frames and fire to the understanding acquired in the poet's older years. (Introduction 1) “If…

The Desirable A Many times women are seen as the caregiver of their families, and society admires a woman for this reason. A woman’s job can be complex, and most of the time society put even a greater burden on them. Society believes that a woman should be able to take care of her family’s responsibilities and chores. Women must take care of their families, and many times they have to do this alone without complaining. Women have a strong character, but sometimes are unable to express what…

The Power of Visual Aids Metaphor is a poetic device in which an implied comparison between two usually unrelated things. In Linda Pastan’s poem “Marks” for example, the speaker uses the metaphor of marks or grades of a student as a way that her family measures her performance as a wife/mom. Just like a teacher place value on the work of students. She writes, “My husband gives me an A for last night’s supper” (lines 1-2). The speaker’s constant usage of her marks throughout the entirety of…

Introduction to Literature 12th Edition” by Kelly J. Mays, you will find a poem written by Linda Pastan on page 838 titled “Marks”. This poem’s poetry genre is Dramatic. It is considered a Dramatic poem because it gives off a tone of the narrator explaining a situation rather than writing or telling a story. In this poem, Linda Pastan used metaphors as her literary device. The whole poem is one big metaphor because her family is using a grading system to rate her as a wife as well as a mother.…

Gender Ruling What are a woman’s duties? Do they involve being at home? Or can women be accepted in men dominated jobs? The answer is simple. We, as a society, tend to judge the occupation of people based on their genders. Many poems convey a different message or theme and some authors have written about issues that he or her faces or issues that we face as a whole. Gender roles has been a fairly widespread topic by authors in these poems and the authors try to portray the message of society…

“Marks” is a poem by Linda Pastan in the mid 1970s about a young wife and mother. It describes her treatment by her husband and children, ending with a dramatic statement that leaves the reader with multiple options for the outcome. The poem begins on a slightly happy note, a good grade she has received. Once we get into the second and third grades, we can easily see the decline of the happiness in the poem. As the poem progresses, the reader begins to realize that the persona of the poem is…

Several subjects are taboo in polite company, including the delicate topic of mental health. Both “Schizophrenia” by Jim Stevens and “Marks” by Linda Pastan address this topic within their poetry, albeit in drastically different manners. Reading these poems through only once can hide many of the traits that are shared. While “Schizophrenia” and Marks may greatly differ in terms of structure and point of view, they offer similar construction and insights. Structure is visually different in…

Every once in awhile, you get the opportunity to attend something special, emotional and lasting. Last week I attended the 19th Annual Music Master Awards/ Conference/Tribute Concert for The Everly Brothers. I will cherish and remember the conference but especially the concert forever. When I think about it today I have two distinct emotions, joy and a tear. At the conference we saw some very rare footage of The Everly Brothers, film clips from Germany and England not seen by my many until…

The song Pretty Hurts, written by Sia Furler and performed by Beyonce Knowles in a video directed by Melina Matsoukas has been viewed more than 203 million times on YouTube. At first glance the lyrics and storyline of the video, are moving and even at some points heartbreaking. The setting of a beauty pageant shows some of the darker aspects of girls trying to fit into societal beauty standards, which is all too relatable for far too many people. It might not be until your second or third…