Raigoza 1

Elizabeth Raigoza
Curmano P.1
Language Arts
10 April 2015

Loneliness. Running away. An escape. There are so many people in this world that feel so
lonely even if it doesnt look like it. This is explained in Naomi Shihab Nyes The Rider, in
this poem she explains her story about loneliness. Through several poetic devices and a calm,
and uneasy tone, she shows the theme that running away from your problems isnt going to make
them go away, is shown.
The poetic devices in Nyes The Rider expresses the loneliness she feels. Nye uses
personification when saying pink petals that have never felt loneliness, no matter how slowly
they fell. ( Nye 12-13). This gives meaning to the poem because it shows how people unlike
flowers feel loneliness. Saying how much they want to be happy and lively like a flower. Another
device Nye uses is refrain, loneliness (3,9,12). The poet used the word loneliness to express
how much loneliness they feel in the poem. It also helps the word pop out to show the reader the
meaning behind the poem. Then Nye uses allusion, pedaling hard down King William Street.
(7). King William Street is an actual place and its expressing where they are. It also gives the
poem a setting. The Rider, by Nye expresses the theme that running away from problems isn't
gonna make them go away.
Nyes The Rider has a calm but uneasy tone to express peoples loneliness. If he
roller-skated fast enough his loneliness couldnt catch him, the best reason I ever heard for trying
to be a champion. (2-5). A shift in the tone is shown here because it goes from calm to uneasy
giving her a way to escape. She feels thats the only way to run. A victory! To leave your

Raigoza 2

loneliness. (9). She thinks if he runs away his problems they will go away, so she can do the
same. She thinks people can just get away from loneliness. While you float free into a cloud of
sudden azaleas, pink petals that have never felt loneliness.. (11-12). Here she compares
loneliness to a flower and how they never feel lonely. She explains how she dreams of one day
being able to not feel lonely. What I wonder tonight.. (6). After the boy tells her about his
escape from loneliness she pedals wondering about it. And she comes to the thought of doing
the same thing to escape, and hide away. The poem uses a calm and an uneasy tone to show
loneliness, and that running away from your problems isn't going to make them go away.
Loneliness is one of the hardest things to get away from. Nyes The Rider clearly
describes what people really feel inside, and how lonely, and sad they can feel. Nyes use of
personification, refrain, and allusion helps to create a calm but uneasy tone that demonstrates
loneliness. One shouldn't believe that running away from your problems is going to make them
go away so easy.

Works Cited
Nye, Naomi Shihab. "The Rider." Poetry 180. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/165.html>.