Consider the impact Essay Example for Free

Consider the impact Essay In the poem Afternoons by Philip Larkin the closing lines are an effective conclusion top the poem as a whole. The closing lines conclude the fact that young mothers are being repressed by society and that they are being forced into a dull joyless life. Afternoons is based around young mothers looking after their children. The pressures of society have forced them into marrying young and having children. Due to this they have lost all the joy in their lives and are settling down into a dull meaningless life. The closing lines of afternoons state that Something is pushing them To the side of their own lives This effectively concludes the poem as it refers closely to the poems main theme which is developed throughout the poem. The last lines sum up the fact that the pressures of society have forced the mothers into the dull lives that they are currently living. The idea that the young mothers have lost their lives is developed through the whole of the poem. It is effectively introduced in the opening lines of the poem where the poet states Summer is fading Leaves fall in ones and twos, from Trees bordering the recreation ground Summer is a metaphor for the lives of the young mothers which are fading away. Summer is the high point in the mothers lives which is quickly becoming merely a memory. The leaves are symbolic of the mothers. They have lost all colour and vitality in their lives and are fading away just like a leaf when it falls off a tree. The idea that the mothers are living a dull life is continued when the poet says In the hollows of afternoons Young mothers assemble At swing and Sandpit Setting free their children The fact that the afternoons are hollow to the mothers tells us how empty their lives have become. The word Assemble suggests that the young mothers dont enjoy what they are doing. Taking their children to the play park is a chore to the mothers and they have little joy doing so. The fact that they are setting free their children shows us that they are focusing entirely on them. They are not wanting the childrens lives to turn out like theirs did. They are giving them some joy in their lives. The idea that the mothers are expected to look after their children is clarified when the poet says Behind them at intervals Stand husbands in skilled trades The fact that their husbands are standing behind them tells us that they are not wanting to get involved with the children. The husbands are leaving the job of looking after their children on the mothers. The husbands expect the young mothers to look after the children entirely on their own. The play is set in the 60s in a time where young mothers were expected to devote all their attention to their husbands and children and forget about themselves. Society expected this of them and so do the husbands. The fact that the husbands are in skilled trades highlights that they themselves live relatively interesting lives. This is in sharp contrast to the dull, joyless lives that their wives have and helps emphasise the powers of the expectations of society. The main point that the mothers lives have changed is further shown when the poet says that the albums labelled Our Wedding are lying near the television . The juxtaposition between the wedding albums, symbolising the best day of the mothers lives and the fact that they are lying near the television symbolising passiveness and routine helps emphasise the extent in which the young mothers lives have changed. Their lives have clearly gone downhill form the wedding day and they are stuck in their boring, monotonous lives with little hope of things changing. The theme that the young womens lives have changed for the worse is finalised when the poet says Before them the wind is ruining their courting places, that are still courting places but the lovers are all in school The wind is symbolic of a force for change which in this case is the pressures of society. The fact that the courting places have been ruined helps highlight how the mothers lives have changed in a relatively short time. The idea that they are still occupied helps show the cycle within the era of women leaving school marrying and having children at as young age. This helps highlight the pressure of society that are forever bearing. The children are following the same path that the young mothers led and will soon turn out just like them. As you can clearly see the final lines something is pushing them to the side of their own lives is a very effective conclusion to the passage as a whole. The closing lines help clarify that the main reason for the mothers unhappiness is due to the expectation of society that have forced them into marrying young and having a family. The main ideas of the poem are effectively conveyed throughout and are very effectively concluded with the ending lines.