Thomas at the Wheel by Rita Dove
Tyler Smith
English 102
Dr. Fleming
3-16-14
Thomas at the Wheel The poem “Thomas at the Wheel” written by Rita Dove is from the collection “Mandolin” in the book “Thomas and Beulah”. The first section of the book is titled “Mandolin” and it is told from Thomas’s point of view. The second half of this book is titled “Canary in Bloom” and this is from Beulah’s point of view. In this poem Thomas has a heart attack and starts to die but it seems as if it plays out in slow motion and it allows for the reader to really experience all of his thoughts and emotions. The first stanza begins with “This, then, the river he had to swim” (43). I believe it begins in this way because it is a poem that is leading to the death of Thomas and throughout the whole section of “Mandolin” the word “river” has had a deeper meaning due to the death of Thomas’s best friend Lem. Lem was a great friend of Thomas and one night while they were out on a riverboat drunk, Lem stripped off all of his clothes and jumped off the boat thinking he was swimming towards a tree-capped island. After he jumped Thomas realized this was not and island but most likely just moss floating across the water and Lem drowned. This relates because it seems that the rain brings back memories of his past. Also in the first stanza the speaker gives the setting as Thomas is sitting in his car at a drugstore described as “lit up like a casino” (43). The second stanza begins with a man leaving the drugstore to smoke a cigarette. The speaker uses the word “flew” to describe how the doors of the drugstore opened. I believe the speaker uses this word in particular to make it seem exaggerated and does this to show something bigger is coming leading to Thomas’s heart attack. It then goes on to explain how Thomas feels. The speaker then says “Thomas thought the sky was emptying itself as fast as his chest was filling with water” (43). Rita Dove uses a simile to compare how hard it was raining to the feeling Thomas
English 102
Dr. Fleming
3-16-14
Thomas at the Wheel The poem “Thomas at the Wheel” written by Rita Dove is from the collection “Mandolin” in the book “Thomas and Beulah”. The first section of the book is titled “Mandolin” and it is told from Thomas’s point of view. The second half of this book is titled “Canary in Bloom” and this is from Beulah’s point of view. In this poem Thomas has a heart attack and starts to die but it seems as if it plays out in slow motion and it allows for the reader to really experience all of his thoughts and emotions. The first stanza begins with “This, then, the river he had to swim” (43). I believe it begins in this way because it is a poem that is leading to the death of Thomas and throughout the whole section of “Mandolin” the word “river” has had a deeper meaning due to the death of Thomas’s best friend Lem. Lem was a great friend of Thomas and one night while they were out on a riverboat drunk, Lem stripped off all of his clothes and jumped off the boat thinking he was swimming towards a tree-capped island. After he jumped Thomas realized this was not and island but most likely just moss floating across the water and Lem drowned. This relates because it seems that the rain brings back memories of his past. Also in the first stanza the speaker gives the setting as Thomas is sitting in his car at a drugstore described as “lit up like a casino” (43). The second stanza begins with a man leaving the drugstore to smoke a cigarette. The speaker uses the word “flew” to describe how the doors of the drugstore opened. I believe the speaker uses this word in particular to make it seem exaggerated and does this to show something bigger is coming leading to Thomas’s heart attack. It then goes on to explain how Thomas feels. The speaker then says “Thomas thought the sky was emptying itself as fast as his chest was filling with water” (43). Rita Dove uses a simile to compare how hard it was raining to the feeling Thomas