Stress Differences between Rita Dove's Grape Sherbet and Jim Daniels Essay

Stress Differences between Rita Dove's Grape Sherbet and Jim Daniels My Father Worked Late - Essay Example Contrasting Rita Doves â€Å"Grape Sherbet† and Jim Daniel’s â€Å"My Father Worked Late† Rita Doves â€Å"Grape Sherbet† speaks about the memories of a father. The narrator together with their siblings spends time with the father who offers them grape sherbet. Later on, the narrator and the siblings learn that their father had taken them to a grave yard. The motive is to make the children learn to associate memories with positive experiences as opposed to mourning. The children quickly learn the importance of the day. Jim Daniels â€Å"My Father Worked Late† lays emphasis on the dilemma of a working father. The father who is the sole provider of the family had to put some extra effort and cope with stress to support his family. The working father utilizes most of his time to ensure that the family is catered for. He ends up spending little time with the family. The most dominant play of polarity is the narrators who give the memories of their childhood and fathers. The father in â€Å"Grape Sherbet† spends time and involves the children when conducting a memorial day at a graveyard. On the other hand, the father in â€Å"My Father Worked Late† utilizes most of his time at work to ensure that he provides for the family. The subject matter â€Å"Grape Sherbet† is about memorial. The narrator’s family holds a memorial where the father is participating. The children learn that the memorial is for the dead and the reality of life and death dawns to them. The subject matter in â€Å"My Father Worked Late† is a working father who works tirelessly for the family. He becomes overwhelmed by the work and has limited time to be with the children. He is stressed and sometimes causes tension in the family. The narrator in â€Å"Grape Sherbet† wants to highlight the importance of a memorial. Using the young children in the poem enables them to make known the reality of life and death. Children do not understand what death is. The poet may be implying that, creating memories enables those who are gone to live. The narrator in â€Å"My Father Worked Late† wants to recognize the effort of the hardworking father. He works late to support the family. Work is stressful and tiring, y et the acceptable behavior requires the father to provide for the family. The setting for â€Å"Grape Sherbet† is on Memorial Day while the setting for â€Å"My Father Worked Late† is on a regular working day in a rural setting. In â€Å"Grape Sherbet† there is a celebratory atmosphere where there is cooking and feasting in the occasion â€Å"The day? Memorial after the grill†¦ we cheer† (Righeto 54). The setting talks about a single day. The setting in â€Å"My Father Worked Late† narrates of the encounters of a hardworking father. The narrators capture experiences from many days (Daniels 5). In â€Å"Grape Sherbet† the role of a father as the source of affection and love for the children is revealed. The father spends time with the family on the Memorial Day. The children gallop in the graveyard in play. In â€Å"My Father Worked Late† the father is to provide the family with basic necessity and not to provide love. The father becomes detached from the family as a result of demanding work. The father shows distress from his work and becomes unfriendly to the family. Children rarely get affection from their father. The father’