Rite Of Passage By Sharon Olds Summary

Poetry Essay Who is the birthday party a rite of passage for, the birthday boy or his mother? In the poem, "Rite of Passage," by Sharon Olds, the speaker, who is a mother, goes into detail about her son's birthday party celebration. Let us first begin by analyzing the title of the poem, "Rite of Passage," Encyclopedia Britannica describes a rite of passage as a ceremonial event, existing in all historically known societies, that marks the passage from one social or religious status to another. Given the plot of the poem about a young boy having his peers over celebrate his birthday, one might be automatically compelled to say the rite of passage is for him, however with a closer analysis of the poem in its entirety, one can argue the title
"How old are you? Six. I'm seven. So?" This is demonstrating how these young children are interacting with each other and that they feel the older one has the upper hand. This demonstrates that they, the children, consider age an important thing. As they stare each other down, exchanging the evil eye, the speaker describes them as they clear there throats, and she calls them, "small bankers." This is signifying how in her eyes she views them as growing up and is once again envisioning them in their future. Being a banker is one of thee most prestigious professions in the eighties. You are wealthy and hold many possessions. Bankers are admired and needed by many for loans and financial advice. This mother, the speaker, of the six year old boy has high hopes for her young son. She perhaps views him as her key to
The speaker sweetly and calmly begins describing every detail of her boy, from his cheeks to long hands, referring to his chest as similar to, "a model boat." Boats are long, strong, and rough. Model boats have all the similar qualities and like boats are built and put together with extreme care and dedication. Once again the speaker is describing her son but she is also coming full circle and attributing herself for how well she raised him during his six years and how well she took care of him while he was in her womb. The speaker supports my point with her next line when she speaks about, "the day they guided him out of," her. This line is a key point in the poem because you can tell that today, for her, is not just her son's birthday but the day she gave birth to