Comparing Zimmer In Grade School 'And Those Winter Sundays'
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Childhood Memories
Our childhood memories always remain with us. These memories can be either pleasant or distressing. For certain reason unpleasant childhood memories are easier to recall than the pleasant ones. In both poems “Zimmer in Grade School”, by Paul Zimmer and “Those Winter Sundays”, by Robert Hayden, speakers express their childhood memories. The speaker in “Zimmer in Grade School”, addresses the unpleasant memories of his grade school. While the speaker in “Those Winter Sundays”, expresses remorse, and repentance towards his hard-working father who was not appreciated enough during his childhood. Even though both poems are different, I have been through similar situations, and can entirely relate to the emotions described in these…show more content… I attracted new bullies who called me names such as dumbo, stupid, failure etc. These new bullies were even crueler than my former classmates. The boys in particular were cruel and evil, who tore my brand new books apart. Again, I was doing poorly in my classes. My parent’s reaction to my failure was similar to the one described by Zimmer when he states, “My parents wrang their lovely hands” (13). Instead of being supportive, my mother punished me, and would beat me up. In the last portion of the poem, Zimmer mentions hiding behind a mask to shield him from the embarrassment he caused for himself. Just like Zimmer, I used to hide, and sit all the way in the back. In spite of hiding, everybody knew who I was, a lonely girl who had failed herself and her parents. The girl who could have done well in grade school, if she was given a chance. Oh, how I wish this was a horrifying nightmare, however this is my…show more content… I can relate myself to the poem “Those Winter Sundays” as it demonstrates a relationship a child shares with his father. As a child, the speaker clearly does not realize what his father has done for him until his adulthood. As an adult, the speaker voices guilt and repentance of not appreciating his father. As a child, I always believed it was my parent’s obligation to provide me with everything and anything I wanted. While in India, my father worked as a tractor exporter, who traveled to different cities to trade them. It was a tough job as he rode tractors in scorching Indian heat waves and harsh winters. Moreover, my father was not making enough money through his job. Due to financial issues, my father emotionally detached from us and began drinking. The speaker in the poem speaks of “fearing the chronic angers of that house” (9). After my father’s drinking habits, our house environment grew toxic. Conflicts arose between my parents and they would verbally combat each other. I grew distant from my father as our ideas and personality clashed one another. The dad who once supported me became an alcoholic. It was not until now, I came to understand what my dad went through in those days. My father alcoholism is to be blamed on the fear that his children would be kicked out of private school if he couldn’t pay the fees on