Essay Questions

Why is the narrator of "I Know the Grandmother One Had Hands" angry?

The narrator of this poem is upset because her grandmother is not spending enough time with her. Instead of being involved emotionally with her granddaughter, she is working on the more physical tasks at hand. As a young child, it may be hard to understand that this labor is making the lives of the family better, but a veil of immaturity is covering that fact. The narrator, in this way, is being selfish, as she wants her grandmother all to herself.

What is the importance of all of the literary elements seen in the poem, "Who Will be the Messenger of This Land"?

There are many literary elements used to describe the land in the poem, "Who Will be the Messenger of This Land". This is not only very symbolic, but pays respect to how much the narrator loves the new land that she inhabits. Simply describing the water as having its own language shows that every little part of nature works together to make a whole, and the inner workings of nature are far too complex for any human to understand. Still, with humans maintaining the land, a new vitality can be brought forth.

Why does the narrator of the poem, "Who Will be the Messenger of This Land" not take initiative?

In the poem, the narrator describes how beautiful the land is, and asks if someone will be the messenger of the land. However, she does not step forward and volunteer to be the messenger herself. Perhaps she is afraid of the power that all of this land may bring, or perhaps she simply does not want all of the responsibility. Either way, she appears to be a hypocrite by asking people to do something that she has not even explained why she has not done it herself.