Sound and Sense Chapter 8: My Son the Man

My Son the Man

Thesis: In the poem My Son the Man, Sharon Olds uses allusions to the magician Houdini to describe her son growing older and eventually being able to do things on his own. Olds also uses descriptive diction and a metaphor, to illustrate her son’s wonder of trying to find his way out of his sleeper and relates this to him growing up and becoming a man.

Allusion:

Olds uses the allusion to Houdini to express her son turning into a man by discovering how to complete tasks on his own.

“Suddenly his shoulders get a lot wider, the way Houdini would expand his body” (lines 1-2).

Olds references Houdini to show that just like Houdini would change shape quickly, her son is also growing just as quickly in her opinion. To a mother a child may seem to grow up in a matter of minutes when in reality, growing up takes a long time.

“Now he looks at me the way Houdini studied a box to learn the way out, then smiled and let himself be manacled” (lines 14-16).

Houdini is referenced again as the son is trying to find a way out of his sleeper just like Houdini would try to figure out how to escape. The mother realizes that her son has not grown up to be a man yet, and he still needs help escaping from his sleeper.

Descriptive Diction:

“It seems no time since I would help him put on his sleeper, guide his calves into the shadowy interior” (lines 3-5).

Olds illustrates the affection that the mother expresses towards her son, and how her actions are maternal. The lines illustrate the son’s need to be helped.

“zip him up and toss him up and catch his weight. I cannot imagine him no longer a child, and I know I must get ready” (lines 5-7).

The description in these lines expresses the innocence of her son, and that she cannot imagine her son growing up.

Metaphor:

“to learn the way out, then smiled and let himself be manacled” (line 16).

The sleeper represents the son being trapped like Houdini was in chains. In this line the mother sees her son just as a little boy who not only wants his mother’s help but needs it. At first the son is trying to escape, but he soon realizes that he cannot find a way out of his sleeper by himself. This change is expressed when he smiles and realizes he is stuck in the sleeper.