For my post, I chose to discuss the theme in Monologue for An Onion.
I would consider the theme of this poem to be The search for truth, or elusive truth. The onion expresses that the person is peeling away the layers, “layer by layer” to find the heart. The onion insists there is nothing inside and it is only “pure onion”. (“Beneath each skin of mine / Lies another skin: I am pure onion--pure union.”) The person is chopping, in search of the heart. (“That you are, you who want to grasp the heart.”) The person continues to look for the heart, but only sought their desired truth. (“A stopless knife, driven by your fantasy of truth.”) As the poem continues, the person has hurt and changed themselves. (“Lies. Taste what you hold in your hands: onion-juice, / Yellow peels, my stinging shreds. You are the one / In pieces. …”) I believe that the message of this poem is that the truth can hurt and you can get lost looking for a deeper truth and meaning. (“...Poor fool, you are divided at the heart, / Lost in its maze of chambers, blood, and love, / A heart that will one day beat you to death.”)
Nice job gross!! You explained the theme really well
ReplyDeleteI agree that the theme is searching for truth, maybe someone searching for truth from someone else. I also really like that you made the point about the person who is searching getting hurt by it, I think that happens a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe explanation was really well done, and you gave examples of everything you said which makes it easier to understand. I also agree with everything you said!
ReplyDeleteI think you explanation is true. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the theme you have suggested, but I also think that it could be about false hope, meaning that no matter how hard one searches, they may not get what they truly desire in life
ReplyDeleteI thought this poem was really interesting. I believe that the onion represents a person, that the person peeling the onion is trying to get something out of the onion, but the onion does not want to tell the peeler. Good job!
ReplyDeleteNoice job Andrew! I agree with how you described that the person is trying too hard to get to the truth of the onion, and I believe that they are searching for the meaning of life, but it can never be uncovered, and they will just lose their marbles in the process. I liked your vivid explanations. Nice!
ReplyDeleteThis is quite interesting seeing your point of view for this poem. You gave us great examples supporting what you think.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the way you interpreted the poem, and the quoting thorough your explanation made it really clear what you were talking about.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it could be that this person cutting the onion is really searching for him/herself, and that the onion is really the seekers psyche?
ReplyDeleteI really liked this poem also! I think you did a good job here. It's interesting how the author makes it seem like the reader is the one cutting the onion.
ReplyDeleteExcellent analysis of the theme. I would like to say that truth and ideas are two sides of the same coin. This man is searching for TRUTH, but the author wrote this after an IDEA. The onion also appears to be sentient, using words such as "idiot." I believe this onion represents ideas. An idea can have no end, only ideas, but the quest for truth... When the truth s found, the quest is done.
ReplyDeleteNice job Andrew, I liked how you put the lines of the poem on your analysis. I completely agree that the poem talks about how people can easily get lost looking not only for the truth but for other things as well. When people get to focused on the destination, when they finally get there (if they ever do) they feel lost and empty.
ReplyDeleteI feel like experiencing something like this myself definitely helps me come up with many different interpretations of the text. In my experience, some things you may cry and cry about, desperately trying to search for the answer, but in reality, you can't overthink it. It's like crying about something you didn't do, when the only way to fix it is to stop crying and do it. Nice job, Andrew.
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