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The Idler vs mss rosie: A compare and contrast The Idler by…
The Idler vs mss rosie: A compare and contrast
The Idler
by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
miss rosie
By Lucille Clifteon
An idle lingerer on the wayside’s road,
He gathers up his work and yawns away;
A little longer, ere the tiresome load
Shall be reduced to ashes or to clay.
No matter if the world has marched along,
And scorned his slowness as it quickly passed;
No matter, if amid the busy throng,
He greets some face, infantile at the last.
His mission? Well, there is but one,
And if it is a mission he knows it, nay,
To be a happy idler, to lounge and sun,
And dreaming, pass his long-drawn days away.
So dreams he on, his happy life to pass
Content, without ambitions painful sighs,
Until the sands run down into the glass;
He smilescontentunmoved and dies.
And yet, with all the pity that you feel
For this poor mothling of that flame, the world;
Are you the better for your desperate deal,
When you, like him, into infinitude are hurled?
when i watch you
wrapped up like garbage
sitting, surrounded by the smell
of too old potato peels
or
when i watch you
in your old man’s shoes
with the little toe cut out
sitting, waiting for your mind
like next week’s grocery
i say
when i watch you
you wet brown bag of a woman
who used to be the best looking gal in georgia
used to be called the Georgia Rose
i stand through your destruction
i stand up
Comprehension questions
What do the lines below most likely reveal about the poem’s speaker?
when i watch you
you wet brown bag of a woman
who used to be the best looking gal in georgia
used to be called the Georgia Rose
A. She has offered Miss Rosie a place to stay in her home.
B. She knew Miss Rosie before she fell on hard times.
C. Miss Rosie is the speaker.
D. Both the speaker and Miss Rosie are homeless.
2. “miss rosie” is mainly written in —- tense, from a —- point of view.
A. present; third-person
B. past; third-person
C. present; first-person
D. past; first-person
3. With which of the following statements about Miss Rosie would the speaker most likely agree?
A. Miss Rosie has only herself to blame for her current state.
B. Miss Rosie is dying.
C. Miss Rosie is the speaker’s mother.
D. Miss Rosie’s mental health suffers.
4. Which line from the text most strongly supports the answer to the previous question?
“when I watch you / wrapped up like garbage”
“sitting, surrounded by the smell / of too old potato peels”
“sitting, waiting for your mind / like next week’s grocery”
“i stand up / through your destruction”
5. Arrange the following descriptions in the order they appear in the text:
First, second, third, fourth.
The speaker thinks back to the past.
Miss Rosie is confused and disoriented.
The speaker is overcome by feeling.
Miss Rosie is filthy.
Compare and contrast the two poems
Category The Idler Both (similarities) miss rosie
The author
subject
Topic
Tone
Mood
Theme
Purpose
Point of view
Figurative
Language
3 types with examples from the text
Style
Writing
The Idler shares contrasting views on what is needed to be truly happy. Write an academic paragraph where you compare and contrast your own point of view with those in the poem.
