"the owl and the chimpanzee" by Jo Camacho
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The owl and the chimpanzee went to sea
In a beautiful boat called The Mind
The owl was sensible, clever and smart
The chimp was a little behind
The owl made decisions, based on fact
And knew where to steer its ship
The chimp reacted a little too fast
And often the boat would tip
The waves would come and crash aboard
The chimp would start to cry
Large tears would roll right down his face
Afraid that he would die
The chimp and the owl would wrestle at night
When the world was quiet and still
The chimp would jump up and rock the boat
And the boat would start to fill
Then the owl stepped in and grabbed a pail
And started to empty it out
And the chimp would start to get quite cross
And would often scream and shout
The battle continued night after night
Until the chimp started to see
That if it let the owl take control
A more peaceful night it would be
This entire poem takes a look at what happens when we let bad things take over our lives, one of those things being fear. In this poem I believe that the owl is good thoughts and good feelings. So like the poem says, if we let the owl take control, if we let those good feelings and thoughts settle in, then we will have a much more peaceful night.
From a gender/feminist perspective, this poem can be seen as critiquing gender roles and objectification. Our society often sees men as bold and fearless whereas woman can be seen as the weaker sex, even though in reality that doesn’t have to be the case. In this poem, the author suggests that good, peaceful thoughts and feelings (represented by the owl) can take the control from fear. So, even the traditionally “weaker” sex can take away the power of fear and settle into a peaceful night. This poem also calls into question how gender roles can be represented in art and literature.
We can ask ourselves if women’s power, strength and peace is represented accurately in literature, or is it overshadowed by traditional gender roles? Is this poem objectifying the owl or using it as a metaphor to describe how women’s feelings and thoughts can take the control of fear from men? How can we challenge traditional gender roles and creating an even representation of both genders in literature?
I believe a metaphor can be found in the mentions of the boat filling with water. What I took away from these lines was the water could represent something as simple as a stressful situation or as complex as emotional trauma or event. Its essentially making the comparison between a boat filling with water and our minds filling with overwhelming thoughts and emotion.
your opinion is extremely wrong
“Beautiful boat” creates a B sound early on in this line from the poem.
We might stop and consider how the B sound, which mimics a woman’s voice, could be reinforcing feminine stereotypes. Is there a predominance of B words in the poem? Does the female voice in this line assert power over the men in the poem, such as the fishermen, or does she lose power? Are there ways in which this female voice is objectified by the author? Let’s reread the poem together and let these questions guide us as we discuss it!
Mind = Boat
This will ask the reader to consider the properties of a boat. The events described within the poem will affect “the boat” or the mind of the person as the piece develops.
This metaphor relates the boat tipping to a mental imbalance or episode. Throughout the weekly work texts given, mental health is the constant topic. The boat tipping could be inferred as an anxiety attack, panic attack, a depressive episode, or many other reactions to a strong mental imbalance.
This line shows how the innerworkings of our mind are constantly at battle. The “fight” between the owl, the sensible, and thoughtful part of our brain, is fighting the chimp, the part of our brain that takes action rather then thinking. These two fighting companions describe the choices we have during stressful situations, to freak out, or take control.
This line is about the struggle between the chimp and the owl which signifies the struggle within the mind. This line is the main point of the piece.
This poem by clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist Jo Camacho beautifully articulates the internal battle many of us face when the more primitive part of our brain (the chimp brain) takes control. The wise owl within all of us is seen here fighting with the chimp who seems determined to make the situation worse, despite its fears of the situation worsening.
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This poem reminds me of “The Owl and the Pussy Cat.”
In both texts, the characters are stuck in an oppressive and patriarchal society, and they can only escape by leaving it – a choice that’s only available to those with the privilege and power to do so. We can explore how this text reinforces, critiques, or challenges definitions of masculinity or femininity and how it can be read as cautionary tale on social conformity and patriarchy. To begin, let’s consider the gender of the author, the reader, and the characters/voices. Does the text reflect social gender codes? Are these characters trapped in the existing patriarchal framework, or do they challenge it in any way? Are there any stereotypes being challenged or reinforced? How do the characters’ different genders impact their journey? Additionally, let’s imagine ourselves as someone of the opposite gender reading this work and explore how our readings might differ. As we reread this text, let’s point to places where we can see how the author is conveying messages about gender roles, objectivity/objectification, representation, and differences. Finally, let’s try to think of ways to find creative ways to challenge gender roles and oppressive social norms in our own lives.
The poem follows an “a-b-c-b” rhyme scheme, known as a ballad quatrain.
Let’s look at this text through the Gender/Feminist Critical Lens. We can ask ourselves if the poem reinforces, critiques, or challenges existing definitions of masculinity or femininity. We can consider the gender of the author, the reader, as well as the characters/voices in the text. We can look for gender stereotypes that may be reinforced or undermined in the poem. We can consider how different the text might look if we interpret it with a different gender perspective. To help us start this conversation, let’s look at these lines:
“Then his heart, it burst apart
And tumbled slowly to the ground.”
Does this poem present a traditional masculine or feminine approach to love and loss? What ideas of gender roles or representation are being presented here? Let’s think about different ways that we could interpret this poem and push back against gender stereotypes. Let’s grab a few more lines to help us answer these questions. Is there a different way we could re-read this poem together and imagine a more nuanced approach to gender in this text?
Rhyme occurs with the last word of nearly every other line. Some examples include ship and tip, die and cry, and still and fill. This rhyme scheme helps keep a steady flow throughout the poem. Though not every system of every other line ends with a rhyme, as the rhyme scheme does break in a couple places, most of the poem does and this helps the reader to follow along and draw out a meaning from the poem. The rhyme scheme leads to the steady flow, despite this author not necessarily being the most seasoned poet.
We’re asked as the reader to consider the expected behaviors of the “chimp” and the “owl” in order to have an appreciation of the interplay between the two.
From what I’ve gathered from this poem, it shows two creatures with different personalities. We have the owl, known as the “wise old owl,” and the chimpanzee, that mainly uses fear and desire instead of knowledge and decision making. Just by naming this boat “The Mind,” I can infer this poem’s purpose is to show what could possibly happen if the “chimpanzee” takes control of our mind. The last two lines of this poem “The Owl and the Chimpanzee,” Shows us if we simply ignore the fear and emotions and let the “owl” take control “a more peaceful night it would be”
This poem is used as an analogy on the subject of our minds. The owl, the sensible and logical character, relates to the part of our mind that solves problems. This part of our mind can act calmly and collectively during times of distress. The other character, the chimpanzee, acts out of fear and emotion. During times of distress, this part of our mind can become present as well. All together these two unalike characters ride along in their beautiful boat called ¨The Mind.¨ The owl and chimpanzee in our minds are contradictory friends, but they make us whole and human!
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