# Disappointment explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The Senate awakens from its slumber as a long-winded speaker, Steele, finally stops talking. A colleague, Reddy, taunts him, and six bears attack Steele, each taking a different limb. The last bear, disappointed at having nothing to eat, is told by Steele to look in the Treasury for the remaining flipper.

## Themes in this chapter

### Political Satire

The poem mocks the Senate's lethargy and the petty, violent rhetoric among politicians.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

Steele's suggestion to look in the Treasury for a limb implies government corruption and misappropriation of funds.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator describes the scene in the Senate.

## Key lines

> The Senate woke; the Chairman’s snore Was stilled, its echoes balking; The startled members dreamed no more, For Steele, who long had held the floor, Had suddenly ceased talking.

The Senate session came to life as the chairman stopped snoring, and the members were roused from their daydreams because Steele, who had been speaking for a long time, finally stopped.

_Highlights the boredom and inattention of the Senate._

> Then to that disappointed bear Said Steele, serene and chipper, “My friend, you shall not lack your share: Look in the Treasury, and there You’ll find his other flipper.”

Steele calmly tells the bear that it will get its share by looking in the Treasury for the other flipper, implying that the Treasury holds the missing limb.

_Satirizes the idea that government funds are used for personal or absurd purposes._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/disappointment
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters