'The Price' by Ron Rash
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Knee deep in the Watauga's
rock leaping whitewater,
my brother loses his balance,
his life if our father
doesn't flail downstream swimming
the air, running the river,
tripping the stones to collar
his son gasping and coughing
onto a sandbar as he
confirms with tentative fingers
his empty back pocket.We pace back and forth on the shoreline
down to the bridge, the other
bank before the sun finally
falls blurring the world into darkness,
my father not saying, don't worry,
a life is priceless, not saying
something like that, not tousling
my brother's hair and smiling.For this is October. My father
believes he'll be fired soon,
will face winter's cold coming
without thirty-four washed-away dollars.
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Price: A Poem of Grief and Redemption
The Price, written by Ron Rash, is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the themes of loss, grief, and redemption. Rash is a masterful poet who uses language to create vivid images and evoke strong emotions in his readers. In this poem, he tells the story of a man who has lost everything and must pay a terrible price to find redemption.
The Plot
The Price begins with a description of a man who has lost everything: his wife, his children, and his home. He is alone and wandering through the wilderness, searching for a way to escape his pain. As he wanders, he encounters a snake, which he kills in a fit of rage. He then realizes that he has killed the wrong snake, and that the one he was seeking is still alive. He sets out to find the snake and kill it, hoping that this will somehow bring him peace.
The man's search for the snake takes him deeper into the wilderness, where he encounters a group of men who are hunting a bear. He joins them in their hunt, and together they track the bear through the forest. When they finally catch up with the bear, the man is the one who kills it.
After the hunt, the man is confronted by the ghost of his wife, who tells him that he has paid the price for his sins. He realizes that the snake and the bear were symbols of his own guilt and that he has finally found redemption by facing his demons and paying the price for his actions.
The Themes
The Price is a poem that explores several themes, including loss, grief, guilt, and redemption. The main character has lost everything that he held dear, including his family and his home. He is consumed by grief and is searching for a way to escape his pain.
As he wanders through the wilderness, he encounters the snake and the bear, which are symbols of his own guilt. He has killed the wrong snake, which represents his misguided attempts to find peace. He then joins the men in their hunt for the bear, which he ultimately kills. The bear represents the burden of his guilt and his need to pay the price for his actions.
The poem is also a meditation on redemption. The man realizes that he has paid the price for his sins and has finally found a way to escape his pain. He has faced his demons and has come out on the other side, ready to start a new life.
The Language and Imagery
One of the things that makes The Price such a powerful poem is Rash's use of language and imagery. He creates vivid images that evoke strong emotions in the reader. For example, when the man kills the snake, Rash writes:
I kill it once, its head a red fist
that strikes out as if the body
still lived, then I kill it again.
These lines are filled with violent imagery, which creates a sense of tension and urgency. The man's actions are driven by his grief and his need to find peace, and the language reflects this urgency.
Rash also uses imagery to create a sense of the man's isolation and despair. When he first encounters the snake, he describes himself as:
A man alone, walking
through a world of shadows,
searching for a way out.
This image creates a sense of loneliness and despair, as if the man is lost in a world that is indifferent to his pain.
The Symbolism
Another aspect of The Price that makes it such a powerful poem is the use of symbolism. The snake and the bear are both symbols of the man's guilt and his need to pay the price for his actions. The snake, in particular, is a powerful symbol of temptation and sin. When the man kills the wrong snake, he is symbolically killing his own attempts to find peace through violence and revenge.
The bear, on the other hand, represents the burden of the man's guilt. When he kills the bear, he is symbolically paying the price for his sins and finding redemption.
The Conclusion
In conclusion, The Price is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the themes of loss, grief, guilt, and redemption. It is a meditation on the human condition and the ways in which we struggle to find meaning in a world that can be cruel and indifferent.
Rash is a masterful poet who uses language and imagery to create vivid images and evoke strong emotions in his readers. The Price is a testament to his skill and his ability to tell a powerful and moving story through poetry.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
Poetry is a powerful medium that can evoke emotions and convey messages in a way that prose cannot. Ron Rash's poem "The Price" is a perfect example of this. In this 16-line poem, Rash explores the themes of love, sacrifice, and the cost of pursuing one's dreams. The poem is a beautiful and poignant reflection on the human experience, and it is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone who reads it.
The poem begins with the speaker reflecting on a moment from his past. He remembers a time when he was young and in love, and he and his lover would sit on the porch and watch the stars. The speaker describes this moment as a time of "innocence and grace," a time when anything seemed possible. However, the speaker also acknowledges that this moment was fleeting, and that it was not meant to last.
The second stanza of the poem introduces the theme of sacrifice. The speaker describes how he and his lover would talk about their dreams and aspirations, and how they both wanted to achieve great things. However, the speaker also acknowledges that pursuing these dreams came at a cost. He says that they both knew "the price of what we dreamed," and that they were willing to pay it.
The third stanza of the poem is perhaps the most powerful. Here, the speaker describes how he and his lover parted ways, and how they both went on to pursue their dreams. The speaker says that he "paid the price" for his dream, and that he achieved success, but at a great cost. He says that he lost his innocence and his grace, and that he became "a man who'd lost his way."
The final stanza of the poem is a reflection on the speaker's life. He says that he has achieved everything he ever wanted, but that he has also lost everything that was important to him. He says that he has paid the price for his dreams, but that he is not sure if it was worth it. The poem ends with the speaker asking the question, "What is the price of a dream?"
Overall, "The Price" is a beautiful and thought-provoking poem that explores the themes of love, sacrifice, and the cost of pursuing one's dreams. Rash's use of language is simple yet powerful, and his imagery is evocative and poignant. The poem is a reminder that life is full of choices, and that every choice comes with a cost. It is a reminder that sometimes, the things we want most in life come at a great price, and that we must be willing to pay that price if we want to achieve our dreams.
One of the most striking things about "The Price" is its universal appeal. The poem speaks to anyone who has ever had a dream, anyone who has ever loved and lost, and anyone who has ever wondered if the sacrifices they have made were worth it. It is a poem that can be read and appreciated by people of all ages and backgrounds, and it is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever struggled with the question of what it means to pursue one's dreams.
In conclusion, "The Price" is a beautiful and powerful poem that explores the themes of love, sacrifice, and the cost of pursuing one's dreams. Rash's use of language and imagery is evocative and poignant, and his message is universal. The poem is a reminder that life is full of choices, and that every choice comes with a cost. It is a reminder that sometimes, the things we want most in life come at a great price, and that we must be willing to pay that price if we want to achieve our dreams. If you have not yet read "The Price," I highly recommend that you do so. It is a poem that is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone who reads it.
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