# Discipline explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

A father attempts to discipline his child after a tantrum over a doughnut, but the child's defiant spirit and innocent smile undermine the punishment.

## Themes in this chapter

### Innocence and Growth

The child's defiant yet innocent response to discipline highlights the tension between parental authority and a child's developing independence.

### Domestic Life

The scene of a father disciplining his child over a doughnut captures a common domestic struggle.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The father who disciplines his child by locking him in a room.

### Daddy

The father who orders the child to stop screaming and enforces punishment.

## Key lines

> He couldn't have a doughnut, and it made him very mad; He undertook to get revenge by screaming at his dad.

The child threw a tantrum because he was denied a doughnut.

_The conflict begins with the child's anger over the denied treat._

> I left him in his prison cell two minutes, just about, And, penitent, he smiled at me when I did let him out.

After a brief time-out, the child appeared sorry and smiled.

_The father's punishment is short-lived, and the child's smile suggests a lack of true remorse._

> But when he got another look at the forbidden fruit He gave a yell that they could hear in Jacksonville or Butte.

Seeing the doughnut again triggered another loud scream.

_The child's tantrum resumes immediately upon seeing the doughnut._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/discipline
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters