sp09250kgebert

= "Marks" by Linda Pastan (1978) =

// Katie Gebert //
My husband gives me an A for last night's supper, an incomplete for my ironing, a B plus in bed. My son says I am average, an average mother, but if I put my mind to it I could improve. My daughter believes in Pass/Fail and tells me I pass. Wait 'til they learn I'm dropping out.

Way 1: First Impressions
 After reading this poem, I thought it was very intelligent of the author to compare grades to a mother/wife's work at home. As I was reading the poem, it showed me how much the wife/mother does around the house every day to keep her children and husband happy. She has to try and be the "super mom" and still be cool enough for her kids. By reading the last sentence, "Wait 'til they learn I'm dropping out," the author is showing that the mom is sick and tired of taking care of everyone and making sure they are all happy. Maybe she wants them to take care of her for a while or maybe she wants them to start doing some of their own laundry, cooking, ironing, etc. This could be a way of showing that they are all old enough to take care of themselves and she is going to make them do their own chores.

I'm not quite sure why the son doesn't give his mother a grade or a pass or fail, but the daughter and father did. The son says she is just an average mom, but she could improve if she puts her mind to it (lines 5-8). Is the son just not that close to his mom that he doesn't know too much about her? Maybe he just wants his mom to be the "cool mom" and doesn't really care what she does around the house or for her kids and husband. He also could be older and on his own more or just never home so he doesn't see what she really does for them.

I think that the mom might be teaching everyone in the family a lesson because she is sick of picking up after everyone and taking care of their every need. She wants to show them what she does for them so that they appreciate all the hard work she does. She could be quitting everything for good and taking care of herself, or she could be quitting for a while to teach them that she really does run the household because she does everything for them so they should appreciate her more and help her out.

Way 2: Engaging with the Text
 The poem has a nice flow to it and the mom has a sarcastic tone when talking about how her family grades her. She gets a grade, a pass, or a fail for everything she does around the house for her family. At the end of the poem there's a twist, where the mom says, "Wait 'til they learn I'm dropping out" (lines 11-12). She is adding to the sarcastic humor of being graded by saying she's dropping out relating to school which is a way that Pastan uses metaphor in her poem.

At first when I read this I thought the mother was leaving the family for good. She is done doing everything for them and her family not respecting her for what she does. It sounds like she wants to leave, but then I realized that maybe she is just teaching them a lesson. Maybe she is going to stop doing everything for a while, but she knows that they need her and she really can't leave them.

I also noticed the significance of the title to the poem right away. "Marks" is a metaphor for grades that are received which is how Pastan ties her poem to her title. Her metaphor to the school system of grading is the most important point in this poem because both her kids and her husband are grading her for the work that she does.

This is a very unique poem because there's no form to it at all. It is a very good poem that makes a person smile, but having no form is very unusual. The poem still flows nicely and is a very humorous poem that is enjoyable for anyone to read. It reflects what many mothers and wives do every day for the family and many times they feel they don't get the respect they deserve. The author is trying to point out that she is doing too much work and she wants to have a life and to do things that she isn't able to do because she is always busy taking care of everyone in her family. There is no rhyme or rhythm to the poem, but Pastan's use of wording makes the poem flow very nicely.

Way 3: A Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content
 "Marks" doesn't appear to have any form at all according to the rules. Pastan doesn't have a rhyme scheme or use meter in this poem making this poem written in free verse. Pastan expresses her thoughts and feelings throughout the poem without following any rules for form. Pastan uniquely compares her job as a mother to a student in school. The mother receives grades that her family members give her for her daily tasks and nurturing. When reading the poem, you feel how judged and hurt the mother is. You can feel how much work the mother/wife does, yet no one is completely happy with the job she does. The twist at the end, "Wait 'til they learn / I'm dropping out" surprises the reader (lines 11-12). The mood changes because the mother/wife is not going to be judged anymore for the good work that she does. She wants to teach the family a lesson to show them how much she does for them.

Way 3: Another Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content
Pastan uses many line breaks to make many short lines in the poem. She does this because short lines make the poem speed up and show how the mother/wife is really feeling. She receives many grades from each of her family members and is sick of putting up with being graded for her daily work. The short lines make the poem sound choppy. The last line, "I'm dropping out," is very short and makes the reader really think. It is a surprising end and ends quickly with those last few words. The mother is giving up because her family doesn't feel that everything she does is good enough. Because Pastan uses short sentences and they are all almost the same in length, the poem flows smoothly.



Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
Pastan uses many grades to compare to the mother's household work in this poem. This is a metaphor to the grading system at school because every student receives a letter grade for a subject and they either pass or fail a class. The family members grade the mother by how hard she works and the work that she does around the house. She is being judged daily and has to live up to her family's expectations. She could have been compared in other ways by using the words good, bad, ok, or excellent for the work that she does. Being graded for everything the mother does for her family, she makes a significant point at the end of the poem by saying "Wait til they learn / I'm dropping out" (lines 11-12). A grade is a degree or a step in scale, as of rank, or advancement, quality, value, or intensity. The mother is being critisized and graded throughout the whole poem and at the end we learn that she is sick of it. Her family doesn't respect her for what she does and she doesn't want to deal with the pressure every day anymore. She knows she does a very good job, but she wants to teach her family a lesson by quitting all the things she does for them. 

Way 5: Analyzing the Setting
It is hard to understand where the setting is because there are not many clues. The poem focuses more on the mom being graded for everything she does. I would assume that the setting of the piece is at the family's home because the mother brings up cooking supper, ironing clothes, and satisfying her husband in bed. All of these take place at home.

Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View
This poem is written in first person point of view because it is told by the narrator. The narrator is telling of her life and what she has to deal with day after day with her family. The use of "I" is also another example of first person point of view. The narrator refers to her family as "My husband" and "My daughter" and "My son." This is probably the easiest point of view to pick out because there are so many clues. The only problem is that we don't know anything about the narrator. All we know is that she has a family consisting of her husband, a daughter, and a son and that she does all the cooking and cleaning around the house. We also know that her family doesn't respect her for what she does and she's sick and tired of putting up with it.

Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity, & Difficulty
Pastan uses many ambiguities in her poem. Right away she uses, "an incomplete for ironing" (line 2). Her husband could be giving her an incomplete because she didn't complete the ironing. Maybe she was too busy doing everything else for her family that she didn't have time to get to the clothes. She could have also started to iron the family's clothes, but she didn't have time to finish his or the rest of the family's because she was too busy with her other household chores. Another ambiguity in the poem, "a B+ in bed," is very confusing (line 4). The woman's husband could be giving her a B+ because she's a pretty good with pleasuring him or because she's not as good as his previous women. Maybe she is the only one that he's ever been with and she's just not satisfying him completely. This line is confusing because it could mean something as simple as the husband likes sleeping next to his wife because she doesn't move around a lot and doesn't snore. The next ambiguity I saw while reading this poem, "My daughter believes / in Pass/Fail and tells me / I pass" (lines 9, 10, 11). Usually mother-daughter relationships are really close and the daughter is looking up to her mother and thinks she does a lot and that's why she passes. The daughter can see what her mother does for her and the family, but she doesn't feel that her mom can do the best job possible. This could be a good comment or a bad comment depending on what you think is good vs. bad. Finally, the last ambiguity I saw when reading this poem was the last two lines, "Wait 'til they learn / I'm dropping out" (lines 11-12). You could take this as the mother wants a divorce and start her own life because she's sick of putting up with everyone "grading" her. You could also take this as she's sick and tired of doing the family chores and wants others to start helping out a little more. She wants to quit doing everything for everyone so they are able to see what she does for them and then maybe they will respect her for what she does or start helping out more.

Way 8: Considering Canonicity
The way Pastan writes this poem is very unique. It is a piece that is well liked by others and it really does show the life of many women at home. I find it to be a very moving piece because it shows how many women are not respected for what they do. Not only do most have full-time jobs, but they cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of their kids. The way Pastan words the poem is also significant. She uses short, choppy sentences and has some type of grade for everything the mother does in the poem.

Way 9: Biographical Context
In an interview with Jeffrey Brown, Linda Pastan talks about her poems and stories. After asking what she is looking for after revising her works over and over, Pastan states, "Well I want every word to have to be there. I want a certain kind of impact on the reader or on myself when I read it, the sort of condensed energy that can then go out" (Conversation: Pastan). I thought this was significant because her poem, "Marks," is one that is filled with energy. It also has a great impact on the reader because she shows what it's like to be a mother/wife in a family some days.

Pastan liked to incorporate her lifestyle into many of her poems and stories. She's known for writing mainly about domestic life, especially her own. In a biography titled "Linda Pastan," it is written that "One of the prevailing themes of Linda Pastan's poetry is the complexity of domestic life. In what she terms "The war between desire and dailiness," Pastan dissects the tension that divides womanly rituals of motherhood and housekeeping from the solitary rites of the poet" (Linda Pastan). Works Cited

"Linda Pastan." 13 Nov. 2002. __GaleNet__. Contemporary Authors. UW-Marathon Co. Library, Wausau WI. 28 Apr. 2009 .

"Online Newshour: Conversation: Pastan - - July 7, 2003." __PBS.__ 24 Apr. 24 2009 .

Way 10: Historical and Cultural Contexts
I have been having a very hard time finding accurate information from a "good source." I will keep on looking, but I will use my own knowledge to answer this question as of now. My poem was published in 1978 which was the time my mother was a teenager. After discussing with her the "family's roles," I learned a lot about that time period. My mother came from a family of 12 children, but the children usually only helped on the farm or with babysitting their younger siblings. The mother of the house was the one who cooked, cleaned, and did the laundry most of the time. My mother added that most families were like that around that time period because they didn't have the technology or machinery that we do today on the farms. The mother of the house didn't work outside of the home because her job was considered the cleaning, cooking, ironing, and making sure her children well bathed and helped with everything they needed. This could be because the men were enlisted in the army at the age of 18 and many were sent away for a period of time. Women were almost guaranteed to be able to stay at home to take care of their children.

In an interview with Jeffrey Brown, Pastan relates her life to the time period of the poem. She says, "I was a product of the '50s - - what I called the perfectly polished floor syndrome. I had to have a homemade dessert on the table for my husband every night, and this was when I was in college I was married and then in graduate school. And I felt that I couldn't be the perfect wife and mother that I was expected to be, and commit myself to something as serious as my poetry, and I wasn't going to do that half-heartedly. It was all or nothing. And I stopped writing for almost ten years, and I was very unhappy about it during those years (Conversation: Pastan). This shows by the author's lifestyle how family life was during the time she wrote "Marks." Women were cooking and cleaning for their husbands and didn't really have much of a life outside of the work around home.

Works Cited "Online NewsHour: Conversation: Pastan - - July 7, 2003." __PBS__. 24 Apr. 2009 .

Way 11: Theoretical Application
 Linda Pastan is known for her feminism in her writings. She writes about the domestic lifestyle and in many cases, her very own life. As stated in the Critical Approaches Definition of Feminist Criticism, "Feminist criticism became a dominant force in Western literary studies in the late 1970's, when feminist theory became more broadly conceived was applied to linguistic and literary matters" (Critical Approaches Definition of Feminist Criticism). This was around the time Pastan wrote this poem, "Marks," and is definitely a case of domestic life. A question that may be asked would be why is the mother being graded and what do the grades mean? Also, what does the mother mean when she says, "Wait til they learn / I'm dropping out" (lines 11-12)? Does she mean that she's leaving the family or that she's done doing everything for her husband, daughter, and son? What is the relationship between the father and mother and how can you tell? It is easy to see after the many different Ways that the mother doesn't want to keep picking up after her family anymore. She needs help around the house, but she really isn't getting any. During the '70s, the feminism movement was in full effect. Women were trying to be more independent and getting away from the responsibility of doing all the household chores. Maybe the mother is leaving the family because she's becoming more independent? Also, the relationship between the mother and father is kind of hard to understand. The father keeps grading her, but what does he do for her? It shows that he doesn't help much around the house and probably expects her to cook all of the meals because she's a great cook.

Works Cited

"Critical Approaches Definition of Feminist Criticism." __virutaLit__. Bedford St. Martins. 8 May 2009. < http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/critical.asp?e=2&xxx=pop>.

Structuralism is a theory of humankind in which all elements of human culture, including literature, are thought to be parts of a system of signs" ( Critical Approaches Definition of Structuralism). In "Marks," I feel that the grades that the mother receives from her husband, daughter, and son are a system of signs. Some questions that may be asked are: Why are there so many grades that are given to the mother? What is the significance between the letter grades and an incomplete or pass/fail? There may be so many grades because each family member is grading the mother. They are grading her on every single household chore that she does. After digging deeper into the poem, I feel that the mother is sick of doing all this work. She gets good grades, but she is sick of doing all this work. The letter grades are more specific than a pass or fail, but the mother doesn't care. She's not going to try her hardest anymore. Her husband knows her the best so he gives her a specific letter grade. Her children don't really know much about the "real world" yet so they just give her a general grade.

Works Cited

"Critical Approaches Definition of Structualism." virtuaLit. Bedford St. Martins. 8 May 2009. .

Way 13: Unifying Interpretation
After looking at "Marks" from many different perspectives, I was able to interpret the poem more easily. I understand that the poem was written around the time feminism was reaching its peak. Not only does Linda Pastan touch on this idea, but she incorporates her own life as well. During the 1970's, women were usually the stay at home mothers that cooked and cleaned for their family. Linda Pastan was in a family like this and by reading the poem, we can tell that she didn't enjoy life.

We can think the poem means many different things after reading it the first few times. Is the author trying to say that she's leaving the family or is she going to commit suicide? Maybe she is just giving up on doing all the household chores for everyone. She is graded by each of her family members which is a metaphor to the school grading system. By doing this, it makes the reader think more about what type of family she has and how good of a mother she is. Obviously she does pretty much all of the chores around the house while trying to find time for her kids, but what does she do for fun? I think that Pastan is trying to tell us that she's sick of picking up after everybody because she wants to do something she enjoys for once.

The poem is written in first person point of view which is significant because we are able to learn right away that it is about the author which impacts the reader because the reader can actually relate to the person they are reading about. Pastan uses many ambiguities in her poem which is also significant. There are many different meanings, but she wants the reader to look at her poem in depth the grasp the "real" meaning. It is up to the reader to decide what is right and what's not right. Although the poem doesn't have any rhyme or meter, Pastan uses short, choppy sentences to show how fast paced the mother's life is. She doesn't want this fast paced life where she is constantly running after others anymore, but she wants time to relax or do something that she enjoys.

Works Cited

Chick, Dr. Nancy. "ENG 250 13 Ways Project." E-mail to Katie Gebert. 24 Feb. 2009.