Interpretation of My Grandfather's Tools
Cynthia Livengood-Fair
Professor Rob Harrill
English 101
6 November 2013
Interpretation of “My Grandfather's Tools” by Jim Daniels
This poem brings memories of the smell of fresh sawed wood and learning to drive nails when I was five. Daniels tells of his grandfather's life. A man who worked a lifetime doing what he loves. This is a sad tale not only of his grandfather's life and love of his work. It is also the even sadder story of the decline of the craftsman's trade that was once the backbone of American Industry. It is a tale of the disappearance of the pride that we American's once took in the Craftsman’s trade skills. The passing of the innovations, inventions and insights that once fueled our nation to greatness.
He is the:
Lifetime tinkerer, fixer upper always with his shiny tools in his basement, his workbench scarred wood blessed with oil an altar to patience and a steady hand. (1-5)
In these lines you believe that he revers his work and his tools. It is his passion, to build and repair. You can almost feel his reverence for this “altar... blessed with oil”(4). This feels like more than a metaphor describing his workbench.
My grandfather, the unpaid Mr. Fixit for the church across the street
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
My grandfather, no true believer hedges bets with his tools. (6-7, 9-10)
He believes in his gift and shares it unstintingly, where and when he can, for little or no payment. The work itself is enough. It is a skill that he is happy to share. Hedging his bets, since he is not a particularly pious man. He does what he loves for the church. His work is how he shows his faith and thanks for this gift he has been given.
He worked for Packard nearly fifty years, all his life his joy that feel of tool in hand— his knife, his gun, his fistful of bills— (11-14)
He has spent all of his life working with his hands, doing what he does best. It is his “showing the engineers how things really
Professor Rob Harrill
English 101
6 November 2013
Interpretation of “My Grandfather's Tools” by Jim Daniels
This poem brings memories of the smell of fresh sawed wood and learning to drive nails when I was five. Daniels tells of his grandfather's life. A man who worked a lifetime doing what he loves. This is a sad tale not only of his grandfather's life and love of his work. It is also the even sadder story of the decline of the craftsman's trade that was once the backbone of American Industry. It is a tale of the disappearance of the pride that we American's once took in the Craftsman’s trade skills. The passing of the innovations, inventions and insights that once fueled our nation to greatness.
He is the:
Lifetime tinkerer, fixer upper always with his shiny tools in his basement, his workbench scarred wood blessed with oil an altar to patience and a steady hand. (1-5)
In these lines you believe that he revers his work and his tools. It is his passion, to build and repair. You can almost feel his reverence for this “altar... blessed with oil”(4). This feels like more than a metaphor describing his workbench.
My grandfather, the unpaid Mr. Fixit for the church across the street
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
My grandfather, no true believer hedges bets with his tools. (6-7, 9-10)
He believes in his gift and shares it unstintingly, where and when he can, for little or no payment. The work itself is enough. It is a skill that he is happy to share. Hedging his bets, since he is not a particularly pious man. He does what he loves for the church. His work is how he shows his faith and thanks for this gift he has been given.
He worked for Packard nearly fifty years, all his life his joy that feel of tool in hand— his knife, his gun, his fistful of bills— (11-14)
He has spent all of his life working with his hands, doing what he does best. It is his “showing the engineers how things really
Cited: Daniels, Jim. Places Everyone.”My Grandfather 's Tools” Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1985