Digging for a LivingIn his poem "Digging", Seamus Heaney describes a unique relationship between a boy and his father. Their relationship is closely linked to the one I have with my father. Throughout the poem, the poet's pen contrasts with the father's spade, each used as a symbol of his vocation and journey. In the same spirit, the relationship between my father and I can be expressed through my keyboard and his pencil. Heaney's poem is about a boy and his father who have different career paths. The father worked on the family farm all his life, picking potatoes and maintaining the farm. The poet describes his father's digging, as the title suggests, with an alliteration of the line "Beneath my window, a clean, harsh sound as the spade sinks into gravelly ground: My father, digging" (3-5). The poet, on the other hand, would much rather write stories or novels than work all day in the field. The father digs physically with his hands while, on the contrary, the son digs mentally with his brain. Heaney uses a shovel to symbolize the father's ambitions, representing his agricultural work. He metaphorically describes his son's writing with the passage "Between my finger and my thumb lies the stubby pen" (29-30). My father and I share the same type of relationship that Heaney and his father have in the poem. My father is an architect and designs buildings for a living. He spends most of his day at his drawing board, drawing plans for new buildings. On the other hand, I have a job that involves using computers most of the day. He uses his pencil to do the work, while I use my keyboard to do the work. When I was younger he always wanted me to be an architect with him, but now he accepts the fact that I won't be an architect because I have enough work in the IT field. Throughout Heaney's poem, the diction emphasizes certain words. and sentences that require additional emphasis. For example, in the line “The rough boot nestled on the lug, the shaft against the inner knee was firmly pressed,” the words chosen intensely impact the meaning (10-1). The lug, shaft and lever all intensify the line. Additionally, most words are parts of a gun, which is another metaphor used.