The Multiplicity of Stereotypes: Exploring Class Divisions and Racism through Sharon Old's "On the Subway" Puja Harikumar 11th Grade

The poem, "On the Subway", by Sharon Olds is an insightful piece of work that beautifully examines the impact of centuries of racism and unfair stereotypes on the African American community. The narrator is a member of the “in” group of today’s society, (a White person usually assumed to be a woman by most readers) who is getting robbed by a Black mugger. At first, the narrator tries to analyze her situation, while noting the stereotypical characteristics of the boy that mark him as a threat to her. However, as the poem goes on, she begins to realize how her role as a member of a privileged group of society (Caucasians) her privilege indirectly harms members of his community. By using animal imagery and light-dark contrasting, the author, Sharon Olds is able to provide an insightful exploration into the negative effects of class systems and divisions on the Black people of America, and the results of leaving unhealed scars of injustice to fester over time.

Although it is only used a couple of times, the animal imagery, and the savage vs. civilized motif has a profound effect on the narrator’s development throughout the poem, by allowing her to realize the injustice and unfairness of the system of racism that has molded the...