Zak Touati
September 14, 2008
Period 6
“ THE ACCIDENT”
In the poem “The Accident”, Erica Funkhouser suggests that the husband is cheating on the wife in the poem through subtle suggestions in the description of the scene. The husband’s actions throughout the poem show his uncomfortable feeling in the scene. The neighbor in the poem has many non usual aspects between the husbands which makds the wife very suspicious throughout the poem until she completely reveals herself.
In the begging of the poem, the speaker describes the neighbor entering the house of the husband and wife. She had come from the hospital which her son has just gotten into an accident. The speaker describes her cloths as very sportive as she just came from a jog by showing it in (Line 12-14) “The neighbor was still wearing her jogging clothes--pale blue ripstop nylon, the same blue flame along the instep of her running shoes.” The speaker shows how the neighbor walks into the husband and wife’s home casually as if it’s her own home, showing that she has been there at least more than once. All that knowledge gives us reason to believe that there is an affair going on.
During the middle of the poem the speaker starts by telling us the neighbor sits down in the kitchen table spreading her legs out nice and wide in line (18-21) “She slid a chair from underneath the kitchen table and sat down, her long legs straight in front of her like a ladder to a different world.” This action shows the neighbor giving the husband a sexual move for him to notice her. Her legs spread wide like a ladder explains that she is trying to get the husbands attention about sexual intercourse. Also through the middle of the poem the neighbor spits out a answer saying “yes” when the wife hasn’t even asked a question showing the wife that there is something going on between the two and the neighbor jus told her without given notice. Another important part is that the husband started to cook egg when the neighbor came in without the wife asking him to. That particular action made the wife very suspicious in believing that the husband and neighbor had a communication of such.
The last and ending part of the poem shows the husbands nervous actions, the speaker how he usually cracks the eggs with one hand to show off but he cracked them with two due to the reason that his hands were so shaky. These actions made the wife wonder why he is acting this way and does he have anything that he is hiding from her. (Line 26-33) “How many times they had eaten together, the woman watching wondered enough. Her husband worked slowly, strolling back and forth between the stove, the coffee maker, and the table where his wife and the still-flushed neighbor leaned on their elbows discussing the hazards of dusk.” The speaker shows that the husband is wondering around like a mad man very nervous and suspicious as the wife is wondering why he is acting this way.
In conclusion, Erica Funkhouser shows all different ways to proves that there is a very well good chance of an affair. The husband’s precautions behavior in the same room as the neighbor had the wife thinking ass well. Also the neighbor’s non communication with the husband allowing him to start making eggs as soon as she walks in makes one believe that there is communication between the two outside. Last but not least the neighbor spitting out yes before the wife could ask any question of sort made it very obvious that the two were having an affair and the neighbor blew her cover. Throughout the poem husband is cheating on the wife in the poem through subtle suggestions and actions.
