Advice to My Son

Alark 1

Zachary

Professor Kayorie

Literary Perspectives

3 October 2007

Over the past couple of weeks we have been studying readings that pertain to Innocence and Experience. The readings that I have chosen to best represent these concepts are “Advice to My Son” by Peter Meinke and “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike, both readings deal with the Innocence and Experience of life.

In the first poem “Advice to My Son” the author is trying to put emphasize how the words written can be applied to life. Also how choices have an impact on our life's journey and ultimately how these choices have shaped our being. How different options can have penalties and will eventually contribute to the course of one’s life. The tone helps with the meaning and atmosphere. Then theme of the poems concentrates on the concept of choice but in two different aspects. Meinke’s focus of the poem is to show the impact of our choices with adding advice. For instance he tells his son that the choice is there to “marry a pretty