"Small Town with One Road" page 332, #279

“Small Town with One Road” by Gary Soto effectively incorporates a style of diction that conveys one of the poem’s themes.  The poem’s childish diction contributes to the reflective tone of the speaker.  Terms naturally assosciated with youth are frequently present as the narrator visualizes his own childhood in a similar small town. Vocabulary such as “big-eyed”, sweetness, stain, laughter, and candies all exemplify aspects of childhood the narrator is recalling, and reveals the reflective experience the speaker is having.

            Another literary item which enhances the poem’s meaning is the use of similies and metaphors, which aid readers in visualizing the setting, and the memories described by the speaker.  “Papa’s field that wavered like a mirage” presents an example in which the comparison between the father’s field and a desert mirage, results in the depiction of this memory as a time of difficult manual labor in a sweltering environment.  Recognizing the hard work and struggle of this childhood experience contributes to the reflective, grateful concept of the poem. 

            I find this poem interesting because while the narrator rediscovers some of the pleasant details of childhood, he also examines the influence it has had on his life and how it still has the potential to be further altered.  Most reflective pieces do not carry the experiences of the past into the present and future as “Small Town with One Road” does, but I like this interpretation and think it expresses the author’s grateful emotions for having created a future brighter than his past.  I hope when I reflect on my past I can use it as motivation, and understand how it continually influences life, as does the speaker of this poem.