My parents kept me from children who were rough

Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes

Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street

And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.

I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron

Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms

I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys

Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.

They were lithe they sprang out behind hedges

Like dogs to bark at my world. They threw mud

While I looked the other way, pretending to smile.

I longed to forgive them but they never smiled.

Summary

The persona remembers his childhood as one where his parents kept him from children who were ‘rough’ and who were outside of his social status. His parents hope to protect him from the ridicule and persecution of these children. This is shown throughout the poem as true. But, in keeping him from these children, his parents greatly restrict his freedom. The little boy becomes jealous of the freedom that these rough children possess.

The title of the poem is interesting as the parents are only mentioned once in the poem. Yet, the persona gives great details of the bullying that he faces as a child. One could say that he blames his parents for his lack of freedom and him being the target of the children’s abuse as well as he also seems to appreciate their protection. The final thoughts of the persona would suggest that he eventually believes that his parents are correct in shielding him from the harsh and cruel nature of the children. The children play in the street and climb cliffs and swim in rivers with no constraint and this proves that they had a sense of freedom. The contrast in the parenting styles is clear as one could say that the freedom that these children have stemmed from the lack of parental control or guidance. The persona fears the children and their abrasive nature, their abusive words and overwhelming strength. Despite his fears, the persona admires their strength as it surpasses his strength. Nonetheless, the children tease the persona, and he is deeply troubled by their endless torment and abuse. He pretends to smile, hoping to inspire some form of peace or friendship but the children disregard this. The persona always longed to forgive them for their attitude towards him, but he is not given the chance as the children do not return this desire for peace and harmony.

The division between the children and the persona stems from social class barriers. The children are of a lower socio-economic status. They mock the persona because they may be jealous of his status and the privileges that come with the persona’s status. Ironically, the persona is also jealous of the children because they live a life that allows them to roam free.

Mood

Reflective

Themes:

Childhood experience,

Parental influence and

Social discrimination and segregation

Economic prejudice.

Analysis

“My parents kept me from children who were rough”

The persona starts with the accusation that his parents restrained him from being near the ‘children who were rough’ as a means of protecting him from being teased and mocked. The contrast between the children and the persona is clear as the children are rough while the persona is not as rough as these children. The word ‘kept’ hints at the childish resentment the persona as he wants the same experience as the children.

“Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes/ Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street/ And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.”

The rough children are said to throw ‘words like stones’ is a simile that is intended to give the reader insights into the character and the behaviour of the children. The persona compares their words to that of the destructive act of throwing stones. Therefore, their words are used with the intention to harm the persona emotionally in the same way stones are thrown with the aim of causing physical destruction. The children’s clothes are torn, and this shows that they are less fortunate than the persona. But this disparity in their economic status does not stop the children from exploring their youth and playing without restraints. They run in the street, climb cliffs and swim in streams; but the persona could not do any of these things because his parents wanted to keep him ‘safe.’ He envies the children and wish he could enjoy these activities. The poet uses the alliteration ‘climbed cliffs’ to show the agility of the children and gives the view that their playful encounters with nature are animalistic and primitive. Their thighs are said to show ‘through rags,’ rags which is symbolic of their poverty.

“I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron/ Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms”

The hyperbole that is used in these lines indicates that the persona is sharing the magnitude of his fears. Tigers

are able rip a human limb from limb with sheer animalistic instinct and power, but still, he fears their muscles. In addition, the simile that the persona uses compares their muscles to the unbending strength of iron. Here, he conveys a very exaggerated fear along with a possible amount of admiration of their strength. Their low socio-economic status would allow them to perform more manual labour and explore more, and thereby, strengthen their physical prowess. This would give the children greater strength over the persona. Additionally, the reader sees the harassment that the persona faces as he is pinned to the ground during some sort of fight. He becomes the victim of this torment, and it is possibly because of how different he is from them. His superior social status is a likely cause, along with his speech defect (lisp).

“I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys/

Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.”

The persona notes that he feared their ‘salt coarse pointing.’ This is a metaphor that is used to directly compare their pointing to the coarseness of salt. “Coarse” adds to the earlier description of the children and their rough nature. It also solidifies the contempt of the boys. The persona feels their mockery to be coarse and harsh, inflicting a near-physical abrasion that goes beyond any friendly nature. By saying ‘salt coarse’, the persona alludes to the common phrase of rubbing salt in a wound which suggests that the there is a continuation of the physical and emotional pain that the boys’ actions cause for the persona. The boys copy his lisp behind him on the road, showing that his speech impediment is a point which they use to mock him.

“They were lithe they sprang out behind hedges/ Like dogs to bark at my world. They threw mud/ While I looked the other way, pretending to smile.”

The persona continues to describe their relentless harassment that he faces at the hands of the boys. They are lithe and agile, and he is not. Using simile, he compares them to dogs, “springing out behind hedges like dogs to bark at my world.” Dogs bark to threaten intruders or those they think do not belong. Like animals, the children jump out at him and threaten him and his highly privileged world. Throughout their mud-throwing he would pretend to smile,

as though unperturbed by this torment. He hopes to create some form of friendliness with his smile, but he does not achieve such goals.

“I longed to forgive them but they never smiled.”

Even though the persona wants to forgive the boys for the harsh treatment they inflict on him, they never tried to share this sentiment. The difference in their social classes causes the children to envy his fortune while he envies their freedom. This adds to the barriers of jealousy and envy which continue throughout the poem.

Literary Devices

Alliteration
Alliteration is shown in the repetition of consonant sounds “c”: “And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams”.

Imagery

Imagery allows the reader to perceive things that involve the use of the five senses. “Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes”; “Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms” and “Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street.”

Enjambment

Enjambment is the thought or clause that does not end at the end of a line but goes into the other line.

“Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street

And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.”

Hyperbole

Hyperbole reflects the exaggerated statement for emphasis.

“I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron.”

Simile

Simile compares one thing to another so that the meaning is clear.

“I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron”. He compares their muscles with iron.

Themes

Appearance versus reality

Childhood

Parental Love

Bullying

Forgiveness

Tone

Reflective

Mood

Reflective