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People change, not always for the better.

There is no doubt that people change, whether it be over a long period or a short period of time. In Patrick's story he explains what happened each year from when he was 21 backwards. At the age 15 a lot happened because of the affect alcohol had on his father. Only a year before Patrick claims his father had been sober for 11 years. Its amazing how much changed in a year.

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Different speeds of speaking were displayed throughout the slam poem, to display Patrick's expression. Slam poets often use this to keep the audience involved and also display how they feel.

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Living with alcoholism.

Patrick makes it very clear how downhill his life went from the age 15. Living with an alcoholic father had a huge impact on him. To summarise this slam poem with a topic, I believe the main point he was trying to get across was the fact alcoholism affected his life.

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"I come up with the theory that my father started drinking again because maybe he found out I'm gay, like if he could make everything else blurry then somehow id look straight".

"My mother cleans up his vomit in the middle of the night, and then cooks breakfast in the morning like she hasn't lost her appetite".

Unlike the simile these to sentences are describing the different comparisons and how they are not applicable. In other words Patrick's sexuality was not going to change depending on how much his father drank. The same as cleaning up vomit would affect his mothers appetite in the morning, she was just trying to forget what happened.

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Facial expressions such as: excessive blinking, grinning, widening eyes, head shakes and eyebrow movements. Were all used to add expression to Patrick's poem, so his viewers can get a better understanding of his emotions.

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" I want to be spider man, or my dad they're kind of the same".

"When my mother was pregnant with me, i wonder if she hoped as so many mothers do, that her baby boy would grow up to be just like his father".

I simile is a direct comparison between two things. "Like" was used here when Patrick compares his father to spider man. As well as Patrick's mother hopes her son would be just like his father.

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"Usually my brother and i exchange gifts to each other early, this year he and my father exchange blows".

This sentence puts an image in the viewers head and describes how much his family has changed in a year by using a comparison from years before.

"Daddy's standing in his underwear, silhouetted by a refrigerator light, he raises a bottle to his lips".

This was before his father decided to become sober. Patrick probably was to young to understand what was going on. However, this sentense explains to the audience that times were hard in Patricks family before he started drinking again, 11 years later.

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"banisters, coffee tables, picture frames, tumbling, stumbling".

Alliteration is used here with the very similar sounds of tumbling, stumbling. Even though they do not start with the same letter, the rhyming factor displays a use of alliteration.

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Different voices were used throughout the poem depending on what age he was talking about. For example: Patrick put on a child's voice when he was talking about the age 6.

By doing this he made it clearer for the listeners how young he was and it also adds more expression and emotion the the story.

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21
20
19
18
....

"15, I blame myself, 15, my brother blames everyone else, 15, my mother blames the dog".

What is interesting about this slam poem is how Patrick used anophora to tell his age starting from 21, all the way to 0. By doing this his life story makes more sense and is clearer when the listeners are piecing together the information they are receiving.
By repeating 15 everytime he explains who blames who, more anger and emotion is projected as well as reapeating blames.

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A son shouldn't always resemble his father.

This theme is meaningful to this poem because Patrick explains that his dad was influenced by alcohol and it was alcohol that killed him. His mum wanted her son to grow up to be like his father. However, his mum most likely changed her mind after seeing what Patrick's father became.

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"My mother sips the word divorce, her mouth curls at the taste like it burns going down".

"My Father bursts through the door like an avalanche picking up speed."

Figurative imagery is very useful when explaining a situation to the listener. Patrick uses figurative imagery when explaining how his mother feels about her divorce. He again uses it when describing his fathers actions when he came home. It adds expression to the sentence and also makes the situation more understandable to the listener.