Poem Analysis: A Red Palm By Gary Soto

Gary Soto's "A Red Palm" 2004 When a person hears the title "A Red Palm" there are many things that come to mind. One could either think of a red palm tree, or more realistically, the strained palm of ones hand. After just reading through this poem a person feels as if they begin to know the man who is spoken about. One can relate to him because most Americans work very hard for a living. Similarly, most Americans do not work hard because they enjoy it, but work hard because they feel the need to. Unfortunately money does not grow on trees; to earn money one must work hard, and Soto shows this to the reader. The poem "A Red Palm" written by Gary Soto is a poem that portrays the everyday man and his struggle to succeed. The first stanza
Despite the fact he may not have gone to school, the man certainly works hard. In the poem as he chops the rows off cotton, he is adding up the things he can buy for his family. He is definitely a selfless person as well because he is only adding up things he wants to provide for his family, milk, meat, bread, and full cupboards. There are no treats for himself that he talks about. The phrase "10 hours and then the cupboards creek" signals the end to his work day (the cupboards are full). After his workday he finally rests: Soto uses the simile "the minutes jerk like flies" to show that his day is slowing down after all his
I don't think it was difficult to get the gist of what the author is trying to show. It was written in a way that relates to the everyday man. The character was really stuck in his daily grind of life, and although he knew that, he seemed accepting of it. The pace of the poem was steady and tired like the man in the fields. One thinks of the clock ticking as he cuts, cuts, cuts. The character was a good provider for his family and he worked hard for his possessions. This poem could easily be derived from a day-in-the-life of a cotton field owner, or it could have been found in someone's