Question

In the poem Breaking Out. the poet shows the gradual transformation of a young girl into a confident and independent individual who breaks the conventional stereotypes of society. Discuss with close reference to the text. 

Answer 1

“Breaking Out” by Marge Piercy is a modern poem of inspiration and of the rebellious spirit. The American poet, novelist and social activist Marge Piercy has been known for her feminist writings. The poem, first published in the Harbor Review in 1984, is a specimen of the tone and themes of her poetry. And I have heard people hailing this poem as one of their all-time favorites. The poem ‘Breaking Out’ is an autobiographical picture of the sufferings, feelings, and rebellion of an adolescent girl in a ‘depressed’ family in mid-twentieth-century America. The poet narrates how she grew up, ill-treated by her parents, from childhood to adolescence. She felt bad for herself and even for her mother as women had to do utterly useless things at home and had no freedom. She dreamed of coming out of her sufferings when she grew. And one day she broke the stick after a beating and felt “there were things that I should learn to break”. The poem starts rather abruptly with a question that apparently aims to talk about the first political act in the girl’s life. But here, ‘political’ is in the sense that it was all about a protest, a revolt against something unjust. After that motivated deed, the poet can see the two different ways of life (two doors) nearing each other. The ‘two doors‘ are the metaphors for the two separate ways of life for her: one is to stick to the established norms of the society, to bear with the humiliation and the captivity; another is to break away from the stereotypes, to upset the status quo, to demand the freedom to do what she likes. The poem is not a destructive one, in fact, it’s all about gaining the power, a courageous move in the right direction. So, the title of the poem is not only about breaking a stick, but the greater implication in it for breaking those outdated things that kept the society lagging. It is indicative of the poet’s breaking out from the stereotypes that her mother could not. This poem really inspires all of us to support the right things and take stand against the wrong things.