Topic > Compare Groundhogs and Traveling in the Dark

In the poems “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford and “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin two men must make a difficult decision about nature. In “Traveling through the Dark” the narrator is faced with a difficult situation involving life and death, while in “Woodchucks” the narrator struggles with his belief about killing. These two poems focus on their characters' reaction to the death of an animal. “Traveling through the Dark” shows a respectful relationship with nature when a man encounters a pregnant doe who has been hit by a car. “Groundhog,” on the other hand, shows the long-term effects of killing rodents on the mind. Both poems show the relationship between animal and man, as well as man's relationships with nature. Through the use of imagery, tone, and diction, the poet of "Traveling through the Dark" shows the speaker's compassionate attitude towards animals while the speaker of "Woodchucks" has an unsympathetic attitude towards them. The poets, Stafford and Kumin, use diction to show the representation of the interpersonal connection between the character of the poem and the animals. Both poems are about a person directly responsible for the death of animals. However, neither uses kill to describe their actions. Kumin, for example, uses very vivid action verbs to show the character's actions in the poem “Groundhog.” When the poet describes how the speaker “drawn a pearl on the little groundhog's face” and “dropped the mother,” he uses less gruesome imagery than that described in the poem (lines 17-19). The speaker of the poem claims to be a “murderer,” but does not show full responsibility for killing the animals (23). Stafford's poem, however, does not have the same dark tone as "Marmotte". “Between...... middle of the paper ...... desperation and sadness in the reader. The characters in “Groundhog” and “On the Road” approach animal life in opposite ways; the former uses rational thoughts, while the latter uses emotions. In “Travelling through the Dark” the narrator, by repressing emotions and maintaining calm, is able to see the recklessness in trying to save the unborn fawn. However, the narrator of the poem “Groundhog” succumbs to their emotions, ultimately leaving them in an incompetent and dangerous mindset. By using diction the poets are able to allow the reader to fully appreciate the relationship between the animals and the speaker. The contrasting tones of remorse and lightheartedness illustrate the different relationships between the animals and characters in each poem. The poet's choice of diction, tone, and imagery are all factors that make poems distinctive.