Brooklyn Cop Essay

The policeman appears to be a savage however we are later made aware of his fundamental vulnerability. New York’s reputation of violence and crime contributes to our knowing of the cop’s fear of not returning house to his wife. … We are initial made mindful of the cop’s intimidating overall look in the initial line, with the first stanza when MacCaig uses the simile “built like gorilla. ” This gives us a really negative and animalistic concept of the man, an enforcer, and almost a thug.

This is reinforced with the metaphor, “hieroglyphs in his face” rather than eyes. We build a picture of someone who may be very strong, brutish and relatively sinister. MacCaig includes the element of humour by saying, “but less timid, ” this is also sarcastic, as gorillas aren’t famous for their timidity to begin with. Were further manufactured aware of the cop’s intimidating appearance when the cop can be described as becoming, “steak coloured. ” This suggests that the cop constantly looks enraged, due to the evaluation to uncooked steak, which can be bright reddish colored.

A very important metaphor is created in the first stanza, which establishes the main theme of the poem: “he walks the sidewalk and the thin tissue over violence… ” This kind of leads us to believe there is an underlying danger of assault in the cop’s persona, which usually implies that the cop is definitely an unforeseen and perilous personality. We now find out why this man should be so solid: his universe is one where, because the metaphor highlights, the thin veneer of tranquility and civilisation is very fragile and could easily be damaged. MacCaig retains our fascination by creating contrast inside the cop’s personality in the initially stanza.

The stanza concludes with Norman MacCaig providing a more defenceless view from the cop, simply by expressing the intimate romantic relationship he stocks with his better half. He says, “See you, babe” as well as “Hiya honey. ” We can now almost imagine him like a gentle giant, less of any brute. The term “honey” can be described as term of affection that shows both equally his love for his wife great relief at coming home safely and securely from his work.

These kinds of conflicting regions of his persona; his brutal, animal-like area at work, wonderful tender patient side at your home are revealed in these two contrasting lines and help the vivid explanation of the cop. We are further made mindful of the cop’s vulnerable side when we are advised, “he expected it, this individual truly expected it. ” MacCaig uses repetition to enhance our awareness of the cop’s fear of certainly not returning residence to his wife. Within the last stanza, the poet changes the image from the gorilla.

No longer the highly effective and risky animal, he has become one of an endangered species whom faces loss of life or repellent at every road corner. Who be him, gorilla having a nightstick in whose home is a place he might, this time, by no means go back to? ” Norman MacCaig uses a rhetorical question, when he wants all of us to consider the dangers this kind of man encounters on a daily basis; The fact that every day of the week is a life threatening situation to get him is definitely affluent through the poem, ones own the intense, tough and unyielding qualities of this Brooklyn Cop, all of these are necessities in order for him to be able to fulfil his duties.

MacCaig queries the cop’s integrity within the last sentence of the poem, this individual asks just one more rhetorical problem: “And who would be who have to be his victims? ” Here, MacCaig has used an elliptical sentence structure. This previous question is almost encoded, needing the reader to think about all the implications, but departing us to create up our mind separately.