Catharine Garbo
Mr. Salsich
English 8
4 May 2009


Who is the Dark?:
An essay on the theme of a poem and how it relates to my life.


A theme. What is a theme? Dictionary.com’s definition for a theme is a subject of discussion. There could be several themes, just like in this poem, “ Traveling through the dark” by William Stafford.

(TS) A theme can be very vague but in this poem, it is not. (SD) Even though it isn’t vague, you still have to dig deep to find it. (CM) After reading this poem over and over, and talking about it in class, it finally came to me, after all of the digging. (CM) I found that this poem’s theme isn’t what it appears to be. (SD) However, the author might also be making a point that you have to dig for things. (CM) Another theme that I have found is “to do the right thing.” (CM) When the author says, “ to swerve might make more dead”, that is an example of “doing the right thing”. (SD) Also, when the author says, “her fawn there waiting” you understand that the person in this poem feels helpless. (CM) I too would feel helpless if I knew that there was a live animal, just waiting to be born, but never would. (CM) Even though the person felt helpless because he couldn’t save the deer, he still had to think what was the right thing to do. (CS) The themes were obvious as I thought about how the man behaved.

(TS) Do you ever think back, and say, should I have done that? (SD) Well when the author says, “I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—,” he is saying that to himself. (CM) This quote to me reflects on my life. (CM) I have been in situations where I have had to make the right decisions. (SD) As well as when Stafford says this in his poem, it reminds me of how this happens to me. (CM) Sometimes when I say something or do something I think of how maybe I should have said that differently or not at all. (CM) My actions, and how I shouldn’t have done that make me realize how important it is to do the right thing. (CS) When you read this poem, it makes you think, think about a lot of different things.

The things that came to me, after thinking were the deer and what the author is trying to get across to you. A theme, a subject of discussion, can be vague, but in this poem, they stood out to me; digging to find what you’re looking for, doing the right thing, and helplessness. What can you discover, if you dig down deep into a meaningful, and true, peace of literature?