Poem Analysis Of Woodchucks By Maxine Kumin
Woodchucks burrow labyrinths of tunnels underground, and often they arise just to harass people and pillage their gardens. Also known as groundhogs, woodchucks are a furry four legged rodent that is celebrated nationally in February. “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin demonstrates a change of heart, when a former peace maker goes rogue on a colony of groundhogs. Many people do not like woodchucks and work to get rid of the pests, while others are the opposite, until something brings about change. This poem displays how a rational person can take a turn for the worst, when things do not go their way, possessions are destroyed and when they are humiliated or feel outsmarted. In the first stanza, the author attempts to kill the rodents with a “knockout
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The mood shifts to a borderline psychotic tone, the author talks about feeling the ammunition with a thrilling sensation. The mood was once calm, but now suspense and anger are rising. Aim was taken upon the little woodchuck, and “He died down in the everbearing roses.” It was a pup, and the author did not have any remorse or sympathy for him. The third stanza starts out by killing the mother. This is significant because it hinders the other baby woodchucks from getting nourishment, and reproducing. The sow was killed, and it is mentioned how she “flip-flopped in the air and fell…”. There was a sense of satisfaction, and even enjoying the death of her destructive inferior animals. The woodchuck was caught red-handed, “her needle teeth still hooked in a leaf of early Swiss chard.” The author immediately went to the carcass to inspect it and gloat. She calls herself a “hawkeye killer” because she is getting vengeance and is coming out on top. Frustrated that there is only “one chuck left” she watches vigilantly, “cocked and ready day after day after day.” The woodchucks have affected her lifestyle, destroyed her garden and flowers, which she had worked hard for. They drove her to insanity after they outsmarted her by escaping the gas. The
The mood shifts to a borderline psychotic tone, the author talks about feeling the ammunition with a thrilling sensation. The mood was once calm, but now suspense and anger are rising. Aim was taken upon the little woodchuck, and “He died down in the everbearing roses.” It was a pup, and the author did not have any remorse or sympathy for him. The third stanza starts out by killing the mother. This is significant because it hinders the other baby woodchucks from getting nourishment, and reproducing. The sow was killed, and it is mentioned how she “flip-flopped in the air and fell…”. There was a sense of satisfaction, and even enjoying the death of her destructive inferior animals. The woodchuck was caught red-handed, “her needle teeth still hooked in a leaf of early Swiss chard.” The author immediately went to the carcass to inspect it and gloat. She calls herself a “hawkeye killer” because she is getting vengeance and is coming out on top. Frustrated that there is only “one chuck left” she watches vigilantly, “cocked and ready day after day after day.” The woodchucks have affected her lifestyle, destroyed her garden and flowers, which she had worked hard for. They drove her to insanity after they outsmarted her by escaping the gas. The