In Maxine Kumin’s poem “Woodchucks”‚ the reader is led into a short tale of a woman whom is dealing with a family of woodchucks that are eating away at her garden. While this poem appears to be a simple tale following this woman’s methods to exterminating the pests‚ it rather is a poem that uses its speaker to stealthily showcase the potential that humans have for monstrous actions. The speaker‚ while appearing to be a sensible person turned deranged by the joyous feel of power and success‚ is a
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Woodchucks burrow labyrinths of tunnels underground‚ and often they arise just to harass people and pillage their gardens. Also known as groundhogs‚ woodchucks are a furry four legged rodent that is celebrated nationally in February. “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin demonstrates a change of heart‚ when a former peace maker goes rogue on a colony of groundhogs. Many people do not like woodchucks and work to get rid of the pests‚ while others are the opposite‚ until something brings about change. This
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"Eliminating the Pest" In the poem "Woodchucks" by Maxine Kumin‚ the speaker is in her garden and is annoyed with some woodchucks that are eating and destroying the produce in the garden. The speaker in turn tries to remove the woodchucks by using humane gas to kill them and when that is unsuccessful‚ she resorts to more violent means. This poem uses the annoying woodchucks to signify the Jewish people during the Holocaust by the Nazi Party. In the first stanza of the poem‚ the speaker clearly identifies
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Never-Ending Transformation In the poem‚ “Woodchucks‚ written by Maxine Kumin‚ the speaker progressively changings there character into something insidious‚ similar to that of Adolf Hitler. Although the poem does not openly suggest that it is referring to actions of Hitler himself‚ the speaker leaves clues to draw the assumption that the two characters are parallels. In the beginning of the poem the speaker is annoyed and frustrated with the woodchuck’s destruction of the crops. So much so‚ the
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After careful examination of the poem “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin‚ the poem serves the literal interpretation of a journey the speaker takes to kill woodchucks. The poem goes into detail about the changes the speaker experiences through the killing of these woodchucks. The speaker begins the poem by trying to explain himself and why he is trying to kill the woodchucks‚ then after the woodchucks eat the speaker’s food‚ the speaker snaps. This causes the speaker to freak out and go on a shooting
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today could result in jail. In the poems‚ “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin‚ and “The Early Purges” by Seamus Heaney‚ two drastic examples of killing an animal is discussed. Although both of these poems discuss the killing of animals; one is about the extermination of “pests” and the other is the killing of a family pet. Both poems tell a story of killing an animal; however‚ they are told from different perspectives. The following is a comparison of each of these poems and discusses how even though the
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Woodchucks “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin is a poem that describes the gardener annoying and disturbing situation with woodchucks in his farm. Woodchucks were eating and destroying vegetables; therefore‚ he really attempted to get rid of them and solve his problem. This poem is apparently the story about the difficulties of one farmer; however‚ it has a deeper meaning and relate to the Holocaust. Besides‚ the gardener demeanor changed‚ and the violence increased from stanza to stanza. In the first
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People are often compared to as animals. Maxine Kumin wrote “Woodchucks” and John Clare wrote “The Badger”. Both are using animals to describe humans and the way they act toward each other. Clare wrote in his about sympathy‚ fear‚ and victories or not. Kumin speaks of fear‚ hatred‚ obsession‚ and killing of these pests. Written over 100 years part humans and their actions have changed very little. In Maxine Kumin’s “Woodchucks”‚ she is talking about a Jew and how he/she was killed during the
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Conflict is a key factor presented in life whether we try to avoid it or not. In most cases the battle is fought against yourself. In the poems “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin and “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford‚ the poets both focus on animals and self confrontation in humans. Descriptive language and the overall theme provides the reader with the insight necessary to understand the speaker’s psychology as they are driven beyond the boundaries of what’s morally right and wrong.
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In both poems “Traveling Through the Dark” by William Stafford‚ and “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin are comparing humans to different things. “Traveling Through the Dark” compares the doe‚ car‚ and man and how they each conflict with each other. In “Woodchucks” it is comparing the conflicts between man and man with the allusion of a woodchuck. Both poems use strong imagery‚ and state a shift in the tone‚ revealing their change of mind‚ and have similar conflicts showing the different relationships with
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