Analysis of the Poem the Red Hat Essay

Rachel Hadas poem The Red Hat is told from the viewpoint of the parents of a novel boy who begins to walk to indoctrinate by himself. The poem reveals the actions and emotions of the parents who struggle with allowing their boy to become more independent. However, this poem is not simply a story of a boy starting to walk to school on his own. The underlying theme is about a boy leaving the protection and safety of his parents to enter the world by himself. In the middle of the scratch line stanza the lines, these parallel paths part interrupt the flow of the poem.Here, at Straus Park, the boy must really separate from his parents. When Hadas write, The watchers heart stretches, elastic in its savor and apprehension, toward him as we see him disappear, striding briskly, she introduces the reader to one of the most significant parts of the poem. His parents, the watchers, extend their elastic hearts to their son out of love and fear as well. They look back two weeks, remembering when they held their sons hand as they walked to school. The parents will not let their son go on alone until they feel satisfied that he can handle the responsibility. Even though the son proves his capability of walking to school, the parents salve worry. When they finally let their son continue on his own, they worry about the potential dangers in the world. The parents will always worry, because their boy can never be completely safe.The author uses lifelike description to allow the reader to develop a mental picture of what takes place. The boy walks up the east side of West End, while his parents follow merchantman on the west side. An understanding between the boy and his parents permits extended glances across the street, but not eye contact. This unsaid agreement allows the parents the probability to look over at their son to check on him, and it gives the boy a chance to occasionally look back and know that his parents are still there for him. The remaining lines of th e poem follow in a sequential AA, BB rhyming pattern. When taken literally, this poem is merely a tale of a young boy learning to walk to school on his own and his parents concern over letting him go. In order for parents to let their child go false into the world, they must be sure that their child will look both ways before he crosses the street, and that he does not talk to strangers.