Home of the Aged by Elizabeth Brewster

In the poem "Home for the Aged" by Elizabeth Brewster, the poet uses descriptive details to establish an atmosphere for the rest of the poem. The atmosphere that is created by the author shows how boring and hopeless life is for these old men. The author uses these details to explain how the lives of these old men are passing by them. When the author writes, "The old men sit, five of them on a bench" she explains how these old men just sit on a bench and watch the days slowly go by. She also describes how "They watch with half closed eyes the passer-bys." These descriptive details make it is easy for the reader to visualize how these old men live a passive life and are half dead sitting on a bench watching the people pass. "The loitering lovers, the boys on bikes, the cars rushing eagerly to some scene of active life." The author is contrasting how these old men watch the people and objects that pass and notice the active life of everyone else. These old men sit watching the lovers, the boys playing, and the cars rushing by and the author portrays these old men as bored, silent, and hopeless because they live such passive and meaningless lives. Their lives are pointless every day goes by the same way; they sit on a bench and watch the day go by because there is nothing more they can do. The author uses descriptive details to describe and illustrate how these old men sit and watch their boring, meaningless lives pass by them.