04-19-2012, 12:22 AM
"I also wonder what makes you feel like it was written by a male? And is that problematic if it's supposed to be from the perspective of a female? I am not sure quite what you meant by that."
I think I thought it was male because of the analytic nature of it, and it is also a more "male" reaction to attention from the father. It was problematic for me, because it seemed it was a girl who was speaking in terms of the clues provided, however (and this is where the problem arises), if he were a girl then there is nothing that indicates abuse, but if male, the hair stroking takes on a different meaning. Having the gender of the speaker be left ambivalent creates uncertainty about what the poem was trying to convey. since from the clues within the poem it appeared this was a girl talking, I made the assessment that it was an independence issue, and the girl resented being "smothered" or constrained by her father. Of course if it is a boy, the hair stroking, especially so openly takes on a more sinister aspect. At the very least it is problematic because the reader has to decide what the gender is before they can have any clarity about the poem. To me, that is disruptive to the reading of the poem.
Dale
I think I thought it was male because of the analytic nature of it, and it is also a more "male" reaction to attention from the father. It was problematic for me, because it seemed it was a girl who was speaking in terms of the clues provided, however (and this is where the problem arises), if he were a girl then there is nothing that indicates abuse, but if male, the hair stroking takes on a different meaning. Having the gender of the speaker be left ambivalent creates uncertainty about what the poem was trying to convey. since from the clues within the poem it appeared this was a girl talking, I made the assessment that it was an independence issue, and the girl resented being "smothered" or constrained by her father. Of course if it is a boy, the hair stroking, especially so openly takes on a more sinister aspect. At the very least it is problematic because the reader has to decide what the gender is before they can have any clarity about the poem. To me, that is disruptive to the reading of the poem.
Dale
How long after picking up the brush, the first masterpiece?
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.