Preview

Analysis of Margaret Atwood's "Siren Song"

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1625 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis of Margaret Atwood's "Siren Song"
Mak Wing Lam, Amber
ENGE 1320
Dr. Suzanne Wong
27 February 2015
The Cage-Bound Bird
In Greek mythology, there are half-bird half-woman creatures called Sirens who use their wonderful singing voice to lure sailors to jump into the sea and drown. “Siren Song”, a poem by Margaret Atwood, is a retelling of the classic Greek tale from the Sirens’ perspective. In the poem, one of the Sirens complains to the reader about her situation. She is assigned by gods to stay on a secluded island along with two other Sirens, with nothing to do but obey her duty of enchanting sailors over and over again. Deprived of liberty to break free from this restraining position, the Siren expresses her exasperation and frustration, and requests help from the reader. However, as the poem unfolds, her cry for help turns out to also be a trick to lure unassuming men to her rescue. At the end of the day, she is unable to leave her designated role. Through the depiction of a desperate Siren, the writer is hinting at the difficulties faced by women in real life as well. Women are constrained by plenty of societal expectations and roles imposed upon them, just like the Sirens. For instance, in the workplace, it is less common and expected for women to take on advanced or managerial positions; in the household, they are the housekeeper and caregiver; in a romantic relationship, they are expected to be submissive and visually pleasant, etc. It can be difficult and frustrating to break free from these expectations. The poem is about the distress a woman experiences about being stuck in a designated role and trying to break free. This distress is caused by the reluctance of having to give up the mental comfort provided by following her role, the fear of betraying her group, and the lack of ability and means to break free from her designated role. Firstly, although part of the speaker wants to be liberated from her fixed role, she is reluctant to abandon the sense of comfort and fulfillment she feels

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Men have been having problems with women for centuries. Some women yell, some of them are moody, and some lure in men with their singing so that they can be killed. The Sirens in the Odyssey and in O Brother, Where Art Thou? are very similar in the way that they are portrayed. While they do have some differences (they can’t just be the exact same thing), they are more or less the same. This paper should hopefully explain how they are different and similar.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In ancient Greece, women were virtually invisible to those outside the home and their reputation was best when there was “the least possible talk about you among men, whether in praise or blame” (Thucydides 1.45.2). There was a Greek Proverb that said “a woman knew two great moments of her life: her marriage and her death” (Powell, 40). In ancient Greek culture, women were normally seen as objects for marriage and childbearing and in literature were often depicted with an uncontrollable sexual appetite causing them to lie and scheme. The Pandora myth affirms the gender dynamics of ancient Greek culture. This is shown by the way Hesiod describes Pandora, his attitude toward women, and his opinion about women’s roles and work.…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Show how a pairing of two texts this year gave you an understanding of how authors can present similar ideas in different ways.…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ms. Atwood talks about the sirens from a totally different viewpoint. You would know that "Siren Song" was written by a woman from the tone of the poem. She could be saying that men are easily led by their desires, but their curiosity is an even more powerful tool to be used by a crafty…

    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In novels and play writes such as Barbara Kingsolver’s, The Poisonwood Bible and Euripides, Medea, the theme Role of women arises: women in many societies are subjugated and displayed as the inferior gender, when they are truly the strongest; they carry all the pain and suffering of society, the wars and the deaths; thus they are the pedestal that keeps everyone up. In order to reveal theme Kingsolver and Euripides make use of literary devices such as symbolism, imagery and diction. Using all three literary devices Kingsolver reveals that women such as Orleana believe that they are just rag dolls that are pulled, pushed and just there, even so realize how strong they really are; that if it was not for them their children would not be able to live. Medea on the other hand represents all the pains and struggles of women and is attempting to inform all women that they have the power and must stand up for themselves.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In addition to the influence of the children’s perspective on the reader’s interpretation of the adults’ roles in the novel, the reader also makes inferences and conclusions about the adults based on their actions. Consider the various failures of the adult characters in this novel: moral failures, the failure to parent well, and the failure to negotiate life successfully, to name just a few. You may choose to analyze only one character and his or her failures, or write a comparative analysis of several characters, but in any case, build an essay in which you posit reasons for the failures of adults to protect children and to offer hope to the next…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Margaret Atwood's portrayal of the sirens is that they are irresistible and liars. Homer's portrayal of the sirens is that they are evil, seductive creatures.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Picture having a clean, smooth routine 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No problems, no fussing, everything always going as planned and always at the scheduled time. Then one person comes between that schedule to turn everything into chaos and madness. A man, who thinks is taking the easy way out, is put in the middle of the routine, arguing, screaming, changing rules, basically causing a small rebellion. He curses, gambles, fights, argues, is destructive and tries to talk his way through and out of everything. That man is named McMurphy, Randall Patrick McMurphy. Sent to an Oregon State mental ward to avoid 30 days of imprisonment on a work farm. Imagine a man like McMurphy and ask yourself how he would ever be considered a Christ-like character.…

    • 1535 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In a fantasized world like The Odyssey, women can threaten the power of the patriarchy, but in a modernized world like The Catcher in the Rye, women cannot threaten men because they do not hold tangible power. In The Odyssey, women like Helen, have the capability and desire to gain power; Helen exemplifies how women can manipulate men through the use sexulaity to do anything desire, even start a war. Her power over these men not only causes death and destruction, but it also causes endless nights of men missing their wives and just longing for a woman. Unlike The Odyssey, The Catcher in the Rye presents models of women who appear subordinate to men. The average woman in the 1940’s cleans the house, cares for the children, and cooks the dinner. Her life is in the home, leaving her unable to gain power from men. The two situations contrast,…

    • 2216 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since what seems like the beginning of human civilization, the role of the female has varied from society to society. This role is symbolically represented in The Odyssey by Homer and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, two of the most famous works of literature, and yet two of the most different. In each book, the author uses a rich variety of symbolism to express themes he finds necessary to enrich the story. In both books, feminine figures are used as symbolism to represent the role of the female in the society of the author.…

    • 930 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Margaret Atwood's "Siren Song" is a lyric that consists of nine three-lined stanzas that neither possess any recognizable rhyme scheme nor rhythm. The speaker of this poem is a mythical creature, a Siren, who addresses us, the audience, when she speaks of the victims whom she lured through the enticing song she sings. The overall tone of this poem is sarcastic and quite sinister.…

    • 646 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    From what I have read in chapters nine and ten in the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, there is definite difference between how black man is treated in the south versus in a northern city like Chicago. First, a black man in the south could be treaty very badly. For example, if a black man does not obey a white man they would get burned or get tar thrown on them with chicken feathers. Next, black men could have a white man's job in the northern city. The reader sees this when Uncle Hammer has more money than the Logans and he has the same car as the Wallaces. Last, it is more strict in the south than it is in the north. This is evident when Uncle Hammer waved to the Wallaces and Mary Logan got scared because they were…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Caged Bird Essay

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Prose exposes numerous straw man arguments with To Kill a Mockingbird. Prose critiques the novel in a confident, yet slightly harsh manner. She believes that the novel could’ve been different if there was just a bit more detail. Prose interprets To Kill a Mockingbird in a way that focuses on prejudice and racism.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ernest Hemingway’s, story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Susan Glaspell’s play “Trifles,” and Adrienne Rich’s poem “Living in Sin” are three different types of literature which deal with the relationship between a man and a woman. Although the circumstances and the people are very dissimilar from each other, they are alike in that each depicts the story of common everyday people through whom they convey their shared themes. Each of these writers is challenging socially defined gender roles as they discuss the relationship between men and women and the point that at some point most women will reach a crossroad where they are forced to make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives.…

    • 2141 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I’ll tell you what real love is … I’ll give you a good example. And then you can draw your own conclusions” (Carver 144). Addressing the constant fear of existential nothingness, Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” and Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” explore how the actions of characters, however useless they may appear to be, can impact happiness. Both stories begin at a point of ignorance, and develop their messages as the characters have to face the real but distressing futility in life. Though the endless slog of life may be ultimately pointless, one’s outlook can see past this and be happy. It may still be a pointless life, however it is a happy one and that is all that is within our control.…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics