My Papas Waltz And Photograph Of My Father - 1460 Words

A strong bond between a father and son is critical for a healthy relationship. In almost every culture there is a strong emphasis on father-son relationships. Growing up every boy admires his father and aspires to be just like him, hence the phrase â€Å"Like father, like son.† This puts a significant amount of pressure on the father, forcing him to be a good role model for his son. However, many fathers fail to be a positive role model for their sons which can skew their perception of an ideal father figure. In the poems â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† written by Theodore Roethke and â€Å"Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-second Year† written by Raymond Carver the theme of a father-son relationship is central to both poems. These two poems are both similar†¦show more content†¦Of course there is no wrong interpretation of this poem however it leans more toward a positive tone about a father-son relationship that is full of love. The second poem is Ra ymond Carver’s â€Å"Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-second Year.† This Poem is about a son, who is all grown up, that has returned to his childhood home where he has discovered a picture of his father. Upon discovering this picture the narrator is reminded of his relationship with his father when he was young. This poem is broken down into three stanzas. In the first stanza and the first half of the second stanza the narrator is describing his father appearance. Carver writes, â€Å"I study my father s embarrassed young man s face / Sheepish grin, he holds in one hand a string / of spiny yellow perch, in the other / a bottle of Carlsbad Beer (lines 1-5). â€Å"In jeans and denim shirt, he leans / against the front fender of a 1934 Ford† (lines 6-7). The narrator tells us that his father dressed this way in order to appear as more â€Å"manly† and as a better father figure. He says, â€Å"He would like to pose bluff and hearty for his posterity, / Wear his old hat cocked over his ear. / All his life my father wanted to be bold. / But the eyes give him away, and the hands / hat limply offer the string of dead perch† (lines 8-12). It is at the end