Woodchucks
Never-Ending Transformation
In the poem, “Woodchucks, written by Maxine Kumin, the speaker progressively changings there character into something insidious, similar to that of Adolf Hitler. Although the poem does not openly suggest that it is referring to actions of Hitler himself, the speaker leaves clues to draw the assumption that the two characters are parallels.
In the beginning of the poem the speaker is annoyed and frustrated with the woodchuck’s destruction of the crops. So much so, the speaker chooses a merciful technique of killing the woodchucks. We gassed and bombed the woodchuck’s layer and even made sure all their exits were sealed off (825-826). Notice how the speaker uses the words “gassed” and “bombed” as a way to describe their attack. This action can relate to the tactics used by Nazi soldiers. Gassing and bombing the Jewish prisoners was a more merciful and compassionate way of killing in the early stages of World War II. However showing the woodchucks compassion lead to unsatisfying results and defiance. The next day they were not affected by the gassing and continued to behead the carrots and nip at the vegetable patch (826). Referring back to the early stages of World War II, in the ghettos many Jewish were defiant towards the Nazi soldiers because they didn’t fear them. Hitler recognized that some Jews were defiant because of soldier’s compassion; this in turn threatened his control. Most corrupt leaders want to feel in control of the people and by doing that he or she must put fear into their victims.
Noticing how the speaker of the poem used the word “we” at the beginning illustrates that he or she was not alone. The fact that the speaker was not alone could refer to Hitler’s Nazi soldiers that aided in his destructiveness. However, after the woodchucks destroy the crop again the speaker describes how he takes matters into his own hands to restore his sense of control. The speaker states that his pacifist ways were broken by his
In the poem, “Woodchucks, written by Maxine Kumin, the speaker progressively changings there character into something insidious, similar to that of Adolf Hitler. Although the poem does not openly suggest that it is referring to actions of Hitler himself, the speaker leaves clues to draw the assumption that the two characters are parallels.
In the beginning of the poem the speaker is annoyed and frustrated with the woodchuck’s destruction of the crops. So much so, the speaker chooses a merciful technique of killing the woodchucks. We gassed and bombed the woodchuck’s layer and even made sure all their exits were sealed off (825-826). Notice how the speaker uses the words “gassed” and “bombed” as a way to describe their attack. This action can relate to the tactics used by Nazi soldiers. Gassing and bombing the Jewish prisoners was a more merciful and compassionate way of killing in the early stages of World War II. However showing the woodchucks compassion lead to unsatisfying results and defiance. The next day they were not affected by the gassing and continued to behead the carrots and nip at the vegetable patch (826). Referring back to the early stages of World War II, in the ghettos many Jewish were defiant towards the Nazi soldiers because they didn’t fear them. Hitler recognized that some Jews were defiant because of soldier’s compassion; this in turn threatened his control. Most corrupt leaders want to feel in control of the people and by doing that he or she must put fear into their victims.
Noticing how the speaker of the poem used the word “we” at the beginning illustrates that he or she was not alone. The fact that the speaker was not alone could refer to Hitler’s Nazi soldiers that aided in his destructiveness. However, after the woodchucks destroy the crop again the speaker describes how he takes matters into his own hands to restore his sense of control. The speaker states that his pacifist ways were broken by his