Emily Dickinson

I read the poem "God Gave a Loaf" by Emily Dickinson. In this poem she speaks how she is hungry and getting a crumb from God is a real treat but she does not want to eat it, even though she is starving. Instead, she saves it because she is happy that she has this crumb of bread. But, in a way she is not happy at all with this small crumb because even the birds get a full loaf and leave her with less. It is not fair that others get more than she does especially birds because they are more insignificant than people. The rich get more as well and she does not understand why. According to the literary criticism by Leiter, Dickson was not going starving in the time she wrote this poem. "She had material comfort, family, and friendships; by the time she wrote this poem she knew she possessed great poetic talent. Perhaps she felt deprived of physical beauty, of a requited love, of literary recognition, or of a soothing and certain Christian faith." (Leiter) In this poem the bread represents something more. I believe it represent happiness that Dickinson lacks. But, how could she be unhappy? According to Leiter she has family, material things, and real talent. If Thoreau were to read this poem he would know exactly why Dickinson was unhappy because of his idea of materialism. Thoreau believes that money cannot buy happiness. In this case talent and material things cannot make Dickinson happy. In Thoreau's "Walden" he ditches his life he has to live a simpler life in the wilderness. He leaves his material goods to live with the things he absolutely needs and he was perfectly happy. Thoreau was happy with the simple things, alone in the woods, without the luxuries of city life. If Dickinson had this some attitude she would not be upset with life. She believes she does not have a lot and other people have lives so much better than her. In reality Dickinson has a lot more than a lot of people do and she does not see all the good in her life and it is quite a shame.

Dickinson, Emliy. "God Gave a Loaf." Mith. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

Leiter, Sharon. "'God gave a Loaf to every Bird—'." Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.