The Life Less Taken

The Life Less Taken

In the poem “Alzheimer’s”, Kelly Cherry describes Alzheimer’s disease by observing a man’s life, as he experiences a new lifestyle, all while showing the effects of dementia and the disease. The setting of the poem and the narrator’s fluctuating tone convey multiple emotions and thoughts to allow readers a glance into not only the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, but the struggles as well. The speaker’s tone progresses from an attitude of acceptance to an attitude of great concern; and finally to an attitude that describes the seriousness of the setting at certain times.

When the man is introduced into the poem, he is described as crazy with a mind that he is not accustomed to. As the setting is further elaborated upon, the man is overcome with worry and he begins to question the important things. The speaker indicates the man is no longer the man he used to be right at the beginning. As the story continues to unfold, the setting and tone is built upon by adding the house and mentioning his belongings such as the piggy bank. By describing his memory and what the man has forgotten, the narrator is implying important, significant, and unimportant things in the old man’s life. As the poem is read, the tone and setting identified by the narrator allows the reader to catch a glimpse of how Alzheimer’s disease has not only affected the man, but how the disease could affect the reader.

Alzheimer’s disease is a disease causing dementia and memory loss that occurs from the day diagnosed to the point where there is nothing left. The earliest stages and symptoms of the sickness is minor memory loss, which is roughly seen in lines one through eighteen of the poem. The next symptom, in addition to the slight memory loss is impaired thought and speech which is blatantly shown in lines nineteen to twenty-three. The final stage consists of significant memory loss and brain damage. This final phase reveals complete helplessness and sorrow which is beautifully depicted in the final lines of the poem. As the poem is read, the situation is being built upon to show how the man is reacting to the illness. Cherry uses this technique most likely because this man was her grandfather; and the certain events that happened showed just how much the Alzheimer’s disease was changing her grandfather. The poem starts off with a simple house and then expands into a house filled with all the things the grandfather no longer remembers. His memory is not clear anymore for he does not fully remember his house, music, how to read, and most importantly, the love of his life. The narrator’s grandfather is remembered as being a man of purpose; and now it seems that the grandfather’s only purpose is to try to figure out who the woman is standing in the doorway of the house he can no longer remember.

“He stands at the door, a crazy old man back from the hospital, his mind rattling...” (Lines 1-2) The speaker started the poem describing the old man. He is standing in the door, described as crazy. Cherry seems to describe him this way as a way to tell the readers he did not used to be crazy. “His mind rattling” indicates how confused he is and how he does not know where he is. In addition and more importantly, it ensures the reader readily acknowledges this man has Alzheimer’s disease, along with which stage of the disease the man is experiencing. “Back from the hospital, his mind rattling like the suitcase…that contains shaving cream, a piggy bank, a book he sometimes pretends to read, his clothes.” (Lines 4-6) The piggy bank, shaving cream and book are with him at the time because they are important to him. The man only has in his possession things he cared about, things he remembered and thing he needed in his life at the time. The setting developed creates a feeling of sadness for the man as he is trying to remember as most as he can, as the first six to seven lines are read.

Furthermore, throughout the poem, the setting is developed as the poet explains the man’s view and perspective of the house. The man’s state of mind is wonder, confusion, and questions as he begins seeing his home. The speaker points out aspects of the house in lines six to thirteen, “On the brick wall beside him roses and columbine slug it out for space…The sun is shining, as it does late in the afternoon…Sun hardens the house, reifies it, strikes the iron grillwork…and sparks fly off, burning in the bushes—the rosebushes—while the white wood trim defines solidity in space.” These lines hold a very significant word, “space”. As Cherry writes “…On the brick wall beside him roses and columbine slug it out for space…” the word “space” is not just expressing the emptiness on the brick wall, but more so the space in his mind as the man has to remember certain things. Certain words used by Cherry, such as “space”, give a sense of thought to the reader and allowing the reader to visualize more than just the basic setting.

In the next couple of lines, a feeling of happiness is established by the thoughts of the poet’s grandfather. “This is his house. He remembers it as his, remembers the walkway he built…the rhododendron he planted in back, the car he used to drive. He remembers himself, a younger man…who loved music.” With thoughts of his younger days and what he used to do, the narrator creates a setting with a more happy feeling; including giving the narrator hope for her grandfather to be able to remember more things. Music is initially mentioned as something the man loves, but as the poem continues, music is introduced as a “screeching” noise to him. “No time for music, the peculiar screeching of strings, the luxurious fiddling with emotion.” (Lines 20-22) The choice of words, such as screeching and fiddling, shows he no longer appreciates the melody like he used too for it is no longer enjoyable, and the sound is playing with his emotions. The setting in the household is creating sadness by stating the man is losing some of his favorite desires. Finally, as the poem comes to an end, the man is entering his final stage of his illness. Cherry says, “Other things have become more urgent…The first thing he must do…is decide who this woman is, this old, white-haired woman standing here in the doorway…” (Lines 23-29) The woman is introduced as the last element of the setting in order to show the most important thing in his life was not remembered anymore. The final setting established causes the reader’s heart to drop and develop a feeling of sadness. Alzheimer’s disease has taken control of the man’s life.

The setting is developed throughout the entire poem to show the least important things in life and build up to the most important at the end. The tone is ever-changing, giving thoughts and feelings to think upon by the setting observed. The reader is visualizing an informative and confused setting with a tone of acceptance about the man in the beginning; then progressing to a more neutral feeling with a sympathetic tone. This sympathetic tone is expressed as Cherry writes about her grandfather’s house and landscape. The reader is then taken to a happy setting where the reader is informed of the man’s younger days and his loves. A sad, urgent and devastating tone and setting are realized when the man is not anything like he used to be and does not remember his spouse. The speaker wrote the poem based on the setting to symbolize the effects not only on the man, but also on her. In real life, the narrator is helping us realize what each person will go through while walking alongside someone with Alzheimer’s disease.

In the gloomy poem “Alzheimer’s”, Kelly Cherry creates a setting which is being built upon to exhibit changes in her grandfather’s life. Not only is she giving her perspective of an event that has taken place, she is giving a real life setting that can be placed into any person’s life. As the background continues to get larger, mixed feelings are given to readers to allow readers to visualize the real world and how the disease affects many people. Certain words, such as “space” and “screeching” are written in the poem to help the reader visualize what the man is seeing as well as to allow the reader to ponder what else is going on in the man’s life that the man does not see. As the setting and tone of the poem are created, Cherry gives readers a real life glimpse of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease on her grandfather, and also herself.