In the poem “A Story,” Li-Young Lee uses differing points of view, varying tone, and
juxtaposition to convey that fathers feel both an overwhelming love and a fear of the future in
their relationships with their sons. Lee first depicts fathers’ inability to always satisfy their sons’
requests. For example, the speaker introduces the poem by lamenting, “Sad is the man who is
asked for a story / and can’t come up with one.” Lee’s syntax inverts the traditional sentence
structure by placing the adjective “sad” first, emphasizing the speaker’s dismay at the father. The
selection of detail in “sad” serves to introduce a melancholy, reflective tone, which Lee utilizes
to explain the father’s combination of love and fear. Furthermore, the instance of the passive
voice in “who is asked” refocuses the reader’s attention on the father’s perspective, rather than
the son. Indeed, when the speaker writes that “the man rubs his chin, scratches his ear,” readers
find themselves fully immersed in the father’s thought process. This visual imagery highlights
his lack of knowledge. Additionally, when the speaker reveals the father’s fear that “the boy /
will give up on his father,” the depressing shift in tone combines with that visual imagery to
evoke a bleak image. This depiction underscores Lee’s characterization of the father as someone
who loves deeply but lives in fear of the future.
Lee then rapidly shifts the poem’s perspective and point of view to convey the father’s
dueling feelings. Firstly, the speaker recounts the son’s request for “not the same story, Baba. A
new one.” The italicized line interjects the son’s point of view into a poem told mostly by a third-
person omniscient narrator, heightening the emotional appeal and demonstrating the closeness of
the father-son bond. Later, when describing the “day this boy will go,” the speaker illuminates
the father’s inner thoughts: “Don’t go!...You love the spider story. You laugh at the spider. / Let
me tell it!” By shifting the tone to desperation, Lee depicts the father’s internal panic when
considering a future where the son leaves. The short syntax, combined with the imperative mood,
adds situational irony. Most times, a child begs their parent to fulfill their request; by flipping
that dynamic, Lee implies that the father’s love for his son leads him to beg him for a better
future. Next, the speaker writes that the father “screams, that I sit mute before you? / Am I a god
that I should never disappoint?” The diction in the word “scream” – representing a visceral
reaction – complicates Lee’s point. While many normally scream at people they hate, the father
screams at a person he loves; the duality of this situation highlights the combination of love and
fear.
Lee finally conveys that the man regains his composure through returning to the present.
The structure of this six-stanza poem, without a specific rhyme scheme, evokes familial
emotions within the reader. Lee furthers this effect by writing, “The boy is here.” The short
syntax serves to create a final tonal shift back to tranquility, as the man calms his fears of the
future. The speaker then characterizes the request for a story as “an emotional rather than a
logical equation.” The juxtaposition of emotions and logic heighten the shift in the father’s
thinking; he learns to accept the beauty of the present moment with his son. The speaker further
describes the request as “an earthly rather than heavenly one.” Lee connects this heavenly
imagery to the father’s passionate query of whether he is “a god that I should never disappoint.”
By negating this previous line, Lee underscores the father’s character development. Because the
father feels as though he cannot live to his son’s expectations, he compares himself to an
omnipotent deity; affirming the ask for a story as an “earthly” question recenters his self-
perception. The final line of the poem conveys that the “boy’s supplications / and the father’s
love add up to silence.” This line complements the earlier image of the father who could not
think of a story. This new silence, however, is peaceful rather than shameful, underscoring the
beauty of the father’s love. Therefore, by combining these aspects and the father’s character
development, Lee conveys his fears and love in his relationship with his son.
