THE MAD MAN
KHALIL GIBRAN
Once I said to a scarecrow, “You must be tired of standing in this lonely field.”
And he said, “The joy of scaring is a deep and lasting one, and I never tire of it.”
Said I, after a minute of thought, “It is true; for I too have known that joy.”
Said he, “Only those who are stuffed with straw can know it.”
Then I left him, not knowing whether he had complimented or belittled me.
A year passed, during which the scarecrow turned philosopher.
And when I passed by him again I saw two crows building a nest under his hat.
Figurative Language
Symbolism:
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"Only those who are stuffed with straw can know it.”
Irony:
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"Then I left him, not knowing whether he had complimented or belittled me."
Simili:
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"A year passed, during which the scarecrow turned philosopher"
Metaphor:
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"And when I passed by him again I saw two crows building a nest under his hat."
Software Findings Reoccurring Words
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Said, Scarecrow, Passed, Joy
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With these findings we can conclude that the poem uses some sort of symbolism with "Scarecrows".
Interpretation
My interpretation of "The Scarecrow" identifies the relationship between an existing and non existing figure. The Scarecrow is one with no heart. For an individual to feel the same as the scarecrow means that that person is heartless, or may not have compassionate feelings. It is easy to feel joy in others pains and to follow this path. Gibran represents an empty intellectual as a man of steal. His one dimensional view of reality leads him to become an ugly pessimist. This is symbolized by two crows who have built their next under his hat. The crows nest is also intended to illustrate that the scarecrow is useless and incapable of doing the only work he was ment to do, scaring the crows and allowing the seeds to grow.
