To Be Of Use

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1973

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Seals & Oxen

Piercy uses two recognizable animals to symbolize types of admirable workers in “To Be of Use”: the seal and the ox. The seal, a swift, slippery sea mammal, is used as a metaphor for the worker who can enthusiastically swim through the world of work and become a “nativ[e] of that element” (Line 5). These people seem “sure” (Line 4) and “jump into work head first” (Line 2), showing little hesitation. They seem buoyant and plunge ahead with gusto. The use of the seal helps to show how being agile can have advantages.

However, other types of admirable workers exist. The ox can be lauded not for eagerness but steadiness, as it works with “massive patience” (Line 9) under “strain” (Line 10). Metaphorically, these are people who will keep trying until the task is complete, even if it must be done “again and again” (Line 11). Seals are native to both the East and West Coasts of the United States, and pack animals like oxen are used in North American farming, so both animals are widely recognizable. Their behavior suitably compares with worker styles.

Parlor Generals & Field Deserters

In the poem, those who don’t work for the general good include “parlor generals and field deserters” (Line 15). These two groups stand as symbols for those who fail to be good allies in the completion of a shared goal. To desert the field, whether in work or war, is to abandon one’s post without permission and without intention to return. In context, this suggests the worker who chooses not to fulfill their own duty, letting others fill in their gap.

A “parlor general” (Line 15) refers to those who might dole out orders to others from a comfortable and safe position. They, too, abdicate their responsibilities, deliberately avoiding action, deeming themselves better than those who “go into the fields” (Line 13). Both personality types fail to help the team and are only interested in themselves, caring little for the “common rhythm” (Line 16) important for success. Piercy’s speaker uses these character types as foils for those who work together for the common good of gathering “food” (Line 17) or tamping down “fire” (Line 17). Some work requires multiple people working on the task at hand, while these two types of workers are detrimental to the process.

Important Vessels

In the last stanza of the poem, Piercy’s speaker mentions three types of vessels: “amphoras” (Line 22), “vases” (Line 23), and “pitcher[s]” (Line 25). The first two are vessels in Greek and Hopi culture that carry precious items. Some amphoras were given as prizes in the Panathenaic Games in Athens, filled with olive oil from sacred groves. Others were simply filled with wine to drink in celebration. Ground corn in a vase was traditionally given by a Hopi bride-to-be to her groom’s parents upon acceptance of a proposal. It meant “yes.” The speaker tells us that a “pitcher cries for water to carry” (Line 25), noting the importance of life-affirming water, without which a human could not survive.

In all cases, what is put in the vase is a prize for achievement, a gift, or a necessity. In the poem, the speaker correlates these qualities to “work that is real” (Line 26). For the vessels to be useful, they must contain and carry. If the item in the vessel is special, all the better. A person must be the same as a pitcher, filling themselves with work “worth doing well” (Line 20) so that they don’t remain emotionally empty. All the aforementioned vessels could be made from clay, which fits in with the reference to “botched” (Line 19) work that “smears” (Line 19), remaining unsolid. Without shape, “mud” (Line 18) cannot hold anything. However, once defined, it can include the greatest gifts.