On The Subway Analysis

Words: 532
Pages: 3

Race, color, opposites, oh my! In the short story ‘On the Subway’, Sharon Olds flaunts her expertise when it comes to writing about the blacks vs. whites, using poetic devices like diction, theme, and imagery. The males in the subway are both so different, but so alike in many different ways that it’s chilling to even think about. However, Sharon contrasts them in such a way that it’s almost considered art, when this story could apply to real life right now. One of the biggest devices that Sharon Olds uses gracefully is diction, as the choice of words used in the story really informs the reader the feelings of the white man. For example, the white man judges the black boy’s white shoelaces, calling them “laced in a complex pattern, like a set of intentional scars.” What does he mean by scars? How can laces be scars? Another example would be how the white man describes the beams of light the boy absorbs, calling them murderous. By using the word murderous, the reader now knows how serious the suffering the boy and his ancestors went through is. Lastly, the choice of words changes the reader’s feelings in the point of the story where the white man starts to report his fur coat, saying it …show more content…
A good example of the theme is when the white man mentions where they’re standing, stating that “We are stuck on opposite sides of the car...”. This begins the theme of opposites, and how different the two men are, but similar as well, since they’re both on the same car. Another example would be when he describes the boy’s shoes, noticing they’re black shoes laced with white, another example of opposites. Lastly, when the man finally lets the reader know of the boy’s skin color, stating, “And he is black, and I am white.” These two colors are complete opposites of each other, and could even refer to the chinese yin and