Traveling Through the Dark

-William Stafford

Theme:

It is an ironical, sentimental and suggestive poem composed by William Stafford, an American poet. It is about a great dilemma we often face in our life. Sometimes we face some conflicting realities or the course of action and we are compelled to opt for one or the other. On one hand, we feel compelled to do the actions because of virtues such as efficiency, good judgment and responsibility, but sometimes our actions may result in damage or destruction for others while doing justice.

Summary:

The poet, one night, was driving on the Wilson River mountain road when he happened to see a dead female deer lying on the side of the road. The road is narrow and the best thing to do is to push the dead doe off the road into the canyon. Sudden change of the car's direction might drive you off the road and you may be killed.

He came out of his car leaving the back lights on and went to the deer. It had been killed recently. So, it was stiff and cold. He pulled the dead doe to the edge of the road. Its belly was large (it was pregnant).

The poet touched the belly of the deer with his fingers and realized that her belly was warm because she was pregnant. Its baby, inside her, was still alive and was waiting to be born-but it never would be. The poet stood on that mountain road being uncertain to decide what to do.

The lights of the car were shining and the engine under the hood was still on. The poet stood by the warm red smoke (due to car lights) emitted from the car. He could hear the jungles and animals listen.

The poet thought hard for all of us. His thoughts were the only things that could change the direction. Then he pushed the dead deer off the road into the river.

 The poem is ironical, sentimental and suggestive. The irony is directed towards those so-called nature lovers who drive carelessly and put the life of innocent animals in danger. Although they show pity to the unborn fawn, they have no sympathy for the dead doe. The reference to the fate of alive but never to be born fawn makes the readers very sad and sentimental.

Question-answers

1. Explain the title of the poem. Who are all those travelling through the dark?

Ans:- The poem is about a travel or mountain trip made by a group of men including the poet, who are probably nature travellers. It is night time and the car is passing through the mountain road.

The poem metaphorically reveals the serious conflict between the sophisticated modern men and the life-giving nature. Science and technology-equipped modern men are ironically travelling through the dark without realizing the safety of mankind in the lap of nature. Their activities are destroying the harmonious relationship between nature and men. 

'Traveling Through the Dark' also refers to the insensitive, unmindful and ignorant people heading ahead meaninglessly putting emphasis on their own and belittling the importance of nature, a boon for them.

2. Show how the action develops stanza by stanza.

Ans:- The action moves from physical to mental as the poem progresses. In the first stanza, the speaker sees a dead deer on the road and wants to avoid driving around it. Then, we see the speaker stop his car and get out of it. He walks backward to notice a recently killed pregnant doe. He also drags it to the side of the road. After that, the speaker feels for the ill-fated unborn deer and remains undecided as to what action to take. The penultimate (2nd last) stanza describes the car and its activities in the wilderness. And, in the final stanza, the speaker finally pushes the dead deer into the river after much thinking.

3. How do the last two lines complete both types of action?

Ans:- There are two types of action – physical and mental – in the poem. These two actions come together in the last two lines. The speaker contemplates (thinks deeply) the possible course of action to be taken on behalf of his group members (human beings) as regards to the dead doe, and finally throws it into the river. Thus, after deep thought he pushes the dead deer.

4. Explain the meaning of the word "swerve" in line 4 and line 17. Does the speaker "swerve"?

Ans:- Swerve in line 4 means "change direction suddenly" and it has a physical meaning. In line 17 it means "mind movement from one idea, thought to another" and it has a mental meaning. In the first instance, neither the speaker nor the car swerves, because if that was done, there would be more casualties on the narrow mountain road besides the dead pregnant doe. In the second instance, the poet swerves between the easy course of action (pushing the deer into the river) and the more difficult, but better course of action (trying to save the unborn baby deer). He chooses the easy course.

5. Stanza 4 is a break in the narrative. How do you explain its significance in the poem?

Ans:- Stanza 4 describes the car, its dim lights, the purring of the engine and the smoke coming out of its exhaust pipe. This description contrasts with the earlier stanzas as he had been describing the occasion of the dead deer knocked down by an unknown passing vehicle and the possible courses of action available to him. The break in the narrative of the poem has an ironic significance as we come to learn that the car is more alive than the deer carrying a live baby inside it. We also see the contrast in that the smoke is "warm" but the doe is stiff and cold. The car seems to be urging the speaker to make quick decision, and hence the physical action of the first three stanzas is replaced by mental action in the fifth stanza that eventually results in the disposal of the dead deer.

6. What is the tone of the poem: ironical, sympathetic, or  indifferent?

Ans:- The speaker seems to combine various moods in the poem. He shows sympathy towards the unborn baby deer, not the doe. However, he is not indifferent as he makes a decision at the end to roll the deer into the river. I feel the tone is mostly ironical. This is so because the speaker thinks one thing and takes another course of action. We think he will rescue the unborn baby, but he doesn't. He could have taken the deer to a nearby animal hospital and could have rescued the baby, but he doesn't do so. The speaker is, indeed, in two minds. This is the irony of life as we can't do all the good things we are taught and brought up to believe and practise. The speaker takes the ugly course of action – pushing the deer. It is ironical also that we kill innocent animals and not decide clearly what appropriate action to make.

7. What is the central idea of the poem?

Ans:-The poet seems to explore the conflict that goes on in the human mind between ugly virtuous actions, like responsibility, duty, etc one is taught to believe in and practise in day to day life and the difficulty of executing them at crucial times. In this poem the speaker is in an ironical situation as he is made to think deeply to do something to save the unborn fawn for which he is not responsible. Sorrowfully, he can do nothing. He is a representative helpless man. He does the unthinkable – pushing the pregnant dead deer off the road. He also seems to advocate for the protection of innocent animals that are killed by careless driving in the narrow mountain road.

8. Do you agree with what the narrator did? Why?

Ans:- Yes, I agree with what the narrator or poet did. He couldn't leave the dead doe on the narrow road because that might bring a fatal accident. He thought hard and weighed the two conflicting realities on the scale of rational decision making. So he pushed the doe into the canyon clearying the road for other travellers and doing the justice for the fawn. The poet took the easy course of action because he could do nothing at the dark hour except allowing the fawn to have a slow death. For this reason, I agree with his quick decision to get rid of his existing dilemma.

9. Why does the narrator hesitate before pushing the dead deer off the road?

Ans:- The poet, Stafford hesitates before pushing the dead doe off the road because he has felt the alive fawn in the womb of its dead mother. He is under moral obligation to save it. But on the other hand, if he leaves the dead doe lying on the road, it may bring a fetal accident to his fellow travellers. He has no choice but to opt for one or the other. So he pushes the doe into the river with hard mind providing a slow painful death to the never to be born fawn.

10. Do you think the reference to the alive but never-to-be-born fawn moving/sentimental?

Ans:- Yes, of course. The poem contains the tone sentimental and sympathetic in the sense that the speaker thinks seriously about the fate and destiny of the fawn which is still alive painfully and waiting in the womb of its mother to be born but it is never born because of its mother's recent death. This reality of life without birth arouses sympathy and makes us completely emotional. the poet feels the alive fawn in the womb of the dead doe. So he's under moral obligation to save it and show pity upon it. But being very indifferent, to bear the assigned responsibility for saving the life of other fellow travellers, he undertakes decision to provide a slow painful death to  the fawn under great obligation. Therefore the reference to the alive but never to be born fawn is indeed a sentimental or moving one.

11. Elaborate the poem in your own words.

Ans:- William Stafford’s poem “Traveling through the Dark” presents both physical and mental actions. The first stanza begins with physical action but ends with mental one. Travelling through the dark is physical and thinking of rolling down the doe into the canyon is mental. In the second stanza, the poet stumbles back, goes up to her and drags. All these activities are physical. Hence, second stanza is the description of physical action. Physical actions of the second stanza continue in the third too. The speaker touches the dear’s belly and knows about the presence of her baby inside. This physical action leads to mental action because he hesitates after he knows its condition. Not knowing what to do further, he stands in the glare of red in the third stanza. Here too, like in the stanza, the physical actions prevail. The fourth stanza presents both actins like the first one. The speaker thinks of returning, but finds it impractical. So he pushes the deer into the river.

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