Literature and Life

The Little Boy and the Old Man

1.This poem tells us that children's needs are nowadays often neglected by adults.The adults do not bother to lend an listening ear to the feelings, ignores them and finds the children's stories boring.It also tells us that adults tend to forget the memories of their childhood after they are old. This is most probably due to the many worries and the hectic lives people lead nowadays.
2. Yes, Shel Silverstein has done so. Dialogue was used throughout the poem to exemplify the true experiences in the live's of both the old man and boy and this helps instill reality into the poem. Repetition is also used to let us have a more interesting and deeper insight into their lives and also the difference the needs of the old man and boy.
Messy Room
1. Yes, we can say so.Poetic devices and irony have been used to make the poem humorous.The word  "underwear" has been used as a metaphor to show us how disgusting and sloppy the persona is. "lizard" is also used to compare the persona with an animal, which indicates his irrcorigible state. All these produces exaggeration, which makes the poem seem outrageous.The poet vividly describes the persona's room at first, though not revealing the persona. However, at the end, the persona did not actually recognize his room. This conflict even emphasises more on the laziness and irresponsibility of the persona.
2. This poem has highlighted that humans do not reflect upon their own mistakes and are instead quick to blame or point at others for the same faults. This shows that humans are self-centred and always think that they are always correct, while others are wrong.
Cloony The Clown
1.Cloony fails his job as a clown and does not earn much money. He cannot tolerate such intense pressure and decided to pour out his grievances, the"Pain and Rain and Cold" and "darkness in his soul" to others. Instead of receiving concern and sympathy from his audience, the irony is that he was greeted with "howls and yowls and shrieks" instead. Cloony then went worldwide and earned fame and fortune with his plight. However, ultimately, he fails to relieve himself of his mental burden and instead adds on to it. Even though he struck rich, Cloony still felt void deep down inside his heart This tells us that even material benefits cannot replace the innate feelings of the human heart.
2. Yes, he did. He conveyed one of the vices of the human character, that is to gloat over other's misfortune,instead of lending a helping hand. We neglect the feelings of others, just to convince ourselves that others are worse off than us. Thus the selfishness and cruelty of the human character is shown.
3. Irony, repetition, contrast and rhyme has been used to produce a clear and memorable message.

Which of the above poems can you identify with the most?
The poem I can identify with the most is "The Little Boy and The Old Man". Living in such a globalised and compettive world, our adult parents are deeply engaged in fierce competitions and thus their focus on us children has diminished.  The failure to spend time understanding the growth and innate emotions of children has seen an acute problem emerging in the society today. For the want of affection and care, most children have turned to other alternatives to quell their loneliness. This encompasses indulging themselves in games and joining gangs to seek protection and company. This would eventually lead to the moral degeneration of the new generation. Luckily, I am not the boy described in this poem. However busy my parents are, they would fork out time to understand my mind and counsel me if needed. Actually, all these can be achieved easily. When our family has meals everyday, we will sit down and have a nice chat and should we encounter any problems, they should moot it instead of bottling them up. Family outings can also aid in acheiving this objective.Just a little concern showered can carve out  a fruitful and memorable growth for children.