Analogy. An analogy is a comparison of things that are alike in some ways but different in others. In this poem, the author presents an analogy comparing and contrasting life in a traditional Native American culture and life in a modern city. Create a Venn diagram like the one to the right to help you compare and contrast details about these two ways of life. You should put details that are different outside the intersection of the ovals and details that are similar inside the intersection of the ovals. Simile. A simile is a comparison using like or as. As you read, write down in your notebook any examples of simile that you can find in the following poem.
|
- There are ceremonies in every culture that mark a person’s passing from one phase of life to another. These are sometimes called rites of passage. A marriage ceremony and getting one’s driver’s license are examples of rites of passage. Many rites of passage are associated with adolescence and passing from childhood to adulthood. Certain Native American cultures hold a rite of passage known as a vision quest. A young person is supposed to go out into the wilderness on his or her own, without food or water. The young person stays away until he or she has a vision or dream about a spirit, usually that of an animal. This spirit is then associated with the young person as his or her guardian. The speaker’s father in “Without Title” is a Native American who has never undergone such a ritual. When the speaker uses the word vision in the poem, he or she is referring to a vision quest.
- In “Without Title,” the speaker’s father works in the meat-packing industry. The majority of meat-packing plants are located in the Midwest, and the slaughtering of animals and the processing and packaging of their meat is a large and important part of the U.S. economy.
Imagine that you moved to a very different place—from the city to a rural area or the other way around. What would you miss most about your old way of life?
|
