Sharon Olds' Hero

As I read the poems "Rites of Passage" and "The One Girl at the Boy's Party" I compared Sharon Olds' heroes to Updike's hero Sammy. Updike's Sammy quit his job in response to how the girls were being treated. This was a brave act of heroism. This like many other actions taken at that time was a start/aid to the feminist movement.

In "Rites of Passage" the son is a hero in his own way according to Olds. He does not aid to a major event or quantity of people like Updike's character, however, he makes a change for a few. He stops the arguing and bickering among his friends and creates peace.

In "The One Girl at he Boy's Party" the girl is also a hero much like the son in "Rites of Passage". She does not make a major jester like Sammy but stands for something similar. The girl is the only girl among many boys, and because this story was written a couple of years after the feminist movement, I believe she stood for women's rights. Also, Olds brought out her knowledge of math which I believe stands for her ability to succeed as much as the boys.

According to these stories, Updike and Olds have different views of a hero but both there heroes make/stand for some kind of change however big or small.

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