Photograph of My Father In His Twenty Second Year

In the poem "Photograph of My Father In His Twenty Second Year" by Raymond Carver , the author displays his thoughts and feelings about his father by looking at his old photograph. He is looking at a photograph of his father from when he was 22 years old and is reminiscing and thinking about what he was like. The setting of the the poem is in a dark and somber kitchen as seen when the author says "Here in this dank, unfamiliar kitchen". The author is not in a joyful happy place or mood when studying the photo. This could be symbol for the way  he feels about his father. The memories of his father may have been dark and lonely. Carver judges his father, he thinks that his father was trying to be something he was not. By saying  "He would like to pose bluff and hearty for his posterity..All his life my father wanted to be bold" he felt that his father was a fake and tried to be big and bad and he was not. But Carver could decipher the picture. He knew what his father was really like. Carver did love his father, but he regretted him. His father did not teach him the things that a father was supposed to teach their sons when he says "yet how can I say thank you, I who can't hold my liquor either,and don't even know the places to fish? ". His father did not do his job and teach his son how to be a man and Carver is disappointed. This poem is short and to the point. When read the reader automatically can feel the mood and somberness in the poem. Carver uses simple, dated language to keep the reader interested and feeling the way he does.