The Shadows (Motif)
Dharker repeatedly portrays the scene of a person standing outside a door in "The right word." The person stands in the shadows in each scenario, but the context changes. When called a terrorist, the person lurks in the shadows. As a freedom fighter, the person takes shelter in the shadows. When portrayed as a guerrilla warrior, the person stands watchful in the shadows. And as a martyr, the person defies every shadow. In every description, the person's relationship to the shadows (whether he is lurking or waiting, for example) is defined before he is. This repetition places the person each time in the realm of the unknown. The shadows obscure the speaker's vision and understanding, which then influences the words used to describe the person standing outside.
Flag (Symbol)
Flags are used to communicate belonging to a specific group, usually a nationality. They also symbolize patriotism and military efforts, which is relevant to the poem's focus on identity and perception. The passage comparing words to waving, wavering flags suggests that, like the movement of flags, words are not static and can mean different things to different people.
Child (Symbol)
Children symbolize innocence, youth, and beginnings. The age of the boy in the poem is not given, but the word "child" implies that he is not yet fully developed and mature. The only concrete details about him are that his hand is too steady, his eyes are too hard, and that he takes his shoes off at the door. The descriptions of the boy's hand and eyes imply that he has been hardened by his experiences, which taints the typical innocence associated with childhood.
The boy is described as not only a child, but a child who resembles both the speaker's and the reader's respective sons. This makes the symbolic resonance of childhood both personal and universal. It is personal because Dharker implies kinship between the boy and the reader, and it is universal because the boy could be anyone's son.
Dinner Invitation (Symbol)
Over the course of the poem, the speaker traverses the distance—created by language—between herself and the boy. Once the speaker abandons the loaded language and labels used to define the boy, she sees that he resembles her own son (Line 23). In the last movement of the poem, the speaker opens the door and invites the boy to come in and eat with her family. This invitation symbolizes the speaker's acknowledgment of the boy's humanity. Sharing food and shelter with someone affirms their existence.
