Without Title
What is the writer of this poem?
Diane Glancy
What does the poem reveal about the father?
His day-to-day life has been stripped of cultural significance
What was the 'title' that the speaker was talking about?
It is a name that a boy receives after he successfully completing a vision quest. That name or title is his adult name and is a symbol of spiritual maturity.
Identify a theme that closely connects with the title of the poem?
One possible answer: Connections to one's cultural heritage and to nature give meaning to life.
What does the title of without title mean?
One theme is IDENTITY., or the loss of identity. The speaker's father is without title, which means that his cultural identity was lost because he chose to move to the city and work there.
Why can't the speaker see "the red buffalo painted on his chest" (line 19)?
The buffalo represents the father's heritage that is buried beneath the surface of his modern life.
What does the father do every day, even though he doesn't have the buffalo or arrow
The father goes out every day to hunt, even though he doesn't actually possess the buffalo, shaman, or arrow. This suggests that he engages in the act of hunting as if he had those traditional tools or elements.
What idea is developed by the imagery in the lines "in the night I heard / his buffalo grunts like a snore"?
The father's true self is with his native culture
How does the mother feel about the father's horns and hides? What does she ask him to do with them?
The mother does not appreciate the father's horns and hides. She asks him to "get rid of them," indicating that she wants him to dispose of or remove them from their home.
How does the tone of the poem reflect a theme?
The sad tone reflects how the speaker observes the ways in which her father experiences the loss of his culture and authority
How does the setting illustrate the conflict in the poem?
The setting of the city illustrates how the father's life is in conflict with his culture, which is rooted in the natural world.
How can we tell that the speaker is comparing and contrasting 2 'worlds' in this poem?
Two 'worlds' or cultures are compared in this poem: the Native American society and the mainstream American society.
What is the complete title of this poem?
Without title For my father who lived without ceremony
The most likely reason the poet wrote this poem is to —
honor her father and his traditions
The description of the father leaving the house in lines 14-17 creates a tone of
sadness, because the father's life is so far removed from his values.
In lines 1-2, the buffalo, the shaman, and the arrow represent
the traditions of the father's culture.
Why does the speaker point out that his or her father came to the city "Without a vision" (line 9)?
to emphasize the lack of spiritual meaning in his life
Reread line 18. "I remember the silence of his lost power," This line suggests that the speaker —
understands the depth of her father's loss
When the speaker says in line 3 that "my father went out each day to hunt," it means that he
went to work to provide for his family.
Which lines create a vivid sensory image for readers?
"I remember the animal tracks of his car / backing out the drive in snow and mud" (lines 14-15)
What is the symbol of the father's traditional culture?
Bow string
Readers can infer that the speaker's mother
does not appreciate her husband's feelings
Who is the speaker?
a Native American whose father did not perform the traditional rituals of his people, so he was without a 'title'
Readers can infer that the "buffalo song" in line 8 refers to
a ceremony performed when a boy kills his first buffalo
What words in the poem indicate the cultural identity of the speaker and the father?
buffalo, shaman, arrow, hunt, first kill, buffalo song, vision, horns and hides, animal tracks, bow string
In line 7, "No one marked his first kill," the word marked means
celebrated with a ritual.
