Pub 5

What Will Your Verse Be?

Themes and tones are often shared in different pieces of writing. The theme of time is evident in the poems Last Advice by Jeffery Harrison and Working Late by Louis Simpson. The song Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin shares the theme of time as well. Each example involves time passing by as a son grows up and a father grows old. In all three of these works, the tone can be best described as gloomy. 

In Last Advice by Jeffery Harrison, the main character dreams back to being a young boy before his father dies. “The night before my father died, I dreamed he was back home, and I in my old room on the third floor, and he was calling up to me from the bottom of the stairs some advice I couldn’t hear” (Harrison 1). When he was a young boy, he didn’t put in effort to hear his father since he knew his father was there. He thought it was okay to not listen because he could always just find out what his father was saying later on. But once his father died, everything changed. “When, standing over him back in the ICU full of the chirping of machines we had decided to unplug, I remembered the dream and heard him call my name” (Harrison 1). Now years later, the main character realizes he shouldn’t have taken things for granted because unfortunately now he can never talk to his father again.

In Working Late by Louis Simpson, the main character grows up to realize he has become his father. As a young boy, he would always see a light on at night which meant his father was awake and working. “Yet, nothing in nature changes, from that day to this, she is still the mother of us all” (Simpson 1). He briefly mentions the hard work his father did and explains nothing changed as time went by.  “And the light that used to shine at night in my father’s study now shines as late in mine” (Simpson 1). This showed as time passed, things stayed the same from generation to generation. Now the son is awake at night working just like his father did.

In Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin, a boy grows up wanting to be like his father and gets his wish but not exactly how he wanted. The father is busy working right after his son is born. “He learned to walk while I was away, and he was talking before I knew it and as he grew, he'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad, you know, I'm gonna be like you" (Chapin 1). This was foreshadowing of the son wanting to be like his dad while growing up. The chorus of the song repeats, “When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when, we’ll get together then, son, you know we'll have a good time then.” The son continues to grow and ask his dad to spend time with him. Eventually, the roles reverse and by the end of the song the father calls his son to make plans. Now his son is the one that doesn’t know when he will be available. “And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me. He'd grown up just like me, my boy was just like me” (Chapin 1). The son ended up being like his father which is what he wanted but not necessarily how he thought it would be.

The tone in each example can be best described as gloomy. In Last Advice, the main character’s father dies and he regrets not listening to him when he had the chance to. There is nothing more depressing than this. In Working Late, the main character best knows his father by the work he does late at night. In this instance, the night is used as a symbol to represent the darkness that is displayed in the poem. In Cats in the Cradle, the relationship between the father and son is made up of trying to make spend time together but it never happens. The dramatic irony of the son wanting to be like then becoming is father who doesn’t have time for him shows this is certainly not a happy ending. 

The theme of time has a strong presence in all three works of writing. In Last Advice, the main character didn’t appreciate time with his father while he could. In Working Late, the main character explains how nothing changes over time, then finds himself doing the same thing his father did all his life. As time passes in Cats in the Cradle, the father and son both don’t realize they are never seeing each other like they say they would. The gloomy tone shared in each example shows these are not ideal relationships. 

References:
Chapin, Harry. Cats in the Cradle. Rec. 24 Aug. 1974. Paul Leka, 1973. Vinyl recording.