Explication of "My Son the Man"

The poem "My Son the Man" by Sharon Olds is told from the point of view of a mother. The speaker is the mother of a boy who she is witnessing grow up into a man. The mother is sad about this transformation and wishes she could slow time down. The author's tone is one that would be relatable for most parents. The speaker seems as though she wishes that she could stop time and prevent her young boy from maturing and growing into a man.

In this poem the author effectively uses an allusion to portray the message and meaning of her poem. An allusion is a reference to something in history or previous literature. In the case of this poem Olds makes an allusion to the famous escape artist Harry Houdini, mentioning him twice throughout the poem and comparing him to her son. First the speaker says "his shoulders get a lot wider, / the way Houdini would expand his body". In this case the speaker is comparing her son growing to the way that Houdini pulled off his magnificent escapes. The mother feels as if her son is escaping from her because he is no longer a child and will not need to depend on her any longer. She goes on to say at the end of the poem that "he looks at me / the way Houdini studied a box / to learn the way out". The speaker is convinced that her son growing into a man means that he will no longer want to spend time with her and that he will immediately want to run away from her as if he is an escape artist. Sharon Olds effectively uses an allusion in her poem "My Son the Man" to portrays a mother's negative feelings about herdson growing into a man becasue she feels that he will leave her.