“MOCO LIMPING”

BY DAVID NAVA MONREAL

T=TITLE: Predict the meaning of the poem based on the title.

ANSWER: A being or something that is injured either physically or emotionally.

Based on the picture, a dog?

P=PARAPHRASE: Put into your own words the

meaning of the poem.

ANSWER: My dog has a bad leg and hobbles; I wanted a strong dog, a leader, one that was

graceful, but he is slow and clumsy. I am too proud to admit that he is mine. But when he

shows me love, I forget about his imperfections and my ego.

C=Connotation: Highlight words you see as important. What ideas or feelings are associated with the words

or phrases?

ANSWER: hobbles, rickety, little canine, club foot, stumbler, abnormal, feeble have connotations of being

broken or useless.

savage grace, gait leader, brutal hunter have connotation of strength and power.

C=Connotation: Highlight words you see as

important. What ideas or feelings are associated with the words or phrases?

ANSWER: my vain heart weeps connotes selfishness

Imperfection is forgotten connotes resilience and forgiveness

A=ATTITUDE: What is the speaker’s attitude toward the

subject or situation?

ANSWER: The speaker starts with a negative tone toward his dog. Then he SHIFTS into a hopeful

yet also selfish tone. He quickly SHIFTS again to the reality of what his dog is and picks up his

negative tone again. In the end, he returns to a loving tone.

S=SHIFT: Are there shifts in speaker or

in the speaker’s attitude?

ANSWER: There are shifts in ATTITUDE, not speaker. LINE 4

(and), Line 14 (but) and Line 23 (but).

T=TITLE: Look at the title again. How have your ideas about the meaning of the title changed?

ANSWER: We now know it is about a pet and its owner.

T=THEME: What is author saying? What is his comment on his subject? What is the

overall message?

ANSWER: Unconditional love means looking past imperfections. Heroism is the

ability to inspire and put the needs of a loved one over your own.