The Speaker’s Thumb

The thumb is a symbol of masculine power. While it is a literal image in the poem, it’s also been interpreted as a phallic symbol and a metaphor for the speaker’s patriarchal society. The speaker calls it a “Little pilgrim” (Line 9) and compares it to the “Ku Klux Klan” (Line 29), both symbols of oppressive masculine supremacy. This association creates a feeling of empowerment when the speaker “scalps” the figure, essentially castrating it and removing its power. This action helps the speaker feel as though they have symbolically removed the patriarchy’s influence and oppression in their life.

Blood

Blood is presented as the antithesis to the speaker’s thumb, and a medium that emerges as a direct result of the symbolic castration. The speaker refers to this emergence as a “celebration” (Line 16). This could be a reference to the coming-of-age threshold...