My Papa Waltz

After reading ‘’My Papa’s Waltz,’’ by Theodore Roethke, I have come to the conclusion that the adult narrator is writing about his fond memories of his father whom he calls “Papa”   in his earlier years. The narrator is comparing his time with his father to the “waltz”, which is a “highly popular ballroom dance”. \'\'With whisky on your breath\'\' gives a sense of imagery for the reader as they realize the father enjoys drinking alcohol heavily. The narrator, describing the scent of alcohol that is coming from the fathers breath, seems to be proof that the father may be drunk, considering the comment that the smell alone could \'\'make a small boy dizzy;\'\'. I believe that the boy genuinely enjoyed his waltz with his father and did not want to let the moment go, the narrator explains “But I hung on like death:” The narrator explains that keeping up with his father’s drunken steps was tough, and “such waltzing was not easy.” The comment, \"We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf;\" explains to me that the father and his young son would spend long periods of time waltzing through out the house bumping into household objects making a careless clutter. The interpretation of   “my mothers countenance could not unfrown itself” explains the mothers anguish over the muddle the father and son are creating in the kitchen and possibly even the dissatisfaction of Papa being intoxicated. I believe that Papa could possibly have been a hard working laborer that just returned home from work given that the narrator explains   “The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle;” I believe that the son was a petite boy who was tall enough to see just above his fathers buckle on his pants. With this observation, I believe this is why the boy   receives scrapes on his face, although the boy seems to be explaining a painful experience, the boy does not seem to show any sort of hatred for his father. My observation is supported by the statement, \" At every step you...