# Save the Boys explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

## What happens

A speaker, trapped in addiction and despair, reflects on his downfall and implores others to protect young boys from the same fate. He acknowledges his own inability to escape the consequences of his sins but urges society to remove temptations and save the next generation.

## Themes in this chapter

### Resilience and Sacrifice

The speaker sacrifices his own hope for redemption, focusing instead on saving the boys from a similar fate.

### Hope and Redemption

Though the speaker feels beyond saving, he still hopes that others can intervene to rescue the boys.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker laments his own ruin and pleads for the salvation of boys.

## Key lines

> Like Dives in the deeps of Hell I cannot break this fearful spell, Nor quench the fires I’ve madly nursed, Nor cool this dreadful raging thirst.

Like the rich man Dives suffering in Hell, I am trapped by my own choices and cannot ease my torment.

_The speaker compares his addiction to the biblical story of Dives, emphasizing his hopeless state._

> Take from your streets those traps of hell Into whose gilded snares I fell.

Remove the alluring but destructive establishments from your streets that led me to ruin.

_A call to eliminate places that sell alcohol, which the speaker sees as traps leading to sin._

> Oh! freemen, from these foul decoys Arise, and vote to save the boys.

Free citizens, rise up and use your votes to protect boys from these evil temptations.

_The speaker urges political action to combat the liquor trade and safeguard youth._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters/save-the-boys
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters