Flashbacks of the “Final Solution”: Figurative Imagery in “the Baker”
Flashbacks of the “Final Solution”:
Figurative Imagery in “The Baker”
In “The Baker”, Heather Cadsby’s use of figurative imagery helps to convey the memories of the Holocaust that still haunt the baker. The use of a metaphor compares the survivor’s tattoos to veins in order to convey the permanence of the baker’s memories of the Holocaust. The speaker remarks, as they gaze upon the baker’s arm, “It’s that blue code on your arm/ [, those] four numbers I can’t decipher./ They are fixed veins” (lines 5-7). The poet uses this metaphor to compare the permanent tattoos on the baker’s arm to veins because both are blue and both will be with the baker as long as he lives. The four blue numbers on the baker’s arm are actually his identity code from when he was at Auschwitz. Now, even though he has escaped and is free, the tattoos will always be a burden to him, constantly reminding him of his horrible experience. Moreover, personification is used to bring the oven in the bakery to life representing the ovens in Auschwitz and the baker’s memories of them. The speaker can see that “ovens belch and sweat” (8) as the baker “mold[s], bake[s]/ and remember[s]” (9-10) other ovens in his past. When Cadsby says, “belch and sweat”, she is comparing the ovens to the way humans sweat when they are heated. When belching (or burping), one shows satisfaction or fullness, usually after consumption; as a result, the ovens “belch” after they consume the innocent victims. The way the ovens come to life helps the reader understand that the images of the furnaces at Auschwitz are still very real in the baker’s memory. Furthermore, by using a metaphor, Cadsby describes the baker’s facial expression, conveying that his horrific memories are visible through his scars and markings. The persona cannot help but observing that the baker’s “face is stamped/ with [marks made by] feet/ and the reek of screams” (12-14); they understand that “none of [it] grows stale”. The reader is informed that the
Figurative Imagery in “The Baker”
In “The Baker”, Heather Cadsby’s use of figurative imagery helps to convey the memories of the Holocaust that still haunt the baker. The use of a metaphor compares the survivor’s tattoos to veins in order to convey the permanence of the baker’s memories of the Holocaust. The speaker remarks, as they gaze upon the baker’s arm, “It’s that blue code on your arm/ [, those] four numbers I can’t decipher./ They are fixed veins” (lines 5-7). The poet uses this metaphor to compare the permanent tattoos on the baker’s arm to veins because both are blue and both will be with the baker as long as he lives. The four blue numbers on the baker’s arm are actually his identity code from when he was at Auschwitz. Now, even though he has escaped and is free, the tattoos will always be a burden to him, constantly reminding him of his horrible experience. Moreover, personification is used to bring the oven in the bakery to life representing the ovens in Auschwitz and the baker’s memories of them. The speaker can see that “ovens belch and sweat” (8) as the baker “mold[s], bake[s]/ and remember[s]” (9-10) other ovens in his past. When Cadsby says, “belch and sweat”, she is comparing the ovens to the way humans sweat when they are heated. When belching (or burping), one shows satisfaction or fullness, usually after consumption; as a result, the ovens “belch” after they consume the innocent victims. The way the ovens come to life helps the reader understand that the images of the furnaces at Auschwitz are still very real in the baker’s memory. Furthermore, by using a metaphor, Cadsby describes the baker’s facial expression, conveying that his horrific memories are visible through his scars and markings. The persona cannot help but observing that the baker’s “face is stamped/ with [marks made by] feet/ and the reek of screams” (12-14); they understand that “none of [it] grows stale”. The reader is informed that the
Cited: Cadsby, Heather. “The Baker”. Pre-AP English 9 Supplementary Readings: Prejudice and Social Inequity. Milton: n.p., 2012. 20. Print.