Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Monologue of an Onion

Better Essays
1383 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Monologue of an Onion
“Monologue for an onion” by Suji Kwock Kim

The poem “Monologue for an onion” by Suji Kwock Kim begins with the peeling of an onion that could very well describe her and her agony, but further reading reveals that the majority of the poem is directed at the person doing the peeling. The reader cannot help but sympathize with the peeled onion, whether the emotions stem from the hurt state of the onion or from the aggressive peeler. Clearly the poet’s attack of the peeler grabs the attention of the reader and elevates the emotional connection with the poet. Kim uses the metaphor “peeling away my body layer by layer” (line 3) to describe the unveiling of the layers of an onion. Although the metaphor describes the body of an onion, it is much deeper than that. The metaphor is about people; it is about trying to dig deep into someone’s personality and exposing their vulnerability. Moreover, the deep search and digging referred to are of unhealthy nature. The person searching for the core of another has gone too far in this poem; too far to the extent of making the poet resent and dislike the seeker of the heart. This resentment is clear from the beginning of the poem where it starts with a negative tone, “I mean nothing, but this has not kept you from peeling” (lines 2-3), towards a person who has gone too far trying to achieve clarity and depths that are not realistically discoverable.

The negative tone prevails throughout the whole poem which makes the poem powerful and very interesting to read. Kim is describing many people in her poem, yet the poem suggests that she is directing her words towards one person; a person who did her wrong by hurting her while hurting himself as well. “Yellow peels, my stinging shreds. You are the one in pieces.” (lines 28-29) shows an almost destroyed person being interrogated by a fool who will never get enough and who will keep searching for something unattainable. Humans, unlike machines, will never be controlled nor dissected to extremes. The grander sadness is not in the person who is being dissected, it is the one who keeps peeling layer after layer and never stops. This never-ending search can leave a person very unhappy and empty.

When reading the poem, the first line, “I don 't mean to make you cry”, is not clearly understood until one reads further into the story. While this is one of many metaphors that may seem to be about the sadness of the one who is getting peeled, it is also describing the sadness of the one who is doing the peeling. Indeed the peeler is crying in the end. Even though that line is the very first line of the poem, it is referring to an ending relationship that left both sides in tears and despair. The focus is mainly on the deluded human who will never be happy in his search, “Poor deluded human: you seek my heart.” (line 6). Even though both parties are hurt and disappointed, the poet makes it clear that her hurt feelings and sadness have made her very upset with the one who is the reason for ruining the relationship. Nevertheless, the focus of the poem is not about the relationship, it identifies a personality that does not understand the reality of human nature and the imperfection of the poet.

The poem tackles two main themes. The first theme is about a personality that does not understand the reality of human nature; a personality never satisfied no matter what goals it reaches, “your mind a stopless knife, driven by your fantasy of truth.” The “stopless knife” is a beautiful metaphor emphasizing the characteristics of a mind destructive in its unreasonable search. The “fantasy of truth” ascertains that this human is delusional in attaining his goals.

The second theme of the poem is the object of the delusional human, the poet herself. She is the one who is more realistic about life and human nature. She understands the imperfections of humans, hence addressing her interrogator with sadness and disappointment. She is fed up with the blindness of the person who has hurt her, “Hunt all you want. Beneath each skin of mine lies another skin” (line 7). Apparently she has shown him who she is to the core of her heart, “I am pure onion--pure union of outside and in, surface and secret core.” (lines 8-9), but he cannot accept that what he sees is enough.

This poem has two main sets of metaphors running through it, both of which support the major metaphor of this paper, “peeling away my body layer by layer”. So far the first set about the peeling of layers has been discussed rigorously. The second set of metaphors, “How will you rip away the veil of the eye,” (line 18) is a universal description of how the world is viewed. Kim is objecting that human relationships can be viewed with perfect clarity. In a nice tone, “You must not grieve that the world is glimpsed through veils.” (lines 16-17), she is emphasizing her point with a little compassion towards someone who has hurt her. In fact, that metaphor is the only one in which the poet shows compassion towards her attacker, compared to her overall attitude of resentment. She even uses irony in her words, “How else can it be seen?” (line 17), when she refers to his inability to see the world with the veils on his eyes.

Furthermore, her irony continues by accusing the person doing the peeling of being blind to what is right in front of his face, “Taste what you hold in your hands: onion-juice,” (line 21). His discontent with all his findings will leave him eternally unfulfilled. This dissatisfaction inside him keeps cutting at his mind and soul, “Your soul cut moment to moment by a blade of fresh desire” (lines 25-26). In her few lines about the veil on his eyes, she was very successful in portraying a personality not very uncommon among us. It is the personality of an obsessive compulsive perfectionist who ruins any potentially good event in his life.

To further insult the person doing the peeling, the poet delves deep into his own core and heart. She ends her poem by reversing the roles of whose core is to be revealed, “And at your inmost circle, what? A core that is not one” (lines 27-28). This change in focus is beautiful as she speaks the truth about this deluded human’s heart. By now the reader is eager to see what the poet thinks of this core. Kim does not waste any time nor does she hesitate to describe the state of such a divided heart. “Lost in its maze of chambers, blood, and love,” (line 29) is beyond what one would expect a divided heart to be. She makes it clear that the heart is broken into more than just two parts, but indeed of three or more contradicting divisions.

The strength in the final lines is amazing as the poet finishes her final punches towards the man who caused all the grief and sadness to everyone involved. In addition, she throws her last line out, “A heart that will one day beat you to death.” (line 29). One last true statement that contains a plethora of rich emotions; it is revengeful, sympathetic, degrading, satisfying, and freeing. Now she can walk away from the poison that she lived through!

Not only does Kim’s poem target a large audience, the human race; it is very captivating because it also speaks of love and deep emotions! Even if some of us have never experienced what she describes, most of us can relate to her situation. While the beginning of the poem describes one person in a relationship who is questioning the other partner about his or her actions, the final lines become more of an attack towards that partner. The attack becomes the resolution that the poet needs to answer her own questions and reach the conclusion that her emotionally draining partner is not worth her commitment or love.

Works Cited: “Monologue for an onion” by Suji Kwock Kim

Cited: “Monologue for an onion” by Suji Kwock Kim

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The poem is set in Sydney on busy day that has been disturbed by the weeping of a single man. Repetition is used to enhance the fact that, “No one can stop him,”, as the Narrator describes. It becomes apparent that the reason his crying is not stopped is simply because of the way he cries, not with shame or pity, but with a mature dignity that stops any one from stopping him. The next few stanzas of the poem describe the awe, and even reverence that the observers feel towards this man’s weeping. The narrator describes how the crowd feels, “their minds/longing for tears as children for a rainbow,” describing how their fears of expressing emotion are now realized. This poem provides the insight into emotional expression by describing the feelings that the people feel when they are struck with realization of the loss of emotion in modern…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The tone in this poem is, mournful. This tone has given way to a self-mocking, yet more accepting view. Even in her major crisis, the fertile mind will see the mortal body through.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    You're nothing but a piece oh shit on the bottom of my shoe, thats whats wrong. I'm leaving with Shug and getting away from you. Your'e a dirty rat and your dead body is just the welcome I need to leave you. You might have been a half way decent man if your father raised you right. You know that Nettie was all I had and the only one that loved me and you took her away from me. Your'e nothing but trash for doing that to me. Your'e cruel but it don't matter no more. My sister is taking care of my children in Africa. My children Olivia and Adam are learning different languages and are coming back home soon. And when they get here we are all gona whoop your ass for doing that to me. And we will do it with no regret for the things you done to me. Beating a woman doesn't do shit and I'm gona laugh when everything you wish for crumbles down. My children are gona turn out way better then these blockheads you never made the time to raise. If your son Harpo hadn't tried to beat Sofia into submission then the white people would have never gotten to her. She wouldn't have gotten sent to jail either. You had rotten kids. They made my life hell, they did. But of course you aint nothing but some horse shit. You thought beating me would make me submit to your will? Well, boy you sure are wrong. No one ever is gona treat me that way no more. With you I felt that I wanted to go somewhere but I couldn't. I almost got my spirit beaten outa me and I just wanted to rot somewhere. And I never even asked you for a God damn thing!!! I never asked you for nothing at all!!! Not even your hand in marriage. I never asked you for nothing, but your sorry ass asked everything from me. Wash the dishes, clean the house, feed the kids, shave my beard. And I never got nothing in return!! But I never complained bout that cause I know you would just beat the shit outa me!! And until you do me right then everything you touch…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Images: In this poem I could feel the inner struggle and frustration of the poet’s position.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you believe onions buried underground are the cause of sadness? In the book “Buried Onions” by Gary Soto there are many different examples; such as metaphors, similes, and personification to grab the reader's attention. That is exactly what you want when reading a book!…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sylvia Plath uses the lines 4-9 to compare herself to what they did. “A sort of walking miracle, my skin. / Bright as a Nazi lampshade, / My right foot / A paperweight, / My face a featureless, fine / Jew linen.” She compares her skin to one of their lampshades, and her foot to a paperweight. They reduced her to from a human to inanimate objects. These lines could also suggest that Sylvia Plath is upset with how misogynistic men objectify women. Comparing objectifying women to Nazis and the Holocaust, which were both perpetrated by men, brings out how cruel they can…

    • 1791 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Monologue

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I, Captain Torres, who believes that our country should have better conditions, am here to bring out a new revolution! You people, who oppose us, definitely did not think it through! Have you ever thought about your living conditions? Wouldn’t you want to improve it? Or make it a better place for all of us to live in? Look at yourself and look at people around you! Don’t you people see what’s going on in our country? Do any of you even have the mood to just smile for one second? Eight years ago, November 18, 1968, in Turkey, Richard Moses, the leader of the Turkish people in a town, brought out a revolution! It was a total success! You stupid people didn’t know about it, did you? Every single person in Turkey cheered for the dramatic change! They received good food, decent wages, ethical living conditions, and millions more! Don’t you want any of those fantastic conditions? Take some time to think about your stupid actions stopping us! Think precisely! This is actually not only for our advantages, but also for the good of everyone single person here in this town! I command all of you to listen to me and support me! You will be living in broken houses, wearing torn clothes and barely having any food supplies! So, stop complaining about foolish people. Now, do not waste my precious time! Let’s get out of here! Let’s leave all these foolish people here and get on our way to the new revolution! Let’s go, I said…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Human Interest Analysis

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The poem is about a man who has killed his wife because she was having an affair. It is quite a serious poem, particularly in the first two stanzas. This is directly compromised with the amount of slang used in the poem, such as, “Banged Up” and “I slogged my guts out”. This makes the impression that the he has become mentally unbalanced by the murder of his wife.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This work includes poems of homespun wit and sophisticated irony; of family, politics, and existential unease; of love, betrayal, and heartache; of racial…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alice Monologue

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On Monday 05/09/16 at 1328 hours I was dispatched to a physical domestic at 215…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satire Of The Onion

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To the informed reader, it is known that the Onion is a news website in which satirical articles are written about local and national events, however, this satire can sometimes be missed due to the nature of the article and its presentation of information. Due to how the article is written in the fashion of an actual news article it creates the appearance of actual news and could be seen as such if the satire is missed. With the articles use of quotations and the appearance of fact it gives the tone of that of an actual news article about the issue. For example, the piece uses quotations from people supposedly working with Poland Springs in order to give a basis to the articles information. The way these quotations are placed among the article…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    McMillan uses harsh words throughout the poem to show his grief and remorse at his mothers death. Words like “shatters” link with how he is feeling, like everything is broken and cannot be repaired. This word makes us imagine something broken into lots of tiny pieces which can't be put back together again, and it helps us to understand how broken and jumbled up he is feeling. The word “slap” when talking about “the tears (that) slap my torn face” insinuates the idea that he is in physical pain, that the emotional pain he feels is is so strong that he physically hurts.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Carol Ann Duffy gives a controversial outlook on love and from the very start, it is made clear that the poem is centered around its main key symbol : an onion. The poet makes some other key suggestions on how love makes one feel. Carol Ann Duffy conveys that love is not simple and not always pleasant.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Monologue For Clep

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Page

    I got almost all the answers about the CLEP. I apologise that I am asking you again, but I have two last questions (which I already asked Lydia, but maybe it is miscommunication).…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the begining of the poem Duffy starts off with a negative in opening line. "Not a red rose or a satin heart'. She tries to tell her Valentine to not expect anything romantic. This is telling the reader that it is not somthing sweet, romantic or taditional gift but something unique and original. Then in the following lines she sets out why and onion is a good gift. Duffy then uses a metaphor "It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love'. The 'brown paper' is the outside of the onion that hides the white vegetable inside. This brown skin is the wrapping paper of the gift, the onion. Duffy compares her gift, the onion, to the moon being wrapped in brown paper. This picture of the moon represents the whole onion, just afger it has been peeled. The words "it promises light' give a positive conntation meaning the moons 'light' represents love like a new start and begining of a relationship. Moonlight often provides a romantic setting. The peeling of the onion is also like two people taking off each other clothes before they make love "like the careful undressing of love'. THe different layers of the onion are like the layers of someones discovering the layers in a relationship. Therefore Duffy begins the poeam with a negative conatation and a positive connatation about the onion befoere giving it to her Valentine.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics