Depending on personality, background, mentality, etc. of a person, you may see some things in a completely opposite way than others. A great example of this is Theodore Roethke's poem entitled “My Papas Waltz”. The poem, depending on how you interpret the situation, can be the sweet story of a child dancing with his father. He could also be seen as a child being abused by his father. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The poem takes us on a journey where a child “waltzes” with his father around the house, while his mother watches the troubled situation. That said, there is textual evidence to conclude that this is a fun and happy story of a child having fun with his father. Roethke uses the first line to conclude that the little child is a little boy who has a drunken father but as the poem continues we learn that he is not a violent drunk. The reader may conclude that he is young later in the story. She is having a great time with her son making memories at home. Some people associate the term “drunk” with a negative thing. But being drunk doesn't automatically mean you're the kind of drunk who comes home to throw your kids around. Many people can be drunk and still know right from wrong. In the last lines of the first stanza the reader can get an idea of ​​what is happening. The narrator recalls: "I stood like a dead man / such a waltz was not easy." Every child, at one time or another, has stood on their father's shoes and held on to his shirt while he danced in them. The boy in the poem was just trying not to fall from his drunken father's awkward waltz steps. Another clue is in the title. If someone was constantly beaten and abused, they would not call their father “daddy”. They would have called each other father, or other simple and unsentimental words. “Papa” is a loving word similar to daddy, daddy or daddy, used mostly by children who adore their dad. “Father” is a bland and generic word. People who are abused and do not associate with their father often remember that the man is their father, not their dad. Using sentimental words shows him love and understanding. In the middle two stanzas, the reader is brought deeper into the situation at hand. As they dance awkwardly, they wreak havoc in the kitchen and collide with the shelves. “My mother's face / couldn't relax” is a phrase that explains that the mother was angry, but didn't say anything back to them. Face is a term used to describe facial expression. She was clearly unhappy that her kitchen had been ruined and robbed, but she couldn't stop the fun her boys were having. In the next middle stanza things start to get even more confusing. The narrator states, “The hand that held my wrist / Was hit on a knuckle / With every step you missed / My right ear scratched a buckle.” The reader can interpret this in two ways, seeing how he interpreted the rest of the poem. This is how many people decide that the story is dark and violent. Many jobs require sweat and tears. Anyone who knows anyone who works outdoors in some type of job will know that they don't have the most pristine and nicest hands around. They are demolished, torn to pieces and battered in the dirt. His father simply hasn't had a chance to clean up after a long day at work and spend time with the family. This is also the point where the reader sees that the boy is young. Standing on his father's feet and still only being up to the.