21 pages • 42 minutes read
Ocean VuongToy Boat
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Short, Simple Words
There is no word in “Toy Boat” more than two syllables long, thus the language in the poem is notably short and simple. This is in keeping with the content of the poem. “Toy Boat” is written “For Tamir Rice,” a Black child who was killed by the police. The speaker of the poem is considering both the titular toy boat and Rice at once. Children play with toys (Rice was playing with a toy gun when he was shot with a real one), and children also tend to use shorter, simpler words than adults. While the words Vuong uses are short and simple, the poem itself is complex, because every line considers both the titular toy and Rice at once. Thus, even though every line of the poem uses short, simple words, every line of the poem also contains a double resonance (See: Poem Analysis).
Em Dashes
“Toy Boat” includes two em dashes (Lines 6 and 14). While that might not seem like many em dashes, there are only four pieces of punctuation in the whole poem, so these two em dashes comprise half of the poem’s punctuation. Additionally, the em dash is the only repeated punctuation mark in “Toy Boat.” As a result, these two em dashes stand out and they are an important, repeated element in the poem. Rather than bring things to a close (as a period would), or even a pause (as a comma would), the em dashes keep the line going. The em dashes contribute to the lack of closure in this short poem (See: Themes).
Toys
Every stanza of “Toy Boat” except the last one considers the titular toy (Lines 1-21). Moreover, in addition to the title, the word “toy” is repeated four times in the poem (Lines 14, 18, 19, and 20). Toys are evocative and symbolic of childhood. The poem’s focus on the titular toy boat emphasizes the fact that Rice (to whom the poem is dedicated) was a child when he was killed by the police.
Related Titles
By Ocean Vuong
