"Making a Fist": A Mentor Text

Naomi Shihab Nye's “Making a Fist" is a poem that brings into account the feelings of death that some people may have in their lifetime. The story begins with the thoughts of an ill-feeling, young narrator pondering to themselves whether or not they are going to die. The narrator then asks their mother “how do you know if you are going to die?” The mother tells the kid that their weakness will turn into death when they can no longer “make a fist.” I felt a morbid vibe from the poem because a kid is pondering whether they are going to lose their life or not. Although morbid, the vibe of the poem shifts quickly when the narrator is comforted by their mother. She tells the narrator that all they need to do to prove that they are okay is make a fist. This shift in internal feeling makes the reader feel satisfied and safe, similar to the narrator. The audience holds a huge stake in the reading of this poem. Many times people feel as if they are too sick, injured, or far gone to keep on moving, but to know one can be comforted by just making a fist is comforting for the audience. Readers will take away that the hardships that they are feeling and enduring are not as complex as they make them out to be. The world will keep on turning, and the sun will come up the next day as long as one can make a fist with their fingers and hand. I assume that this text was prompted by a first-hand experience that Nye had as a child. This poem portrays an important message about life. Good things and bad things are going to happen in life, but it is all in how one takes the ups and downs in stride. If you do not make a fist and show your strength, you will fail and be overwhelmed. But if you make a fist, and prove your strength, you will find success in continuing life without major speed bumps along the way. Nye successfully uses her poem to force the reader to have empathy for the narrator because everyone has experienced difficult or scary times. This relationship between narrator and audience allows for a beneficial lesson for all people on Earth.