Those winter sundays written by robert hayden name essay example

The poem Those winter Sundays written by Robert Hayden depicts a reflection a grownup has bout their childhood Sundays. It is clear that the idea of appreciating family is not there from the very beginning and hence, the persona and the rest of the family members never appreciated their father. As a grownup, the persona looks back and feels the father deserved love, respect and affection now that no one gave this to him at that time. The persona recognizes his father’s effort compounded with love for his family at a later time which means that at the time when the father was showing them his love, none of them appreciated it which makes him unappreciative. He seems and sounds guilty because he says that “ chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him”. It turns out that the persona is unappreciative.
The persona establishes a complex sense of remembrance when the actions of his father flush through his mind. He father got up early every Sunday during the winter and light up fire to warm their house but then he goes on to say that no one, including himself thanked him for his warm gestures. The persona says, “. no one ever thanked him.”(line 3). There is an element of self sacrifice that no one seemed to appreciate including the persona. It is a surprising admission because for one to extend such gestures of love, at least the persona and the rest of the family ought to have appreciated it, not even after a long week of working hard to provide for them. The father seems isolated and his suffering and hard work are not acknowledged by the persona.
At some point, the persona acknowledges that his father used to polish his shoes for him. This allusion the poem sends a picture of a loving father who made lots of sacrifices not only for his family, but also this son in particular. But then these actions were never appreciated and even when he looks back, the persona looks back with a lot of anger and regret. He goes on to say “ polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?” At this point in time he regrets having not appreciated his father’s efforts. He was ignorant about those mornings and now that he is faced with a different life while, in the office, he goes back in remembrance of how meaningful those actions were to him. His father neglected his own comforts and assumes his own aching hands and the cold to foster the family’s comfort. His father may have been isolated from the rest of the family going by their actions and it is this fact that makes the persona and the rest of the family not appreciate their father.
These two examples are a clear pointer to a family unit that is not unified in love. There is a grim picture of a father that goes out o his way to sacrifice for his son and the rest of the family members, who never acknowledge and appreciate his love for them. A father who drove out the cold and polished shoes for the persona was never thanked but instead was spoken to indifferently. There are utter regret and bitterness as well as remorse in the voice of the persona that points back to the fact that his character and attitude were not at their best at the time. It, therefore, means that he never appreciated the simple acts of love from his father to say the very least.