Alkalay Gut Metaphors

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Alkalay-Gut reviewed and critiqued Plath’s poem “Metaphors.” This poem is about the character’s body that is described metaphorically as it grows based on the stages of pregnancy. Alkalay-Gut writes, “But to begin a poem with that line is to introduce the question of identity that may characterize the state of pregnancy.” (189) The poem starts with “I’m a riddle in nine syllables,” the character is having a baby, who is stated as a riddle, and there are nine months of pregnancy, which is stated as nine syllables. She also says, “Corresponding to the first month, the “riddle” of the first line refers not only to the uncertainty about identity, but also the outcome, the external body revealing nothing of its inevitable changes” (Alkalay-Gut…show more content…
“The “degeneration” of the metaphors parallels the degeneration of her self-image. By the end of this list she is not human, either to herself or to others” (Alkalay-Gut 189). The character is using the metaphors to illustrate her self while she’s having the baby in her belly. She feels her self-portrait is being reduced, as she doesn’t feel like a human to herself and to others. In the eighth line, Plath described the character eating green apples, and the green apples illustrates as the baby. As the last line says, “Boarded the train there’s no getting off.” The character is going to deliver the baby soon. Alkalay-Gut’s says that the longing to escape from the body is always stronger especially while delivering the baby (189). In the end, there is no other way except carry on until the baby is delivered. She writes, “The poem concludes with sheer helplessness” (Alkalay-Gut 189). The conclusion for the poem sounds as if there’s no escape for the character because she is powerless. Her identity has been changed to many objects such as elephant, house, yeast, stage, cow in calf, purse, and just the carrier of the…show more content…
Nester did some critique on Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. She demands the reader to consider Bailey as an important character in the story. She says, “It is Bailey whose goodness accrues throughout the story, that it may be Bailey, in fact whose goodness the grandmother affirms at its climax” (Nester 115-18). The grandmother is the main character of the story, but without Bailey she would not stand out as much. As her son, Bailey wants her to stay at home rather than coming along with them, the reason is because he never likes road trip and grandmother knew about this. Following Bobby Lee and Hiram to the woods, grandmother knows that it is going to be the last time she sees her son wearing the yellow shirt. According to Nancy, “The grandmother interrupts her efforts to make what many critics read as a spiritual connection to the Misfit to shout again “Bailey Boy!”” (115-18). The moment of realization happened when the grandmother extended to the man who wore the yellow shirt. The grandmother knows that her time is coming soon and she wants to stop the misfit. Yet, all of her efforts are useless and therefore she dies on the hand of the
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