"The Snake" and American Literature

      “The Snake”, by Theodore Roethke is a poem in which a person observes a snake in the wilderness and wishes they were as the snake were free. The snake is describes as “laying limb… quickened and was gone,” (Roethke) this also describes the deeper meaning of the snake as free, free to do what it wants and go anywhere, freely. Roethke explains in the poem that he rather be in the form of the snake, than living in his human form. However, this does not signify the man literally wants to be a snake, he instead is disclosing that he desires freedom, as an animal possess.

The aspect of freedom connects to American literature, as this topic and theme is distinguished in much American work. The topic of freedom was written through poetry, novels, song, and other works in American literature. The fight freedom in America started in colonial times as America fought for its independence from England in the American Revolution, then it became a controversial matter during the Antebellum period with the enslavement of Africans and African-Americans, and it has continued throughout American history with writings from all the periods. American authors have always used freedom as a focus in their work because it is a relevant topic in many people’s life and has changed the country multiple times.