Fifth Grade Autobiography

Dove introduces the brother’s presence in the photograph with a mention of a potentially uncomfortable detail: “My brother squats in poison ivy” (Line 3). Initially, this detail may read comically as many readers will be aware of the discomfort that awaits him as a result of this error in judgment. The speaker’s brother’s inability to differentiate innocent foliage from its itchier counterpart indicates that the children may be inexperienced in rural settings. Their grandparents, however, appear at ease at the lake, suggesting that the children are paying their grandparents a visit and heightening the emotionally precious tone of the memory for the speaker.

In this poem, hands have a positive connotation for the speaker of the poem, and they function as a symbol of active care and nurture. The speaker remembers their grandfather’s hands most clearly as he uses them early in the poem for fishing and for rolling tobacco. The speaker’s grandfather’s hands are capable and strong in these images, and they instill a sense of confidence and comfort in the young speaker. As well, the grandfather’s hands communicate a sense of his vitality; with his hands, he can do so much, and his hands suggest the potential for activity.