Those Winter Sundays Analysis

The man in "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden uses the boy version of himself as an example for other children teaching them that they should never forget to appreciate how hard a loved one works for you or the dedication they show to making sure you are cared for. Also a lesson for adults that they may suffer extreme guilt later in life when it will be to late to free yourself of those type of emotions. I can identify with the emotions he goes through, easily placing myself in his shoes seeing life as he does. I imagine myself behaving and feeling in similar ways, and having similar reactions in corresponding situations which allows me to connect aspects of my life to this story.
In the first stanza the boy talks about how his dad got up in the “ blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached” to start fires and warm
the house so that his family would be comfortable, even if it meant hat he would suffer. My dad also gets up early in the morning. He works in extreme cold and heat, wind and rain. He does this to support us and keep us comfortable. He too has cracked hands and body aches. Yet he continues to work hard so that he can provide us with a very nice standard of living. Like the boy, sometimes I become comfortable in expecting that nice things are my just due in life, which is not the truth. Like the boy said “No one ever thanked him.” and sometimes I also forget to thank my father.
In the second stanza the way that I relate to this is that my family has suffered some very hard times.
During the real estate market crash my father was a home builder. My family lost everything and ended up with a huge mortgage. My mom had to go back to work after being a stay at home mom for 13 years. My dad was forced to take a teaching position at an inner city school district, where my mom also works. My dad has a second job in construction. He goes to work after school and does not get home till after dark. He works long days on Saturday and Sunday too. Things have been hard for my family for a very long time. “slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house.” resonated with me, not with anger but sadness. I I would dread going out to the living room when woke up. I hated to see how sad and stressed my family was. My actual house had a sad quality to it and it had always been so happy and full of love. So thick you could almost cut it with a knife. Every box we packed was another tear we shed. We had to face the reality that we would have to leave our perfect, mortgage free the house with a very heavy
hearts.
In the final stanza the boy tells the reader that he was basically in-cognizant to what his father did for him as a young boy “Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well.” I too, can be oblivious of the little things my father does for me. Often the basic things such as heat, water for the shower, or lights turning on, go unacknowledged. My dad works hard to pay for all those little unappreciated necessities. The passage also tells us how the man realizes that it is to late to say thank you “what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?” I can also relate to that. As a young person we do not have the depth and knowledge of how to selflessly love. That type of emotion is acquired through life experiences. I have resolved that I will not be too late. I now tell my father how much I appreciate and love him for all the little things he does for me and our family.