Farming. A Family’s Idea of Success.

    Would you farm for the rest of your life because of your family’s legacy? The author of Digging does not think so as his idea of success differs from his family with the self-assured tone enforcing his belief. His poem explores the relationship between his family’s three generations (his grandfather, father, and himself. The poem explains how the author watched his father work hard and how his father learned from his grandfather who worked in farming potatoes until he could not farm anymore. In “Digging,” Heaney repeats the word “digging” three times in the poem (5,9,24). This repetition highlights the emotional strain caused by all the hard labor the author’s family did daily as if he did not want to follow in their footsteps. The author applies a metaphor at the end of the poem that compares his family’s digging tool to his academic pen. The pen is the poet's tool, as he has a different concept of success that does not include digging for the rest of his life as he said in the poem, “But I've no spade to follow men like them. Between my finger and my thumb, The squat pen rests. I'll dig with it,” (28-31). The author helps convey the idea that farming is being passed down to generations as he symbolizes the tradition, with the word “spade” as he cannot take on the tradition himself despite the love and respect he has for his father and grandfather for doing what they love. In conclusion, as discussed in class there are many ideas of success and in this poem, the author’s idea is different compared to his family’s idea. The figure of speech helps convey his belief in success throughout the poem ironically succeeding in sending his message out.