Parable In Praise Of Violence Barnstone Analysis

The first main theme in the “Parable in Praise of Violence” and The Road is excessive violence. In "Parable in Praise of Violence", the first lines are listing off multiple occasions where violence was unnecessary but used anyway. He begins: "Thanks for the violence. Thanks for Walt’s rude muscle/ pushing through the grass, for tiny Gulliver crushed/ between the giant’s breasts. Thanks for Moby’s triangular hump/ and Ahab’s castrated leg. Thanks for the harpoons" (Barnstone 1-4). Barnstone is obviously disgusted about how violence has become a norm in America. Then Barnstone turns the violence on himself: "My life is like a loaded gun, and when I aim it at you/ I hope to take off the top of your head" (16-17). “Parable in Praise of Violence”