The Circle of Memory in My Papa's Waltz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Circle of Memory in My Papas Waltz - Essay ExampleReaders instantaneously begin to wonder, does the trip the light fantastic dance ignites a painful computer storage for the vocalizer or happy depot? Does the waltz dance bring out the generates clumsiness and a moment of sportsman with the speaker, or does it bring out issues of alcoholism and child ab practise? Therefore, waltz becomes the center of the themes that it portrays while at the same time, becoming the center of contr everywheresy. One way, that depicts the use of waltz to complicate the father-son relationship, is through the argument that the speaker remembers his fathers bouts of drunken behavior and how they affected him as a child. Another side of argument views that the waltz depicts the cognise between the father and son, since the former, despite his heavy drinking after a days secure work, got time to spend and dance with his son. However, in the first argument, the speaker remembers how his father s lapped him around due to his exhilarate state, excessively, that he became violent after drinking too much. Memory plays a vital role in the verse form as the speaker is a grown man who remembers his childhood experiences. The subjective lens of memory reveals that the speaker perceives his fathers waltz differently now than he did as a child. The speaker also expresses how he felt confused by his fathers behavior as a child. As a child, the speaker views his fathers power as actually being a display of emotion and affection. He explains how his childhood erudition of his father allowed him to confuse his fathers violence with dancing. The waltz symbolizes how the speaker views his fathers behavior differently as an adult as he acknowledges how his father had a strange, troubling way of expressing his love and affection. The circle of memory is inseparable from the speakers view of the waltz as a strange, tenuous bond he had with his father. This represents confusion, not only t o the reader, but also to the speaker. Since the poem is a memory of when he was young, the waltz seems to represent something different from when the speaker was young. As stated earlier, the use of waltz in the poem is purposely used to complicate the relationship between the father and the speaker. This also implies that the speaker is also confused by the meaning of the dance. His view about the dance then seems to shit changed now that he is richy grown. However still, confusion lingers on his memories. The waltz reveals that the speakers memory of his father changes over time, and hence that the beat of his fathers fist is part of the beat of the speakers memory. The fathers movements reveal that he is intoxicated as he is moving around the room aimlessly. Similarly, the speakers memory wanders in aimless circles in his attempt to decipher the full meaning of his fathers behavior. The speakers endeavor to find certainty regarding his fathers waltz reveals his desire for obje ctivity. The following lines reveal that he desires to be as prey about his view of his father in the same way that death is objective about life The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy wacky But I hung on like death Such waltzing was not easy (Roethke & Snodgrass 1-4). The speaker realizes that finding objectivity is an arduous task as his fathers ambiguous display of emotion leaves him confused. He comes to terms with how his perception of his father lacks the necessary objectivity of factual truth. The poem illustrates