Comparing and Contrasting Are “father”, “warren Pryor”, and “the Average”

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“Warren Pryor” by Alden Nowlan is rather different from the other two poems mentioned in this essay. The character in this poem does not actually deal with the loss of his parents. Like the other two works, the general sense of trying to honor their wishes and dreams is still a prevalent theme and essential aspect of this poem. The poem also suggests an actual name for the main character through the title unlike the other poems. “Warren Pryor” tells the story of a young man whose parents dedicated their lives to ensuring that their son did not become another worker in the fields of the farm. The boy in the story actually appreciated that simple life in ways that his parent did not understand though. Their sacrifices in the field resulted in a good job for their son at a bank when he was old enough. The ending of the story is rather negative just like in the other poems discussed. This is made evident by the diction used by Nowlan at the end of the poem. The main character was aching with empty strength and bottled rage from working at the bank instead of doing what he truly loved. It seemed to me as if the parents had forced him to live their own personal dreams. Nowlans use of imagery and diction far exceeds the efforts in the other two poems. There is an abundance of descriptive words in the poem that help to paint a vivid image of what is occurring.

There are many similarities and differences that can be found within these three poems. They are bound by one general theme though. A common theme found in all three of the poems portrays the message that a person should always do something that makes them happy in life. According to the poems, living the dreams of another person will usually result in failure. These are works by three exceptional poets.

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