The Red Hat Analysis

“The Red Hat” Analysis
By Rachel Hadas pg. 367

“The Red Hat” is a poem about the emotions a parent goes through in letting their child go and gain more independence. The author expresses these emotions using such tools as symbolism. The narrator of the story is describing the event in which their son started walking to school on his own. However, this event is connected to the bigger event of letting their son grow up and gain independence. Hadas creates this symbolism by stating, “Parallel paths part, he goes alone from there” and “Already ties are feeling and not fact” meaning their connection and bond is no longer concrete. The author continues to use symbolism to make the red hat symbolic of the son. “Since the red hat vanished from our sight” is a symbol of the son walking on alone without his parents. Hadas continues to use symbolism when she wrote, “He now is hustled forward by the pull of something far more powerful than school.” This pull is symbolic of the son’s new independence and the emotions, excitement and fear, that come along with it, causing him to move quicker than usual to school. Hadas uses symbolism as a good tool to reveal the emotions of letting go of a child.

Another device the author uses in “The Red Hat” is imagery. In the first stanza, the narrator visibly describes how the son and his parents walk “semi-alone.” Hadas includes details of where they walk, “He walks up on the east side of West End, we on the west side,” to portray the struggle the parents are having with letting go and to explain to the author in clear detail what happens every morning. The detailed walk continues to “Straus Park…where these parallel paths part.” The narrator depicts that “Glances can extend (and do) across the street; not eye contact.” The reader can visualize the image of the mother of father peeking up occasionally to just catch a glimpse of their son walking. This also reveals that there are rules set up, “Not eye contact,” which allows the reader to assume the independence was the boy’s idea. Hadas continues to create an image with, “The watcher’s heart stretches, elastic in its love and fear.” The parents’ love continues on with the boy, and one can visualize the mother standing there stretching to catch the last glimpse of “The Red Hat” before it disappears. Hadas’ excellent use of imagery depicts the morning walk this family endures and the love the parents have for their son.

I enjoyed this poem very much because I feel it is easily related to any loving parent, or any child that has had a loving parent. It is a true sample of how a family struggles with the maturity of a child. I love how the author adds small details such as “Two weeks ago, holding a hand” to not only show how big of an independence gain it is for the son, but also how long the parents have been dealing with this situation and trying to allow their son freedom. The symbolism of the red hat is also effective because as a reader, I can see the bobbing red hat in a crowd of people, as the mom stands their heartbroken. “The Red Hat” by Rachel Hadas is an artistic, heartfelt poem that is beautifully written and perceived.