Somebody’s Mother by Mary Dow Brine Analysis
Somebody’s Mother, by: Mary Dow Brine, is basically about somebody’s mother. The title of this poem implies that you will probably be reading about a mother and what she does. When you think of a mother, you think of a woman maybe in her thirties with kids who are around age five through nine, and possibly not afraid of anything you throw at her. That’s what is expected of a mother right? The first two lines of this poem imply the physical features of the mother. She is bent with the chill of winter’s day, meaning that she is probably frail.
Then we find out her feet are aged and slow, telling us again she’s old and frail. We also find out that she’s alone. She is standing near a crossing and waiting to cross, but afraid to do so. No one tries to help her in any sort of way or even looks at her. It’s like she’s invisible. The next ten lines are about some schoolboys who are shoveling snow and also passing her by as well as some carriages passing in the street causing the woman not to cross. Suddenly, one of the schoolboys comes along and helps her cross the street.
The woman is not at all scared by the boy. The boy then goes back to his friends and tells them that if his mother was in need that he hopes they would help her. The last few lines are about the woman praising God about how lovely and kind the boy was to her. This poem has few meanings to it, but they are deep in connotation. When the woman is standing at the cross walk unable to go, and scared that she might get run over if she does, that represents something in our lives. We want to do something, but there are obstacles in our way.
For instance, if someone is searching and searching for a job and just doesn’t get one because of things happening in their life, then they are standing at the cross walk unable to cross. Also, the woman in the poem wants to cross the street, but it might be because she is too scared. We all have days where we want to do something but we are too scared. Even if it’s killing a spider! But there are more difficult things, like maybe asking someone to marry you but you just can’t find the nerve. Finally, when the boy comes to help the woman across the street, he symbolizes the help we have in our life.
We have bad days, but we get through them based on support and guidance. Even if we are having a bad year, our family, friends and colleagues get us through it. That is what this poem is mainly about, the influence that others have on us to give us a little push and a helping hand. The attitude of this poem is sorrowful, joyful, and inspiring. At first, the poem sounds a bit depressing, but when school gets out, you get a little more hopeful. When the boy comes to help the old woman, he is described as “the gayest laddie of all the group”.
When you read that particular line you instantly know this boy is bubbly and full of joy. Then when the boy helps the woman across the street, you know he is a man of a helpful sort and would do anything to help if someone was in need. This poem starts sad, but then it completely shifts to a joyful and helpful point of view. You read about an old woman at a cross walk unable to cross the street, and how her physical features are very old. But then, some boys come out of school and you start to get interested.
Then u see that one of the boys is the bubbliest one of his troop and you want to know how he fits in with the poem. The poem just shifted from helpless and sad, to hopeful and thankful. Then, the boy reaches out to the woman and wants to help her across the street and that implies a helpful shift. Helpless, sad, and thankful, and hopeful are completely different shifts, but the words are all a part of the poem. The main theme of this poem is that if you were the woman standing there alone at the crossing, and people were passing you by, how would you feel?
Afraid, worried, or hesitant? These few words describe what the woman is probably going through when people are passing her and not even sharing a glance with her. She’s invisible, and no one cares about her. Another theme is when you are going through tough times, you could always use a helping hand to get through it. The woman was waiting at the crossing and didn’t have the nerve to cross the street, because she needed guidance to do so. Everyone needs a helping hand every once in awhile.
When the boy came and helped the woman, she wasn’t even afraid that a stranger walked up to her and asked her to cross the street! And after that, she went home and praised god for that boy who helped her! This is something that happens in our lives a good number of times. We are scared to do something and someone helps us through it. The prediction in the title was entirely wrong, but that’s what probably popped into some people’s heads! The woman is not at all in her thirties, nor did she have kids that were ages five through nine.
The woman in the poem would probably be scared if something was thrown at her, like a hard task. But in the end, mother’s are still mother’s. They have kids who they usually love and would do anything they can to not hurt their children, and that’s what the woman in the poem is like. At the end of the day, Somebody’s Mother, By Mary Dow Brine is about an old woman who can’t find the nerve to cross the street. But when a bubbly boy comes to the rescue, she is neither scared nor worried, and she praises God that the boy is “somebody’s son with pride and joy”.
