In the park- Gwen Harwood

In the park, is a sonnet which was written by Gwen Harwood. The sonnet explores the concept of sacrifice by demonstrating the relationship of two individuals, including a woman who is bound by her responsibilities of motherhood.
The perspective given about the concept is coming from two different individuals. The unidentified woman’s perspective is a reflection of her life, which is an emotional life journey. She is bound by her responsibilities as a mother, which stops her from pursuing her goals and reconnecting with the man she once loved. It is apparent that she puts on an act and does not genuinely want the role of a mother as she uses words such as “whine” and “bicker” and “tug”. The woman’s perspective on life and on the journey is also very bleak. It is perceived that she is having a very rough and unstable journey, as the narrator states her “clothes are out of date”
The man’s perspective, which is also unidentified has a different perspective and experiences a lighter, easier journey, being a man. The man represents all men, which raises questions about inequality between genders. From the man’s perspective, his life and his journey is laid out for him, like a neat path that he strolls through. In the poem, it is stated that the man has a “neat head” signifying that his life if together and that he is wealthy. It also signifies that he is not held down by the responsibilities of being a father.
The journey concept of sacrifice is represented throughout ‘in the park’ by the use of several techniques. One technique that is used is the use of clichés. The phrase “it’s so sweet to hear their chatter, watch them grow and thrive” is a cliché, this represents the concept of sacrifice as it shows that the mother is repeating these phrases as it is a “motherly” thing to say. Her gesture is not genuine and she is masking the blame she puts on her children from holding her from the life she wanted. It also shows that these phrases are something that is repeated on a regular basis, so it may not be how the mother in the poem feels about her situation with her children.
Another technique used to represent the concept of sacrifice is through the use of negative connotations. Through the use of several negative connotations, it is apparent that the woman did not want to embrace the roll of motherhood, as she did not genuinely feel as a mother figure towards her children. Some of the negative connotations used were “tug” and “drew aimless patterns in the dirt”. These show that she does not care for what her children did. Something that the children may have put effort into comes across as “aimless patterns” for the mother.
Finally, the last technique used to represent the concept of sacrifice is 3rd person narration. Through the use of this technique we can get an objective view of both the man and the woman’s separate and quite different journeys. This is useful to the reader as both perspectives can be seen in the sonnet and the two different paths and their outcomes.
All in all, the main concept journey of in the park was sacrifice and it was represented through two different perspectives, the man and the woman’s. The journey concept of sacrifice was also represented of several techniques, including clichés, negative connotations and through the use of 3rd person.