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Carl Sandburg's Arithmetic

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Arithmetic, a poem written by Carl Sandburg, calls attention to the many important yet very much basic applications and benefits of mathematics in the daily lives of humans and how math discreetly finds a way to make an immense impact. For example, mathematics can be used in a variety of situations that ranges from solving a really long and strenuous problem to doing something as simple as splitting food with another person. Sandburg effectively uses various elements of poetry to further reveal the importance of mathematics in daily life and ultimately uses such poetic elements to assert that, while sometimes overlooked, mathematics are an essential part of life.
Sandburg creatively reveals the immense applications and uses of mathematics …show more content…

For example, Sandburg describes arithmetic as where “ the answer is right and everything is nice” and “answer is wrong and you have to start all over again” The contrasting emotions Sandburg convey’s between a wrong and right answer shows how math emotionally rather than just physically affects our lives. The contrast between “everything is nice” and “have to start all over again” reveal just a portion of the emotional impact math can have on a person. Sandburg also depicts arithmetic as “where you carry a multiplication table in your head and you hope you don’t lose it.” Such an image implies that math forces people to store information in their head as if they were protecting something with dear care in order to not lose possession of it. The multiplication table, in this case, is portrayed as an object that humans genuinely care for and do not want to see get lost. Sandburg also relates arithmetic to winning and losing when he writes “Arithmetic tell you how many you lose or win.” Such a comparison once again depicts math as having a profound impact on our lives in that math is in a way a form of the struggle between winning and losing. Sandburg’s use of imagery and extensive comparisons of arithmetic to many extremely relatable aspects of life broadens the reader's view of math and serves to claim that math is in fact an essential part of

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