We Are Things Of Dry Hours Analysis Essay

However, the collective voices of the building’s inhabitants, those who aren’t given many chances, compile to become the narrator of the poem, which can be seen with the frequent use of the word “we.” As seen when Brooks writes, “We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan” (Brooks 1), it is implied that the experiences described are shared between each inhabitant, thus making the poem a collective representation of each individual. Additionally, each tenant shares the same overall background—they are all down on their luck and have seen better days, with everyone focusing on struggles such as “‘rent,’ ‘feeding a wife,’ [and] satisfying a man’” (Brooks 3). Consequently, their daily lives are a constant fight to make ends meet, with the days eventually blending together and forming a mundane routine that is “Grayed in, and gray” (Brooks 2).
Due to this, one may feel that the speaker has no faith in dreams or hope, as implied with the narrator states, “‘Dream’ makes a giddy sound, not strong” (Brooks 2), showing that the word has little impact or meaning to the inhabitants of the building. For the narrator, “hope” and “dream” are useless and meaningless ideas to speak about, for they certainly are not as important as “rent” (Brooks 3). However, because the narrator still gives the ideas some thought, readers can assume that the concept is a constant “seesaw” for the speaker of the poem. The inhabitants do not want to declare that all hope is lost because that means their lives will never change, but they don’t want the concepts to preoccupy their lives. This is why the narrator states, “We wonder. But not