Snapping Beans By Lisa Parker example essay topic

Snapping Beans: by Lisa Parker "Snapping Beans? by Lisa Parker is a great example of how literary devices can be used in a poem to make that poem stronger. For instance the diction in the "Snapping Beans, ? poem is outstanding. Most if not all of "Snapping Beans, ? is very easy to visualize in your head and gets you thinking about things that go on in life. When the poem is read aloud you can visualize that conversation with the Grandma. "Snapping Beans, ? is a poem that almost everyone can relate to in a sense that they have the same kind of relationship with someone that the granddaughter has with her grandma. To be able to really show what kind of relationship the two have together Parker needs to explain the situations that each person is in: whether that be what is going on in their life at the time, or the past that needs to be explained to get a feel for their beliefs.

Parker starts off very simple in her diction. "I was home for the weekend, / from school, from the North "lines 4-5.? Parker is just simply letting us know that the granddaughter does not live near the grandma and that she is coming down south to visit. She doesn't use anything too difficult, just very blatant. Parker then says, "Grandma hummed "What A Friend We Have In Jesus?" line 6.? The word choice that Parker uses is very subtle.

She gets the point across though that she needs to, and that is that the grandma is a wise religious person. Now to show the relationship that they had parker says, "and I wanted to tell her / about the nights I cried into the familiar / heartsick panels of the quilt she made me "lines 25-27.? Parker used great diction with crying and heartsick. These both show that the granddaughter is showing some type of emotion, and the fact that she is doing it into the quilt that her grandma had made for her shows that she trusts her in someway shape or form. The quilt in itself also shows that the grandma cares for the granddaughter because she spent the time and put forth the effort that it takes to make one of those things. That isn't the only thing though that shows the grandma's affection towards her granddaughter.

"She reached the leather of her hand / over the bowl and cupped / my quivering chin; the silk smooth of her palm / held my face the way she held tomatoes / under the spigot, careful not to drop them "lines 20-24.? The words here show a lot of emotion and care. The fact that she was reaching her hand out toward her granddaughter shows that she is taking the time to show her that she cares dearly for her, and that she is there for her. Also Parker saying that the grandma's skin was something soft like leather shows that the grandma's touch is going to be comforting. Two lines later she reemphasizes the feeling of something soft by saying the palm was silk and smooth. When the grandma reaches over to the granddaughter and she is quivering, that also shows that the grandma is trying to help ease the granddaughter's pain.

The one thing that someone needs when they are going through a tough time is someone that really cares for them. The whole rest of that quote is still filled with care, the fact that a tomato is very delicate and Parker doesn't want the grandma to hurt it shows a lot of heed. The grandma doesn't want to see anything happen to her young granddaughter, and that is why she worries so much about trying to keep her from getting hurt. Parker tells us exactly what it is that is bothering the granddaughter, "I wanted to tell her / the evening star was a planet, / that my friends wore nose rings and wrote poetry / about sex, about alcoholism, about Buddha. / I wanted to tell her how my stomach burned / acidic holes at the thought of speaking in class, / speaking in an accent, speaking out of turn, / how I was tearing, splitting myself apart / with the slow simmering guilt of being happy "lines 29-37.? All of these things are what very many young adults go through.

The grandma is not stupid. She can see all of these things. The part that shows the grandma's great wisdom is when parker says, ? when a hickory leaf, still summer green, / skidded onto the porch front, / Grandma said, / It's funny how things blow loose like that "lines 41-44.? The fact that it is a green leaf falling off of the tree shows that it shouldn't be falling off of the tree.

Green leafs are strong and should be full of life and attached to the tree retaining life. Things do not always go a as planned though. Like Grandma says it is funny how things can just break free like that and all of a sudden be in your life, but just as easily as that problem came in it can also leave just as fast. That is Parker's way of showing the granddaughter that things will be ok in the end. Parker's poem "Snapping Beans, ? does a great job of using diction to show the relationship that the grandma and granddaughter had together.

Parker painted a very clear and vivid picture in our heads of how a good relationship should work out, and she was able to do that through the words that she chose for the poem. Diction works great in this poem, and Parker does an excellent job of showing the reader how diction when used properly can really bring a poem to life.