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Summary Of To Be Of Use By Marge Pierey

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Jennifer Baer Mrs. Villanova American Literature 1 Grade 9 In the literary poem, “To Be of Use” by Marge Piercey, Piercey uses imagery and personification to represent her admiration of those who leave a mark on the world. In Piercey’s poem, she writes about how she looks up to her idols, which are the type of people to do their tasks passionately, and with impact. The author uses many examples of personification to express her admiration of people who do anything possible to help advance the world she lives in. Furthermore, Piercey mentions many examples of imagery in her poem to convey to the reader what it means to be of use to the world to Piercey, and work for what they believe in. To start off, one use of imagery that Piercey uses states that the people she looks up to, “jump into work head first / without dallying in the shallows,” (2,3). This quote shows that the author is attempting to show that the people she loves are not afraid to help make a difference in the world and work for what they believe in. By using imagery, Piercey relates her idols to those who plunge into the deep end of what …show more content…

Her use of simile in comparing those she admires to water buffalo and oxen also shows how she adores their ways of life. By comparing her loved ones to water buffalo and oxen, this shows that she thinks of them as people who are strong willed, and can endure heavy weights that life may give, but will persist in doing what they believe in. Thus, this is another use of figurative language Piercey uses for readers by comparing people to animals. This allows readers to understand how she loves the people that are similar to strong, hard-working animals that perform many tasks not all animals can

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