Red Fox Plog #4

“Red Fox” Commentary

In the poem “Red Fox,” Margaret Atwood creates a conceit comparing a fox to impoverished women to promote the theme that society unjustly works to oppress women and the poor. The fox represents poor women, and the speaker continually demonstrates anger at society’s view of poverty. This poem promotes sympathy and aid for impoverished women by condemning society’s opinion of them.
The fox in this poem is starving; it is “lean” and desperate, and there are “slim pickings.” This is a widespread problem, and the rich, powerful members of society first try to deny the problem that poverty causes by promoting the idea that those who are starving become morally rich. Atwood rhetorically asks, “Why encourage the notion of virtuous poverty?” to question society’s perception of the poor as honorable. She condemns this idea by stating, “It’s only an excuse for zero charity,” which points out the selfishness of the rich.
Atwood contrasts this idea of poverty with the reality of desperation. “Absolute hunger corrupts absolutely”; hunger will cause humans to stray from their normal behavior. People actually become more selfish when faced with death, as Atwood’s allusion to the story “Hansel and Gretel” harshly points out. The speaker then comments that it is understandable to turn to crime to survive because “we’d all” do the same thing. However, right after that Atwood ironically says, “or so says the fox,” which negates the sympathy just displayed towards the poor. This explains once again society’s idea that the poor are actually deceptive and disgusting, but the problem should be ignored.
Atwood primarily uses sarcastically negative and condescending diction to portray society’s view of the fox, or poor women. Words and phrases such as “sly,” “trickster’s eyes,” “adept at lies,” and “thief and rascal” describe the destructive tendencies of women. These impoverished women can’t be trusted; a woman will use her “white knife of a smile” to act kind and trustworthy only to use that trust against the innocent. Atwood’s tone during these descriptions is bitter. The poem ends stating that these poor women don’t deserve “one more chance, or other life,” which the speaker, originally admiring and sympathetic of the fox, clearly does not actually believe.
Atwood uses the metaphor that describes starving women as a “lean vixen” to trigger sympathy and understanding for their situation. At the same time, she condemns the treatment of these poor people by society. These women need help because they are losing their humanity simply trying to survive.