Cathy Song, “The Youngest Daughter” 

TP-CASTT Analysis

Blog #11 Poem #7

Title:

The title of this poem, "The Youngest Daughter", shows evidence that the story is going to be either from the point of view of a young daughter, the point of view of a mother towards her youngest daughter, or a narrator speaking of the youngest daughter. I predict that this poem is going to be about the struggles of the youngest sibling and what she has to go through vs what the other daughters have to go through. 

Paraphrase:

The sky has been dark for many years 

My skin is damp and pale, like mothers used to be before her sickness took over

Lately, when I touch my eyelids, they burn because of the horrible migraines.

This morning, I gave her her bath and she was in a good humor. As I washed her, I thought of all the people that have touched this body before me. 

I was extremely gentle when washing her insulin bruises. It seems like it has always been this way, us two alone in this bathroom.

In the afternoons, we eat in a familiar silence. I plan my escape as I drink my tea and she knows it. She knows not to trust me. As I toast to her health, the cranes in the window fly up at once. 

Connotation:

The meaning of this poem is that the youngest daughter has to stay at home and take care of her sick mother. The reader can infer that there are other daughters who are free from the term "youngest", if there wasn't other sisters, the title could have suggested something like "the only daughter". From the last stanza of the poem, the speaker makes it obvious that she longs to get away from her mother and find freedom/independence. We can tell this by the way she envies the birds flying away.

Attitude:

The speakers attitude in this poem varies. It's both sincere and honest. She shows sincerity towards her mothers illness when she speaks of the way she helps her. The way she bathes her and makes sure she's okay. Yet, she's honest about wanting to get away from her mother and be free. She talks about how her mother knows not to trust her because she is planning to escape. This just leaves us to wonder, what does she mean by "escape"? Waiting for her mother to die, waiting for her to get healthy, or just leaving her altogether?

Title:

I now know what the title means in relation to the poem as a whole. The youngest daughter is left to take care of her mother while the other daughters have explored their freedom. 

Theme:

One of the most prominent themes I was able to identify in this poem was the role reversal between a mother and daughter. In their relationship, the daughter acts as the mother by taking care of the mother. I had trouble identifying it at first because I thought that the major theme was freedom. Freedom is a theme in the poem, but I feel that the role reversal theme is more dominant.