Birdfoot’s Grampa

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1975

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Grampa’s Hands

Grampa’s hands are a prominent image in the poem, appearing in both the first stanza and the third stanza. They are likened to leather in Line 14, and the metaphor connects the hands to nature and to the poet’s Native heritage. The worn quality symbolizes Grampa’s time at work and his connection to the earth. In the third stanza, the hands are “full / of wet brown life” (Lines 14-15) as he scoops up the toads from the roadway that represent of all life. The smallness of the toads contrasts with the size of Grampa’s hands, which are large and capable enough to move them to safety and to preserve their lives. The image of Grampa’s hands emphasizes the notion of human responsibility to intervene when smaller, weaker lives are vulnerable to injury or death.

The Toads

The image of the toads emphasize their role in the poem as small, helpless creatures that appear in the road during the rain shower for Grampa to rescue. From the road, the toads will eventually travel back to the water to mate and the cycle will begin all over again, and their motion echoes the theme of the cyclical nature of life. If the toads do not survive their passage over the roadway, the life cycle would break, thus interrupting the flow and order of nature. In this way, the toads symbolize nature itself and the part that all living things play in the ebb and flow of life. They are at once small and great, and they help Birdfoot understand that all life has meaning and has a part to play in the grand scheme of the nature.

The Car

The car in which the speaker and Grampa travel represent the impact of humans on the natural world. On one hand, the image of the car brings to mind the world of travel and the wonderful opportunities humans can now experience. As a symbol of connection, exploration, and innovation, cars are a critical part of modern life. On the other hand, motor vehicles produce dangerous pollutants and require toxic substances to operate, and the road systems on which cars travel damage animal habitats.

The car in “Birdfoot’s Grampa” enables the speaker to be apart from nature, creating an artificial division between the speaker and the toads. Birdfoot remains separate from the nature around him by remaining in the car. This separation allows a philosophical detachment from the nature, which lets the speaker shrug off the fact that the lives of living creatures are at stake. Grampa, on the other hand, positions himself within nature, believing his place in nature is as a part of the natural world around him. Grampa can separate himself from the car and its headlights, and experience them as tools he can use to help save the toads, whose journeys are of equal importance to his own.