Say You Love Me free essay sample

In â€Å"Say You Love Me† Molly Peacock replays a particular incident from her childhood in her point of view with diction and simile to create imagery. She speaks about a time, when her father was intoxicated and when he abused her. The father violently asked her whether she loved him or not. Her younger sister was home, but she could not help because she feared his strength and demeanor. Although, the three family members were at home, a feeling of loneliness struck them all. Peacock tries to convey this frightening scenario to acknowledge that children and women are vulnerable to a man’s strength. Also, she reveals how the people who are being abused may feel in this type of situation. Her audience includes children and women who experience the same abusive relationship. Also, this poem is written for abusers. It forces them to recognize their own missteps and mistakes. People who know friends, family members, or coworkers that are in abusive relationships can relate as well. Her childhood incident teaches everyone else to understand the situation and to help prevent domestic violence. Through her diction, she uses words like â€Å"sob† (7), â€Å"hissed† (12), â€Å"rage† (14), and â€Å"screamed† (30, 37) to describe the hysterical moment that she was in with her father to elevate the reader’s pathos. The word â€Å"sob† in this poem is used when the father is begged Peacock to voice that she loved him. It describes the desperation and sadness that the father is feeling; he is feeling unloved and lonely. The sister â€Å"hissed† like a snake warning her that there would be danger, if she didn’t tell their father what he wanted to hear. The hiss indicated a sign of disapproval towards the father’s behavior and the sister acceptances of their father’s demands. However, for their safety, the sister told her to give in. The word â€Å"rage† in this poem expresses chao in the situation, but also the feeling for not having the power to control say no and being able to have a voice. The anger of her father and her own helplessness. The screams are natural reactions that people have when they are frighten or in danger. First, when her sister screamed because she saw the father’s eye â€Å"blurred† and â€Å"taurean† (30). It was like he was bull, charging forward without knowing any consequences of what it harms. The sister realized and soon was horrified to know that the father would do anything to get what he desired. The second time, the sister screamed to help Peacock escape from the father and divert his attention to the phone. All her diction expressed negative connotation of fear, anger, and sadness. Amongst those words, similes are used to create imageries: â€Å"His face looked like a ham on a hook† (3) implies that his face was red because of the intoxication. At the butcher, the meats that are on the hook are usually raw. Also, when the ham was on a hook, it is hanging down. This shows the position that the father was in, he was towering over on Peacock and his frightening face was up-close to her’s. It draws a picture of a scary, almost demon-like red faced person looking down on a little children. â€Å"Arms like jaws pried open† (5-6) shows the strengths of this arms. His arms are made of metal, something so strong and unbreakable. He’s clenching on the chairs, hunching over her, but not touching her. Connecting with the prior imagery, now the demon-like person has metal arms that is prisoning the girl from running away. It is a prison of hell. â€Å" Hysteria as a wet baby thing† (18) is connected to the previous lines of the poem: â€Å"to peel, as of live layers of skin, age from age from him† (16-17). The lines reveals his inner feelings and needs: He’s like a baby, vulnerable and little inside. He’s acting like a baby whose cries without the thoughts of others; the alcohol freeing him of his adult facade. His face is filled with tears mimicking that of a baby. Although, he’s old, his skin is peeling off revealing this baby inside of him. He’s lost and doesn’t know what to do. All three imageries connect and reveal a man whose monstrous, scary, and hysterical, but inside, he’s feeling helpless and unloved. The irony of this poem, depicted by the diction and imageries, is the loneliness. The father, sister, and Peacock are home together. The poem also indicates that the mother will come home after work. The phone symbolizes the outside world in this poem, but for all of them, it will never ring. â€Å"The phone was not ringing† (43-44) was the line that the father spoke. It expresses the hope that there can be salvation for him and the family, but it did not happen. There’s â€Å"no world out there† (44), therefore no one can call and she cannot call anyone. Consumed by all their fears, the family encapsulated themselves in their own imaginary world. In reality, they are not physically alone nor are they isolated by the outside world. The father fears of being unloved uses alcohol to lose himself and escape of reality. Peacock and her sister are imprisoned to their own fears of their father and the hatred they feel. Everyone cannot see light, the help of the world outside of their fears, sadness, and hatred. They are â€Å"completely alone† (45) within their thoughts because they think no one can understand them or see their pain. Peacock paints a realistic and heart-wrecking, yet thought provoking picture of how lonely an abused person can feel. The sorrow of having no one to rely on and no one who cares for their well-being. This pain is inevitable no matter the age. These feelings of despair leads to a dark world that is frightening and difficult to escape. She shares the traumatic experiences in her childhood to gain recognition for those in need. Domestic violence is always relevant because it happens in every era. This story informs others of such violence and those in an abusive relationship that amidst the pain there is hope. To talk about one’s experience is a step towards living a life without domestic violence.