Contrasting the Natural and Mechanical Worlds in Hathaways Oh, Oh Essa

Contrasting the Natural and Mechanical Worlds in Hathaway's Oh, Oh      Ã‚   The French poet and essayist Louis Aragon, in his Paris Peasant, wrote that "light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error--we only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash" (Aragon 18).   Aragon noted that the world is full of contrasts, and it is through those contrasts that we live and understand who we are and why we are here.   Without an understanding of light, Aragon argues, we cannot understand what darkness really is.   Or, without an awareness as to the concept of truth, one cannot possibly error, for the act cannot be defined.   In William Hathaway's poem "Oh, Oh," the poet uses language, word choices, images, onamatopoeic descriptions, and even the title of the poem to define the intrusion of the mechanical harshness of the world into the carefree land of nature.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The images, content, and focus of the poem change with the intrusion of the train.   Before the protagonist's girl notices the train, the two characters are concerned with the cows, grass, and simply ambling down a country lane.   But, as soon as the train approaches, and as it passes, the characters are no longer concerned with nature.   Rather, they suddenly begin dreaming of "being president" (11) and of "wonderful, faraway places" (14).   This switch from the serenity of nature to the dreams of the world finally ends with the poems last line -- a punishment or at least a warning.   The tranquil and peaceful nature suddenly becomes filled with "fifty Hell's Angels" (17).   But, more than simply motorcycles waiting at a railroad crossing, Hathaway has personified the motorcycles creating the mechanical Hell... ...orld where two universes are defined through their contrast.   Through his world choices, images, and even his title, we are transported to a picturesque country landscape with "moo cows chomping daisies" (2) and "maple dappled summer sunlight" (7).   Standing at a stark contrast to this land is the "lit headlight" (8) of a passing train and "growling [...] Hell's Angels" (17).   Hathaway, through his firm grip of language, has recorded a poem that, through contrasts, gives us an understanding of both the natural and mechanical world in an attempt to show us how we can "look / eagerly to the road ahead" (16-17).       Works Cited Aragon, Louis. Paris Peasant. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1926. Hathaway, William. "Oh, Oh." The Bedford Introduction to   Literature: Leading, Thinking, and Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford, 1996. 593-94.