On The Subway Sharon Olds Summary

Words: 309
Pages: 2

In “On the Subway,” Sharon olds shows the opposite lives and how different they could be. Olds uses different types of rhetorical devices, such as imagery, organization, and appeal to pathos, to show the contrast of both lives. Olds uses imagery throughout the poem when discussing the man infront of her. She describes his attire- black sneakers with white laces, as complex patterns. These patterns allude to a set of intentional scars. She later says he is wearing red, as if he was an exposed body, describing him to be vulnurable. Lastly, to contrast their appearance, her white skin and his black skin, the reader says she benefits from his darkness, making her life easier and his harder. Next, Organization is used in this poem to range from