Marks by Linda Pastan

Myra Khan

10-15-2014

EN 102 –C6A/6C

Marks by Linda Pastan

How did you respond to this poem emotionally?  Which words caused your emotional response and pull to this poem to be so strong?  Discuss the general premise of the poem:  what is happening?  Why did this particular experience speak to you as a reader?

When I read the poem I felt bad for the wife because I could imagine a women standing at a small kitchen table, with a spatula in one hand and wearing an upset face as if exhaling. While looking down at her husband’s plate, as he wore an ‘ehh’ look on his face and cleaned his mouth with a napkin and looking at the half-eaten plate of food. By imagining that I could feel how upset and exhausted the woman was. Even though it said ‘he gave her an A for supper’ I can’t help but imagine it like this. ‘Average, incomplete and fail’ really got me in the poem, because the kids and husband don’t understand how difficult it is for a mom to stay home by herself and clean after four people (including herself). Odds are some things might not be able to be done to the fullest extent, since there is so much to do for a house wife. And they are being inconsiderate, with the woman’s emotions, because they don’t see what she does at home every day; when the kids are at school, and the husband’s at work. In the poem I see a woman who is curious about what her family thinks about her. And as she finds out what everyone thinks, the more upset and ‘depressed’ she becomes. Finally she got fed up with everyone’s opinions about her; while they didn’t even know here daily routine. They judged her on what she did for them solely and not what she did overall. I liked this poem because it show cases something many people go through, it shows the feeling of under appreciation. And it’s not just about being underappreciated at home by your family, but also shows how some people at work places and most likely school feel.