Motivation in Carl Sandburg's The Red Son
The poem “The Red Son,” by Carl Sandburg, is about motivation, and what it can do to people. Motivation is “to be motivated, by ways of inducement or incentive.” The poem conveys many aspects about motivation, such as where motivation originates and how compelling it is, how strong motivation can be, and how motivation can change a person’s life. Motivation comes from within, and can push someone into action, whether they actually want to or not. No one will do anything unless there is something pushing them from within to do it. An example is the quote “But a fire burns in my heart. Under the ribs where pulses thud and flitting between bones of skull is the push, the endless mysterious command…” where the man can feel inside him, a strong motivation to leave home. This man doesn’t even want to really leave however, and he knows everyone does not want him to go either, but the motivation is still too great to deny. A good quote is “I go where you wist not of, nor I nor any man nor woman. I only know I go to storms, grappling against things wet and naked,” where the man knows he should not leave, but he also knows he has to. One more good quote showing the man knows he has to leave is when he declares in the last line “You for the little hills and I go away.” This motivation the man felt was very deep, and very strong, it took him away from everything he knew, into a possible dangerous and scary future. A person can be so motivated, they will leave everything they know, for something totally new. The motivation the man felt took him from his comfortable life, to an unknown new life. The man was very comfortable, and had a good life as seen in the quote “I love your faces I saw the many years, I drank your milk and filled my mouth, with your home talk, slept in your house, and was one of you.” However, the man must leave, to a strange new place, possibly very difficult