Andrea

__**Individual Analysis of "Cabezon" by Amy Beeder**__

Amy Beeder's poem "Cabezon" is a great example of how poets can hide subtle messages within their work to relay imporant knowledge to their readers. Through the use of prominent imagery and tone, Beeder makes significant points about the lives of everyday people and the hardships they face.

At first glance, "Cabezon" seems like a fairly bland poem consisting of descriptions and unanswered questions. Yet at a deeper inspection, one can find many hidden clues Beeder gives to the double meanings of people's lives. For example, the title, "Cabezon" is the name of a fish with a large disproportional head and smaller body. But, when one looks at the Spanish meaning of the word Cabezon it translates to mean ‘big bloated head’ or ‘stubborn’. For example, when Beeder describes the person she’s talking about, she offers the lines “ you, chub and bug-eyed, jaw like a loaf” (line 3). Then, she goes on to say “humped over like the eel-man or geek” (line 6). Both of these descriptions show how pathetic, droopy, lonely, and yet still conceded Beeder views the person she’s speaking of. The descriptions are also very similar to the appearance of the Cabezon fish, giving a good reason for why Ms. Beeder named the poem “Cabezon”.

The most prominent part of the poem “Cabezon” is Amy Beeder’s use of imagery. Her writing is descriptive in not only demonstrating the personality but also presenting the environment in which the main character resides. “ I know for now you only look ahead / at sidewalks cracked & paved with trash" gives readers a feel for the dire and dirty situation the person is engulfed in. The environment almost makes me feel a claustrophobic trapped feeling, like the person I’m reading about is ensnared in the bad environment because of their own stubbornness and laziness.

Overall, in the poem Cabezon, there are no sound devices, allusions, or patterns of rhyme. The reason for this, I noticed, is that Beeder's tone is reminiscent of normal speech. The tone reminds me slightly of a friend trying to give advice to someone who seems very lost in their life. Though Beeder calls the person she's referring to a 'big head', I consider that the comment reprimands more than it insults. I believe that the reason behind the comment is to make a person feel shameful about himself and motivate him to do something with his life. I speculate that in her poem, Beeder addressed a childhood friend who made wrong decisions in life.

In the end, Beeder questions what the person is doing with his life in lines 13-14: “ But what are you slouching toward--knee-locked / hippity, a hitch in your zombie walk, Bighead?”. In my opinion, Beeder views the person as someone who has too big of an ego or pride to grit their teeth and try hard at something. The person just expects everything to come to him without any effort, but vanity and ego will never be enough to get things done.

Through the use of imagery and prominent tone, Amy Beeder is able to show the reader how people need to have a motive in life. Otherwise, people will waste away to nothing, stuck in their own stubborn fantasies. People naively think that everything will come to them, that they will become rich and famous without doing any work. Beeder reprimands the person she’s addressing for this kind of mentality, but most of all she asks a very important question for all of us: What are we doing to get somewhere in life?  