January 18, 2011 - "Telephone Poles" - John Updike

Text:

“Telephone Poles” by John Updike

They have been with us a long time.
They will outlast the elms.
Our eyes, like the eyes of a savage sieving the trees
In his search for game,
Run through them. They blend along small-town streets
Like a race of giants that have faded into mere mythology.
Our eyes, washed clean of belief,
Lift incredulous to their fearsome crowns of bolts, trusses,

struts, nuts, insulators, and such
Barnacles as compose
These weathered encrustations of electrical debris¬
Each a Gorgon’s head, which, seized right,
Could stun us to stone.

Yet they are ours. We made them.
See here, where the cleats of linemen
Have roughened a second bark
Onto the bald trunk. And these spikes
Have been driven sideways at intervals handy for human legs.
The Nature of our construction is in every way
A better fit than the Nature it displaces
What other tree can you climb where the birds’ twitter,
Unscrambled, is English? True, their thin shade is negligible,
But then again there is not that tragic autumnal
Casting-off of leaves to outface annually.
These giants are more constant than evergreens
By being never green.

Initial Impression:

When I first read “Telephone Poles,” I thought that the poem was praising mankind’s ability to make a telephone pole, something made from a tree that is decidedly better than a tree. Telephone poles were trees, but have been outfitted by humans to fit their wants and needs. But, at the same time, instead of seeing the beauty in nature, humans take what nature gives us and manufacture the materials for our own needs.

Paraphrase:

Telephone poles have existed for a long time and will probably last longer than an actual tree. Humans strain our eyes to see between trees for game to hunt. The poles are a part of every-day society.  They have nuts and bolts all along them, and look quite strange. However, they are our creation for our usage. People worked to get the outer bark on telephone poles they way it is. Spikes have been driven into the poles so that people can climb up them. Our construction is better than nature’s for our purposes. Where else can you climb a tree where instead of birds chirping there are human voices going through wires? True, telephone poles don’t provide much shade, but they don’t shed leaves every fall either. Telephone poles are more constant than any other tree because they are no longer trees – mankind made them better.

SWIFTT:

John Updike uses syntax, diction, imagery, figurative language, tone, and theme in the poem, “Telephone Poles.”

Syntax/Word choice:

In Updike’s “Telephone Poles,” there are two stanzas of thirteen lines each. Also, there is no obvious rhyme scheme. John Updike’s diction promotes animism and Christianity in that trees are constantly referenced and the poles have “spikes… have driven sideways…” so that humans could easily climb them.

Imagery:

The imagery in “Telephone Poles” conveys the truth of how mankind is gravitating towards technology and away from natural means. “They blend along small-town streets/ Like a race of giants that have faded into mere mythology.”

Figurative language:

“Telephone Poles” has allusions to animism and religion. Animism is the idea that everything has a spirit inside of it; that is what makes things unique. When humans take trees and mold them to our wants and needs, we are breaking the bond with nature by forcing an object to be made to suit our own selfish purposes. Also, the “spikes” could be an allusion to Christ being crucified on the cross, a loss for humanity.

Tone:

The tone in “Telephone Poles” is disappointment in mankind’s nature as well as pride in our creations. While these two points of view seemingly contrast one another, they both go hand in hand: “They will outlast the elms…/ yet they are ours. We made them.”

Theme:

The theme of “Telephone Poles” is the disconnection with nature that humans have created. While we succeed in making great technological advances, we push away the very Nature that we once lived in.

Conclusion:

After analyzing the poem with the class, I have been able to grasp the point John Updike’s “Telephone Poles.” Humans make technological advances that make our lives easier. We make telephones for communication and cars for transformation. Because we have the knowledge and skills to make these things, we disregard what nature has to offer. The things we make are made from things found in nature. Telephone poles are made from trees. We think that the things we make are better than what nature provides us, even if that is not the case. By becoming so caught up in technological advances, we grow further from nature.