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What life is really like - Beverly Rycroft - Full summary
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What life is really like - Beverly Rycroft1
, What life is really like - Beverly Rycroft
R Line Analysis
Stanza 1
Told in first person narrator.
The poem starts with and instruction from a father to his young daughter, ‘You need to toughen up,’ but the girl
experiences it as if he is complaining about her innocence.
The father is implying that the child needs to get used to the real experiences in life in line 8 (‘what life is really
like’) which implies that she does not yet understand the intricacies of life.
Furthermore, ‘really’ in line 8 is printed in bold, emphasising how important his message is.
1 You need to toughen up .”to toughen up”: to become hardened to the ways of the world, and to
be less emotional when dealing with pain and suffering.
“you “: The speaker's father is advising them to become stronger and
more resilient.
Imperative: "You need to toughen up,"
Explanation: These lines express commands or strong
suggestions, emphasizing the speaker's father's authoritative tone and
his belief that the speaker needs to become stronger and more
resilient.
2 my father would complain “Complain”: express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.
“my “: The speaker's father often expressed his dissatisfaction or
disappointment.
3 when I was small ´I “: This indicates that the speaker's father's remarks about
toughness started when the speaker was young.
4 I ought to take you to see “ought”: This suggests that he doesn’t ever take her to witness the
death of chickens.
5 chickens having their head The father seems cruel, but underneath the gruffness is a gentle love
for his daughter.
6 chopped off. Chickens where beheaded.
7 That’d teach you The purpose of the suggested experience is to impart a lesson or
teach a valuable insight.
Imperative: "That'd teach you,"
Explanation: These lines express commands or strong
suggestions, emphasizing the speaker's father's authoritative tone and
his belief that the speaker needs to become stronger and more
resilient.
8 what life is really like. The father believes that witnessing the brutality of beheading chickens
would provide a realistic understanding of life's harshness.
Stanza 2
The child explains how the father uses another real-life situation to teach her about the cruelty of life by forcing
her to assist when he stitches up an injured pigeon.
9 He’d seek me out Personification: ‘when one of his pigeons/-crazed for home or/mad
with terror’ The pigeon is described like a crazy or mad person. It is
effective because the poet successfully emphasises how unsettled the
pigeon was.
The father actively looked for the speaker.
2
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