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Wagoner's Tumbleweed: An Analysis - Online Essays

Wagoner's Tumbleweed: An Analysis

The central theme of the poem “Tumbleweed” by David Wagoner is a
tumbleweed that bounces from one place to the next. It is buffeted by the
wind, and it ends up stuck on a fence from which it is rescued by the poet
to continue its way.
In the first stanza, the poet tells us that the tumbleweed, which
is a metaphor for himself has been through. “Tilting lopsided, bouncing end
over end.” This tells us how the tumbleweed falls. This shows the chaos
that the poet feels. The poet feels like he is bouncing from place to place
end over end. “Springing from the puffs of its own dust.” This suggests
that the wind is carrying the tumbleweed along its course. It shows how the
tumbleweed and the ...

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difficult life. The poet and the tumbleweed are stuck in a
painful, difficult situation. They are prisoners of their surroundings,
helpless. “Like a riddled prisoner.” The words riddled prisoner are used to
give us a powerful, painful, picture of the lost and hopeless feeling of
the poet. He feels great pain at his situation, feels that there is no way
out. He is hanging there on the fence, exposed for everyone to see.
In the second stanza, the poet continues to use metaphors for his
life. “ Half the sharp seeds have fallen from this tumbler, knocked out for
good by head- stands and pratfalls between here and wherever it grew up.”
The seeds of the tumbleweed have been knocked out from being tossed about
all the time and this has been happening from the poets childhood on. The
poet and the tumbleweed have lost so much on their journey through life.
The poet feels that everything that he has lost is irretrievable. From
childhood on he has been knocked around and tossed about. ...

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Wagoner's Tumbleweed: An Analysis. (2004, May 24). Retrieved February 9, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Wagoners-Tumbleweed-An-Analysis/8352

"Wagoner's Tumbleweed: An Analysis." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 24 May. 2004. Web. 9 Feb. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Wagoners-Tumbleweed-An-Analysis/8352>

"Wagoner's Tumbleweed: An Analysis." Essayworld.com. May 24, 2004. Accessed February 9, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Wagoners-Tumbleweed-An-Analysis/8352.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 5/24/2004 02:55:31 PM
Category: Poetry & Poets
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 758
Pages: 3

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