A Work of Artifice

"A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy talks about the possibilities of a bonsai tree and how its growth was stunted by the gardener. This poem is very easy to relate to no matter who the reader is because almost everyone at some point in their lives have experienced some sort of repression or has learned of the repression of a particular group like women and African Americans. Piercy begins her poem by discussing the possibilities of the tree. "The bonsai tree... could have grown eighty feet tall on the side of the mountain." She then discusses how to tree was restrained from reaching its full potential. "It is nine inches high. Everyday as he whittles back the branches the gardener croons, it is your nature to be small and cozy, domestic and weak." Finally, Piercy says that to hold back living creatures one must start early. I really related this poem to Janie and Jody in Their Eyes Were Watching God. While Janie is married to Jody, Jody is constantly trying to win Janie's silence and obedience. He does not believe that Janie and all women have anything to say or think. He insults her ideas and dreams and even results to beating her until she finally gives in. Janie loses sight of herself and her dreams for a while. If compared to "A Work of Artifice," Janie is the little bonsai tree imprisoned in the pot, and Jody is the gardener holding her back from her true potential.