#8 Pink Dog

The tone of the poem is degrading and sarcastic, but I think it is supposed to be satirical. The tone is meant to get the audience to think and is a call to action because they are supposed to be embarrassed about the subject of the poem. The tone is achieved by the word choice, the images, and especially the rhyme scheme. The rhyming gives the poem the degrading tone and calls the audience to action. The subject is the beggars and poor that the rich seem to ignore and only cover up during the holidays. Also, the radios and Americans influence the change in culture and the shift from tradition to the need to cover up problems instead of fixing them. The author is intentionally harsh toward the subject because he wants the rich to see how they are being treated and to help them. The imagery is also humiliating for poor because he compares them to dogs. He uses phrases like "in what slum have you hidden them[your babies]...? and "a dilapidated dog would not look well" to cause the rich to pity and help them. The "slum" brings a nasty image to mind and hopefully, if the author's goal was accomplished, the audience of the time also felt pity and was moved to action.