The One Girl at the Boys Party
By Sharon Olds
When I take my girl to the swimming party
I set her down among the boys. They tower and
bristle, she stands there smooth and sleek,
her math scores unfolding in the air around her.
They will strip to their suits, her body hard and
indivisible as a prime number,
they’ll plunge into the deep end, she’ll subtract
her height from ten feet, divide it into
hundreds of gallons of water, the numbers
bouncing in her mind like molecules of chlorine
in the bright blue pool. When they climb out,
her ponytail will hang its pencil lead
down her back, her narrow silk suit
with hamburgers and french fries printed on it
will glisten in the brilliant air, and they will
see her sweet face, solemn and
sealed, a factor of one, and she will
see their eyes, two each,
their legs, two each, and the curves of their sexes,
one each, and in her head she’ll be doing her
wild multiplying, as the drops
sparkle and fall to the power of a thousand from her body.
Summary of The One Girl at the Boys Party
- Popularity of “The One Girl at the Boys Party”: Published in 1982, The One Girl at the Boys Party by Sharon Olds is a thought-provoking poetic piece. The poem explores the experience of a girl in a male-dominated environment. It shows a girl’s sentiments and mixed emotions surrounded by loud and boisterous boys. The poem has won popularity because it displays the problems a woman faces in a male dominant society.
- “The One Girl at the Boys Party” by Sharon Olds as a Representative of Wonder: This poem presents us with a striking experience of a girl at a boy’s party. The poem begins when the speaker says that he took his daughter to a boys’ party, where she felt out of place and uncomfortable in the beginning. The girl describes the boys as loud and boisterous, playing games and roughhousing, while she sits on the sidelines feeling left out and lonely. She also notes that the boys are “sweating and bellowing” and “leaping and roughhousing,” which adds to the party’s sense of chaos and confusion.
It seems that the girl may leave the place, but there comes a twist in the poem when the speaker shows the strong side of his daughter. He calls her strong, intelligent and beautiful, and it seems that the boys’ existence can’t make her feel less. She swims, eats, and glistens in the brilliant air among the boys. The speaker ends this poem with a description of his daughter’s positive attributes; he feels so happy to see his daughter comfortable in an environment that initially looked odd to her. - Major Themes in “The One Girl at the Boys Party” by Sharon Olds: Insecurity, male dominance, strength, and pride are the major themes of the poem. The poem uses vivid imagery and sensory details to convey the girl’s feelings of isolation and alienation at the start of the poem. For example, the girl describes the boys as “truculent” and “amuck” in their play, which suggests that their behavior is aggressive and uncontrolled. At first, the speaker’s daughter seems uncomfortable at the boy’s party, but in the later part of the poem shows strength in her character. The poem shows how she stands out at the party.
Overall, the poem shows a girl’s transformation from an insecure, isolated girl to a confident and assertive lady. Through this poem, the poet portrays the challenges and struggles women face in a male-dominated society, where they try to assert their own identities and voices that are often overlooked or dismissed in such environments.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The One Girl at the Boys Party
literary devices are the tools that bring richness and quality to simple poetic pieces. Sharon Olds used some literary devices in this poem to express his ideas about woman’s strength. The analysis of the devices used in the poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “I set her down among the boys. They tower and” and the sound of /o/ in “bouncing in her mind like molecules of chlorine.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /s/ in “her narrow silk suit.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ in “sparkle and fall to the power of a thousand from her body.” and the sound of /t/ in “I set her down among the boys. They tower and.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“they’ll plunge into the deep end, she’ll subtract
her height from ten feet, divide it into
hundreds of gallons of water, the numbers
bouncing in her mind like molecules of chlorine
in the bright blue pool. When they climb out,”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Sharon Olds used imagery in this poem, such as; “They will strip to their suits, her body hard and”, “bouncing in her mind like molecules of chlorine” and “with hamburgers and french fries printed on it.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used feminine power as an extended metaphor to show how a strong woman can handle everything in life.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as male dominance, female power, shyness, courage, and isolation
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The One Girl at the Boys Party
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows the use of formal and poetic diction.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are twenty-two lines in the poem with no stanza break.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows an impressive, suggestive, and advising tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to describe the fear of parents bringing their daughters to a place crowded with boys.
“When I take my girl to the swimming party
I set her down among the boys. They tower and
bristle, she stands there smooth and sleek,
her math scores unfolding in the air around her.”