Beginning of Essay
The central theme of the poem “Tumbleweed” by David Wagoner is a tumbleweed that bounces from one place to the next. It is buffeted by the wind, and it ends up stuck on a fence from which it is rescued by the poet to continue its way. In the first stanza, th ....

Middle of Essay
.... a fence, a kind of prison from which it is difficult to escape. So the tumbleweed and the poet are both thrust against the barbed wire of life. This is another metaphor for the poet's difficult life. The poet and the tumbleweed are stuck in a painful, difficult situation. They are prisoners of their surroundings, helpless. “Like a riddled prisoner.” The words riddled prisoner are used to give us a powerful, painful, picture of the lost and hopeless feeling of the poet. He feels great pain at his situation, feels that there is no way out. He is hanging there on the fence, exposed for everyone to see. In the second stanza, the poet continues to ....