S p a c e c a t 
Answer each question in depth and provide ​specific evidence​ from
the text or speaker whenever available. The more you write, the better!
Title of the text:
S 
SPEAKER:
Who is the speaker/writer?
What do we know about
them? What can you tell or
what do you know about
the speaker that helps you
understand the point of
view expressed?  father did.
P 
PURPOSE:
What is the speaker/writer
hoping to accomplish?
What is the reason behind
this piece? What do they
want the audience to do
after having listened?
AUDIENCE:​ ​

A 
Who is the speaker/writer
trying to reach? How do we
know? Do they indicate a
specific audience? What
assumptions exist in the
text about the intended
audience? 
C 
CONTEXT: ​
 The poem was written in 2013, but the setting might have been in the 1950s-70s as a
What is the time and place
of this piece? What is
happening in the world as
it relates to the subject of
the speech or the
speaker/writer? 
E 
EXIGENCE:
What was the spark or
catalyst that moved the
speaker/writer to
act/write? How did that
The speaker in this poem is most likely the son of the father, as there is not much that
shows that it could be from an outside point of view. The pronouns of “my,” and “I,”
when talking about characteristics and possessive things are used a lot and there are
no other pronouns inferring that it could be anyone else. The speaker was at some
point with the car in his teen years, as he was old enough to drive, and we know that
he went through a rough patch of doing less than ideal things (in his father’s eyes).
And we see that the speaker also in this rough patch had different values than his
The purpose of this poem includes several things, like saying how it can be hard for
men to speak up on things, but I think even more it shows the type of dynamic that
there can be between a son and father. We can see the generational difference of the
father and son, and can infer that the father probably wasn’t raised in a way where
many emotions were shown. However, the father still has lots of life experience that
he wants to pass onto his son. But it seems like the father isn’t sure how to go about
this because he never had it done to him. He clearly cares about his son a tremendous
amount though. So he expresses those thoughts and tips through telling his son how
to wash the car; telling him to not miss a spot, opening the hood afterwards, and
comparing the oil to blood. The coming forward by the son and willingness to be
vulnerable shows the first step forward to improving their relationship, and being able
to talk to each other. The speaker may be asking the audience to appreciate their
relationships, or say that it is okay to be vulnerable around those you choose. Another
incredibly important part of the poem is the fact that the son was a survivor, and that
it happened within the family.
The audience is probably mostly men and going along with the relevancy of the poem,
young men especially. The poem goes through his life experience, and it shows at the
end that many years have passed as his dad is in his old age and probably nearing
death. Because of the present time, and the fact that he is talking about the negative
parts of his childhood having to do with him and his father’s relationship, therefore
also showing the audience the ways that they can improve on their relationships and
uphold them.
time period. The poem also states that they were in Baltimore. The reasoning of the
time period is because the car seems to be a classic and nice car, and the “whitewall”
tires were popular at that time. This provides a setting for the story, and it also shows
what kind of time the father may have grown up in where men couldn’t really show
emotions and were told to be tough and strong.
The spark to write this poem came from the speaker wanting to share his story about
his father. The story can be relevant to many peoples’ situations even if they aren’t
exactly the same, so it was written in order to spread awareness and advice. This may
have come from the lack of this from his father in ways he could understand at the
beginning of his life, so he is serving as that role for other people until they can go out
 event impact the
speaker/writer? 
C 
CHOICES:
What are the rhetorical
choices that the
speaker/writer makes in
the speech? Think about
overall structure, devices,
diction, syntax, etc.  of things is sounds like a very determined pastor/ preacher. Then the end of the third
A 
APPEALS:
Which of the three
rhetorical appeals (ethos,
logos, pathos) are present
in the text? Where? Why? 
T 
TONE:
What is the
speaker/authors attitude
toward the subject? Is the
tone the same throughout
the whole piece? Where
does it shift? What
evidence is there to
demonstrate the tone? ​
 
and form those same relationships with the people around them.
This poem uses a lot of imagery to paint a picture of the story of this son. The first and
second stanza are basically entirely made up of very descriptive sentences giving an
image of what is going on at the time. The structure of the poem is also split into
different emotions invoking stanzas. The first one is sort of sweet and nostalgic, while
the second one is more rough and adventurous, and reminds me of other content I’ve
seen. The third stanza is on the harsher side with lots of talk of blood and the wording
stanza and the 4th stanza goes back to being very light and emotional, with a sense of
peace as well as the relationship being followed is finally at a better point.
The text mostly contains lots of pathos, as it is very sentimental and emotion drove
with the story. As stated before, the different stanzas bring different emotions that
drive the story. The fact of the son being a survivor would also bring different
emotions out of different people based on how they relate to that subject.
The tone of the poem is showed to be reflective, nostalgic, and sad. As the reader, we
can assume that the father is in bad health and dying, and the son seems to be
looking back on his life. The speaker doesn’t seem to have very much emotion in the
things he’s saying, and it is kind of just being said how it is, but there are still a ton of
emotion-inducing lines that show that the times still meant a lot to the speaker.
Washing the Car with My Father
BY ​AFAA MICHAEL WEAVER

It is the twilight blue Chevrolet,

four doors with no power but the engine,
whitewall tires, no padding on the dashboard,
the car I drive on dates, park on dark lanes
to ask for a kiss, now my hand goes along
the fender, wiping every spot, the suds
in the bucket, my father standing at the gate,
poor and proud, tall and stout, a wise man,

a man troubled by a son gone missing

in the head, drag racing his only car
at night, traveling with hoodlums to leave
the books for street life, naming mentors
the men who pack guns and knives, a son
gone missing from all the biblical truth,
ten talents, prophecies, burning bushes,
dirty cars washed on Saturday morning.

He tells me not to miss a spot, to open

the hood when I'm done so he can check
the oil, the vital thing like blood, blood
of kinship, blood spilled in the streets
of Baltimore, blood oozing from the soul
of a son walking prodigal paths leading
to gutters. Years later I tell him the stories
of what his brother-in-law did to me, and

he wipes a tear from the corner of his eye,

wraps it in a white handkerchief for church,
walks up the stairs with the aluminum
crutch to scream at the feet of black Jesus
and in these brittle years of his old age we
grow deeper, talk way after midnight,
peeping over the rail of his hospital bed
as we wash the twilight blue Chevrolet.

Afaa Michael Weaver, "Washing the Car with My Father" from ​The Government of Nature​. Copyright © 2013 by Afaa Michael Weaver. Reprinted by permission of
University of Pittsburgh Press.

Source: ​The Government of Nature​ (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013)