Li-Young Lee "The Gift" 2

The author in my opinion has received a gift and has given one. I do believe that he received something worth remembering and in exchange has learned a method in which he now uses on his wife. The narrator, painlessly removing a splinter from his wife's hand, recalls the scene when he was boy seven years old and his father removed an "iron silver" splinter from his palm. The father had skillfully distracted his son by telling a story in a voice reassuring and low. When the narrator says " a well/of dark water, a prayer " that assured my thought of how his fathers words had an effect of making him feel less anxious and worried. The narrators wife now has a splinter and he is using the same solemn method to remove it from her palm. That gift that he received as a child he is now reiterating. Being able to take someone's mind away from a place of pain is a gift that is greatly appreciated and learned. The two gifts are 'one in the same', though different time periods and occurring with people of different relationships i.e. father and son, husband and wife. I still feel the same theme of love and true caring for the one in pain is major part of the gift. The son gained more than a painless splinter removal, but he gained skills as well. I feel the author is trying to send a message, that the best gift you can ever give some one is showing that you care, In the darkest times having someone calm and focused through any situation can bring a comforting light through anything. Methods like the father used is something that transcends through eras. The son doesn't even remember the story but yet remembers his feeling.