




In “My Papas Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, he states “But I hung on like death:/Such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke line 3). The young boy in this text is probably no older than 8-9 years old, he has this father who isn’t being a father figure to him, but yet this boy is still clinging onto him and depending on him. A child is so delicate, they can easily be broken down and discouraged by the little things they see their parents do, but the child will surpass the negative and look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Theodore’s writing is an eye opener to show that not everyone comes from a good background, but the cards they are dealt are used to make the most of their relationship; the son is waltzing through life.

Dependability is something every young child needs. Even adolescence and adults need someone to depend on but its most important for a child. The son needs someone to guide him in the right direction and help him make life decisions. He is relying on his father to always be there and if the father is not there then the son is lost. Making decisions and deciding on what’s the right thing to do comes with experience, and a child is incapable to do those all on their own due to the lack of experience. The son doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do without proper guidance, he’s not able to grow into a good young adult if he doesn’t have a great example to follow. A father is supposed to teach their son how to grow into a man, how to treat a lady, how to fix and build things, a father is supposed to be a young boy`s role model, someone he can always look up to. Sadly, that’s not the case for everyone. Not everyone has a great father or a great mother, that makes the child grow up faster than they should. In Theodore`s poem, there is a young lad who clings to his father and it doesn’t seem like the father could care to give him the time of day; “Then waltz me off to bed/Still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke line 15-16). Referring to the son not wanting the time with his father to end, even though the time they just spent together wasn’t pleasant. This boy did nothing wrong to deserve a father like this. He is innocent. He doesn’t have enough experience to make decisions on his own, nor could he take care of himself his young age. The father is in the wrong here because he brought him into the world but yet he isn’t doing a good job raising him and giving him the relationship he needs.

Children show unconditional love for their parents and family. They know they’re able to count on them to make things better or to just joke around and have a good time, they know they`re loved. No matter how many times the father yells at him, beats him, or even punishes him, the son is always going to love his father no matter what because he knows it’s for his own good. The child in the piece is representing innocence because he doesn’t know any better until an authority figure (the father/mother) steps up to the plate and guides him; hopefully for the better. Love is more than just a feeling, love is a way of respect and how people show and treat others around them; it’s a way of caring. “You beat time on my head/With a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke line 13-14). The father beats his son quite often and the young boy is still there, he’s still holding on in hope for a better day, he still loves his father after all the things he has done to him. He relies on his father and due to his inexperienced mind the son could possibly not know that the things his father is doing to him is wrong. It’s possible that the boy could be blaming himself for everything, when really he`s done nothing wrong. This just shows that an innocent mind is so precious until something tragic comes to ruin it. Once a young mind is corrupted, it`s hard to repair broken pieces back to a perfect state. There is almost no chance it`s going to go back to how it was before the damage was done; the son is trying to hold on to the relationship he has with his father, but the father is pushing him a way on the inside, eventually the son won`t come back.   

Therefore, the events that take place during childhood can really lay out the sons future and the type of man he`ll grow up to be. Children are either pushed away by their parents, follow their parent’s footsteps, or even turn out completely opposite than their parents. As I’ve stated before, a father plays an important role in a son’s life, and his father is an alcoholic and abusive and is showing this behavior in front of the boy, then the boy will grow up thinking it’s okay to be like that as well. the father is oblivious to the effect it will have on his son in the long run until it`s too late. “The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy dizzy…We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf;/My mother`s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself” (Roethke line 5-8). All of these scenes reveals an awful environment for him to be growing up in. He can see the disappointment on the mother’s face but he doesn’t know that is not okay. The mother can see emotions expressed on his face that were once on hers, she can relate to the feeling of just wanting to spend quality time with her husband and the father of their child but instead it turns into brutality. As the poem implies by having this as his normal everyday life experiences with his father, he is probably blind to the fact that it`s wrong for a father to come home drunk every day, along with beating him. Although, this is basically the only time they get to spend together; he has come to an understanding that this is how a father and son bonding should be. 

The young boy has used his cards in the best way he could with his father, to get what he perceives to be a great relationship. All children start out innocent, they don’t know the difference between right and wrong and how to treat people with respect and dignity. They learn that from their parents and if their parents aren’t good role models and don’t teach them that, then they grow up thinking it’s okay to mistreat people and to abuse their own loved ones and to constantly drink and eventually turn into an alcoholic. Kids who grow up in an abusive environment often tell themselves that their parents are doing it out of love, or are they really trying too hide everything that’s been done to them. The audience who reads Roethke, “My Papas Waltz” tend to notice the big picture of the story, which would be the drunk abusive father. In reality the true meaning of a great relationship is taking what the individual knows and experiences and turns it into something much greater. 


