Drunk as drunk Essay

Drunk as drunk This poem is about the lustful relationship between two people. The pair lay in the flowers under the night sky and kiss each other til’ what seems like months later. I think the couple depicted are in the early stages of their relationship. They spend all day with their bodies pressed against one another and kiss in the flowers. They are so consumed in each other that they neglect sleep, food, and water. I think it’s all a bit exaggerated but it is definitely depicting a young, passionate love. Neruda uses many similes in this poem for the effect of creating a pair of lust filled lovers. He likens them to â€Å"fish under a net of our kisses. † The two spend all of their time together, and can’t think of anything other than that. He also uses imagery, saying miour wet body wedged between my wet body and the strake of our boat that is made of flowers. † He uses imagery to depict two lovers lying on the grass, and pressed against each others’ bodies. He makes it seem like the lust (and love) between these people is wedged together, i. . inseparable. The tone of the poem is very loving and romantic. The narrator is one of the lovers, which makes you see their connection better. The use of similes, metaphors and tone in this poem show the strength of Neruda’s writing. He makes you â€Å"drunk as drunk on turpentine† from his writing. Girl. Themes The Danger of Female Sexuality Even though the daughter doesn’t seem to have yet reac hed adolescence, the mother worries that her current behavior, if continued, will lead to a life of promiscuity. The mother believes that a woman’s reputation or respectability determines the quality of her life in the community. Sexuality, therefore, must be carefully guarded and even concealed to maintain a respectable front. Consequently, the mother links many angential objects and tasks to the taboo topic of sexuality, such as squeezing bread before buying it, and much of her advice centers on how to uphold respectability. She scolds her daughter for the way she walks, the way she plays marbles, and how she relates to other people. The mother’s constant emphasis on this theme shows how much she wants her daughter to realize that she is â€Å"not a boy’ and that she needs to act in a way that will win her respect from the community. The Transformative Power of Domesticity The mother believes that domestic knowledge will not only save her daughter from a ife of promiscuity and ruin but will also empower her as the head of her household and a productive member of the community. She basically believes that there are only two types of women: the respectable kind and the â€Å"sluts. Undoubtedly for many Antiguan women, domestic knowledge leads to productivity, which in turn wins respect from family and society. Household work therefore brings power and even prestige to women in addition to keeping them busy and away from temptation. Readers recognize the reverence the mother has for the power of domesticity because of the numerous specific instructions she gives her daughter, such as how to ook pumpk in fritters, sweep, grow okra, buy bread, and wash clothes. For her, domesticity brings respectability; sewing up a dress hem thus becomes more than an community. Motifs The mother repeatedly emphasizes food throughout her lecture to reinforce her belief that happiness comes from domesticity. The acts†and art†of making pumpkin fritters, tea, bread pudding, doukona, and pepper pot thus take on greater meaning as elements that link women to their families, their households, and the greater community. In many ways, food will also be the mother’s greatest legacy as he passes old family recipes and culinary traditions down to her daughter and future generations of women. Interestingly, foods such as doukonaand pepper pot also act as anchors that squarely place the story in Antigua and the Caribbean. Mentioning these specific regional foods allows Kincaid to recreate a world that’s vivid and different from our own without ruining the storys structure with unnecessary descriptions. Cloth Cloth and its relationship to appearances and proper housekeeping reappear throughout the story to highlight the importance of respectability. The mother knows hat a person’s clothing reveals much about character and personality and that shabbiness implies laziness and poverty. Washing, sewing, and ironing allow women not only to project their status but also their productivity and self-worth. Neatness in appearance also corresponds to the community’s perception of a woman’s sexual respectability and morality. Organized, productive, well-groomed women appear competent and in control and consequently have much less chance of falling under suspicion of having had illicit relationships with men. The mother therefore stresses the importance of dress and appearance to save the daughter from a life of isrespect. Symbols Benna Antiguan folksongs, or benna, symbolize sexuality, a subject the mother fears her daughter already knows too much about. Historically, native Antiguans sangbenna to secretly spread scandalous rumors and gossip under the uncomprehending British people’s noses. Singing benna in Sunday school, therefore, represents not only disobedience but also sinful, forbidden knowledge that can’t be discussed openly in public, let alone in church. Even though the daughter may not consciously equate benna with sexuality as her mother does, her protestations nevertheless uggest she knows full well benna’s seductive power, mystique, and forbidden qualities.