The Victims Analysis
Divorce is common in the world today. Despite the vows made in marriage to remain together until death, certain events could cause the couple to resort to divorce. In the poem, ‘The Victims,’ writer Sharon Olds conveys the effects of divorce within a family. The poem seems to be written in very personal manner, as if the writer experienced the events firsthand. Also, it is written in a very dark tone, as if the persona is filled with resentment towards the father. However, the poem’s tone changes at some point, contradicting the persona’s feelings in the beginning of the poem.
The poem is written from the perspective of the children and begins with the mother divorcing her husband. From this point onwards, the husband’s life goes downhill. The husband loses his job, his suits, and his money. The children react peculiarly to these events. They seem to take pleasure in their father’s suffering. It is as if they want him to live in misery and suffer for the rest of his life. One must ask: what on earth could the father have done to deserve this type of reaction from his own children? Sharon Olds does not reveal the reason.
The tone of the poem changes at line 17. The persona shifts from talking about the past, which is seen when the persona says “when mother divorced you,” to talking about the present in “Now I pass the bums.” It is as if the persona has grown up and become more mature. The conflicting feelings toward her father’s suffering comes from a younger version of the persona to her older version at line 17.
The poem is a 26-lined free verse and uses multiple literary devices to enhance rhythmic quality and emphasise certain points. The writer uses a lot of imagery, which is seen in the children’s reaction to their father’s suffering, specifically when his office, secretaries, lunches, and suits are taken away. The children “grinned” and “were tickled” at the thought of all of these horrific events. The writer uses repetition to emphasise the
The poem is written from the perspective of the children and begins with the mother divorcing her husband. From this point onwards, the husband’s life goes downhill. The husband loses his job, his suits, and his money. The children react peculiarly to these events. They seem to take pleasure in their father’s suffering. It is as if they want him to live in misery and suffer for the rest of his life. One must ask: what on earth could the father have done to deserve this type of reaction from his own children? Sharon Olds does not reveal the reason.
The tone of the poem changes at line 17. The persona shifts from talking about the past, which is seen when the persona says “when mother divorced you,” to talking about the present in “Now I pass the bums.” It is as if the persona has grown up and become more mature. The conflicting feelings toward her father’s suffering comes from a younger version of the persona to her older version at line 17.
The poem is a 26-lined free verse and uses multiple literary devices to enhance rhythmic quality and emphasise certain points. The writer uses a lot of imagery, which is seen in the children’s reaction to their father’s suffering, specifically when his office, secretaries, lunches, and suits are taken away. The children “grinned” and “were tickled” at the thought of all of these horrific events. The writer uses repetition to emphasise the