rbn+Mary+Karr's+Higher+Purpose

Mary Karr's "higher purpose" is to portray the tumultuous emotions of a mother's love for her son. On one hand, the speaker of this poem acknowledges her son can be a "handful." His friends, in particular, seem to be naturally curious about sex, and he himself can get annoyed with parents "harshing his mellow." This aspect of the mother's love is very honest and pragmatic. Yet, more important than his flaws are his obviously good attributes. He is the kind of kid that accepts blame for his mistakes and cares about others, draping his coat around the girl he accidentally ran into. In other words, he is "nice kid." By creating such a complete portrayal of a mother's view of her son, Mary Karr seeks to reveal how powerful a mother's love can be. It is something that can weather the ups and downs every teenager will have.

TIP: When writing about the poet's higher purpose, you should try to get at the "big idea" inside (or behind) the poem. In other words, you could explore:

 * What you feel motivated the poet to create the work in the first place.
 * One of the lessons the poet wants the reader to learn through the poem.
 * How could the poem, or the poet's ideas, make the world a better place? How can the poem, in some small way, change the way people think?
 * Remember, this response should be 6-8 sentences and it counts as one of the two hyperlinks of your own creation.
 * Remember, you can always write more of your own analysis. 5 hyperlinks is a minimum. 2 of these must be of "your own creation," but more can be created by you.