Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Carmen Flores
Mrs. Reed
American Literature
26 January 2017
Imagine losing sight of, and disagreeing with yourself so much you believe a stranger has
infiltrated your life. David R. Slavitt explores this concept in The Intruder, writing from the
perspective of a man locked in crippling inner conflict. The Intruders important theme of inner
turmoil relates perfectly to my topic of conflict and shows how societal pressures make inner
This poem, The Intruder, showcases an individual's inner conflict between who he has
become and who he is on the inside. The narrator of the story believes some homeless guy, a
crazy street-person has broken into his home and stolen his life. As the poem continues we can
infer that this crazy homeless man is in fact the narrator himself. The third stanza of the poem
says, He rummages through my closets and dresser drawers and tries on my clothing, which
happens, of course, to fit him (Slavitt 5). The combination of the intruder both fitting into the
mans clothes, as well as perfectly fitting into different aspects of the narrator's life, shows us he
is in fact the narrator but he does not recognize himself. Later on, the narrator cries out: This
isnt me. Hes an impostor. How can you not have noticed? Hes old! Hes nasty. Also, hes
clearly crazy! How can he fool you this way? And how can you stand him? (17). The man in the
story doesnt recognize who he is anymore, calling the so called intruder: old,nasty, and
crazy. He doesnt see himself as these things but rather the stranger he had become. He has
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become locked in this conflict with his older present self, whom he doesn't understand or like,
Conflict is an essential part of any society as different people come with different
views, but I believe that this is far more apparent in American society. Being in a significantly
diverse nation, Americans hold far different values from each other and when added with
societal pressures creates the perfect ground for inner turmoil. I can relate to this as well as I feel
myself sometimes struggling with it. As a young, multiracial, female I see all around me societal
expectations of who I should be, causing me to be conflicted about who I am. Slavitt comments
on this in his poem with the last line of The Intruder reading: And must I go out now myself
to find a victim, break into his house, and begin living his life? (23). This implies a repeated
cycle of inner conflict, supporting the fact this is dominant in American culture. Even more
evidence comes later in the poem with these lines: They pay me no mind, pretending not to
have noticed. Could they somehow be in on this together? (19). The mans family pretend to
not notice his change of character and he wonders if they are in on this deception, showing how
common and not unique this struggle is in society. Because of Americas diversity and large
focus on materialistic and idealistic societal expectations, inner turmoil and conflict is a huge
Conflict is something that affects everyones lives. We all experience doubts, and
differences between who we want to be and who we, made more apparent as one grows up.
David R. Slavitts The Intruder explores this relatable struggle, and common phenomena in
America experienced as one changes and grows, causing fear and harmful thinking.