Micheal Gammon
ENG 4U3- 03
Mrs. Moffatt
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
The Effects of Divorce
When we think of divorce, most of us begin to feel sympathy and sorrow for the family that is going through it. Divorce seems to be generalized as a negative experience in life. However, after reading the poems The Victims by Sharon Olds, and Beyond Pastel by Katherine Lawrence, it can be seen that there are different effects on different families. Some are bad, but on the other hand, some are good. By comparing the tone, imagery, similes and metaphors of these two poems we will see these different effects. We will see the positive effect divorce has on some families, and we will also see the negative effect it has on others.
In both The Victims and Beyond Pastel there is a very serious tone coming from the narrator. After the divorce in The Victims, the children “grinned inside, the way people grinned when Nixon’s helicopter lifted off the South Lawn for the last time.” (Lines 5, 6 & 7) It can be seen that this quotation displays a serious tone as it refers to a very serious time in history. There is an analogy here between the “father” of the country and the “father” of the family. They both had to leave due to infidelity - one being unfaithful to millions, the other being unfaithful to a wife and kids. However, this quotation shows much more than just a serious tone. It also shows the positive effect divorce could have on a family. The children here are relieved and happy that their father’s gone. After the divorce in Beyond Pastel, the children were stuck “trying to make