Those winter sundays

Those Winter Sundays
Robert Hayden

That kid is a little brat (the narrator). The father of the narrator is a hard-working provider for the father. He woke up early to brave the winter in order to make his house warm and safe for everyone else. The child, however, does not seem to care that his house is comfortable and refuses to acknowledge the kindness of the father. This would be common behavior for any child, but the poem made it seem as though he was totally uncaring for his father. It was almost as if the father had to fight for the affection of his children, even if it meant putting himself through the bitter weather to make his children happy. The imagery contributes to this by stating that one could "hear the cold splintering, breaking" (Hayden 781) as the house would warm because of the father. The house that the child was used to was comfortable and cheery, yet no cheer was shared between father and son. The father simply could not catch a break, yet the son's regret had filled him later in his life, prompting the writing of this poem.