ROSIE ROBERTS Essays - Casual Sex, Human Sexuality, Occupations

ROSIE ROBERTS 1. Explication of the poem In this short poem the poet, Edgar Lee Masters, focuses on the miserable and dangerous living conditions of a prostitute. Through Rosie Roberts character, the poet portrays "the crooked game of life." Rosie Roberts was a prostitute who used to work in a whore house called Madam Lou's located in Peoria. One night at Madam Lou's, she had a fight with her customer who was a rich son of a Merchant. He beat her when she said that she was not interested in selling her body to him. She wanted to spend the night with someone else. In the end, she shoots and kills him in self defense. The man's wealthy family tried to hide the scandal from breaking that their son died in a whore house. They mentioned in the newspaper that he accidentally killed himself while cleaning his gun. After this incident, she was removed from the whore house and was taken to her girlhood home in Spoon River. There she became sick, probably because of some disease or emotional breakdown for the crime she committed. She was angry at the crooked policemen and the Merchant Prince for burying the truth. She wanted to let the truth be known, so she wrote to the Chief of police at Peoria, confessing about her crime. This shows that despite the fact she was a prostitute, she had a conscience. This makes her a better person. 2. Biography poem Line 1 Rosie Line 2 bold, dignified, courageous, honest. Line 3 Relative of the streets, sweetheart of men. Line 4 Lover of attention, money, and honesty. Line 5 Who feels sick, angry, and guilt for her crime. Line 6 Who needs companionship, affection, and justice to ease her pain. Line 7 Who fears illness, dull life in Spoon River, and death without exposing the truth. Line 8 Who gives tension, hostility, and death to the Merchant's son. Line 9 Who would like to see that she gets away from her girlhood home, she tells the police about her crime, and she is punished for the crime she committed. Line 10 Resident of Spoon River Line 11 Roberts 3. Character explanation Rosie Roberts seems to be one of the top prostitutes of Madam Lou's. Rich men, such as Merchant's son, want to spend a night with her. What makes Rosie different from the other prostitutes is her strong sense of dignity and courage. She does not give away herself to every man for the sake of money. She has her own priorities, likes and dislikes. She refuses to spend the night with the rich Merchant's son who is ready to give her a lot of money. She is courageous enough to not be intimidated by his high position and violent behavior. When he hits her, she boldly defends herself. Although Rosie Robert does not mind selling her body for money, she has a pure heart. She hates the dishonesty of the policemen and the merchant for burying the truth from the world about the crime she committed in order to preserve the merchants reputation. This uplifts her character. Even though her profession as a prostitute has stripped her outward modesty, she still has maintained the modesty of being sincere. She knows that she is guilty of murder and deserves punishment. The loneliness and passive life in Spoon River further intensifies her sense of guilt. She fears "wasting away" and dying with the truth buried inside her heart. She shows great courage and boldness in writing a letter to the Chief of Police telling him the details of her crime. 3.Character explanation Rosie Roberts seems to be one of the top prostitutes of Madam Lou's. Rich men, such as Merchant's son, want to spend a night with her. What makes Rosie different from the other prostitutes is her strong sense of dignity and courage. She does not give away herself to every man for the sake of money. She has her own priorities, likes and dislikes. She refuses to spend the night with the rich Merchant's son who is ready to give her a lot of money. She is courageous enough to not be intimidated by his high position and violent behavior. When he hits her, she