Thomas at the Wheel
Rita Dove wrote "Thomas at the Wheel" and it is from the collection of poetry called "Thomas and Beulah." This poetry tells the story of the lives of Thomas and Beulah. The first part of the story is from Thomas's point of view, "Mandolin," and the second part is Beulah's, "Canary in Bloom." "Thomas at the Wheel" is from the "Mandolin" selection. "Thomas at the Wheel" is written in the third person, and it is five stanzas long. In this poem Thomas has a heart attack that kills him and some of his thoughts are represented. Thomas knows that he is having a heart attack, he accepts the fact that he is going to die and he thinks of his wife with his final thoughts. This poem symbolizes that Thomas finally has control of his life and that he is ready to leave this world. In the first stanza, it is raining and Thomas is in a drugstore parking lot. He is reminiscing about a childhood experience that happened to his friend Lem. Thomas watched his friend die in a river. The line "This, then, the river he had to swim" (l.1), Thomas is thinking about the river that killed his friend. The heavy rain is bringing back memories. Perhaps Thomas has a feeling that his life might end soon.
Maybe he is thinking that is he only got that filled, he might have a chance to live. The man left and now Thomas has no one to ask for help because the streets are empty. As his life began to fade away, Thomas heard sirens. He feels that he is in control of his life, that things are finally in order, and that he can leave this world without leaving any problems behind. 2-4) it was foreshadowing that he was going to have a heart attack because he didn't get his prescription filled instead he sat in his car and watched the rain for a while. It represents his heart attack and his final thought. As he is lying across his seat and his life is fading away, Thomas notices his prescription inside the glove compartment. Perhaps the man who was smoking the cigarette noticed Thomas needed help and called an ambulance. He doesn't seem angry that he is going to die. Throughout the poem Thomas seems calm knowing that he is about to die. In stanza 4, "And now the street dark, not a soul / nor its brother" (ll. The only emotion that is represent is in stanza three, "what a joke" (l.
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