By Alastair Reid
Curiosity
may have killed the cat; more likely
the cat was just unlucky, or else curious
to see what death was like, having no cause
to go on licking paws, or fathering
litter on litter of kittens, predictably.
Nevertheless, to be curious
is dangerous enough. To distrust
what is always said, what seems
to ask odd questions, interfere in dreams,
leave home, smell rats, have hunches
do not endear cats to those doggy circles
where well-smelt baskets, suitable wives, good lunches
are the order of things, and where prevails
much wagging of incurious heads and tails.
Face it. Curiosity
will not cause us to die-only lack of it will.
Never to want to see
the other side of the hill
or that improbable country
where living is an idyll
(although a probable hell)
would kill us all.
Only the curious have, if they live, a tale
worth telling at all.
Dogs say cats love too much, are irresponsible,
are changeable, marry too many wives,
desert their children, chill all dinner tables
with tales of their nine lives.
Well, they are lucky. Let them be
nine-lived and contradictory,
curious enough to change, prepared to pay
the cat price, which is to die
and die again and again,
each time with no less pain.
A cat minority of one
is all that can be counted on
to tell the truth. And what cats have to tell
on each return from hell
is this: that dying is what the living do,
that dying is what the loving do,
and that dead dogs are those who do not know
that dying is what, to live, each has to do.
Tallmadge 1
Rachel Tallmadge
Period 2
December 10, 2009
“Curiosity” Explication
People have contemplated the eternal question since the beginning of time:what
does it mean to “live”? Whether good or bad, curiosity exists as part of human nature.
Everyone has tendencies to be curious about something, but do people crave more
knowledge about the joys and tragedies in life? In the poem “Curiosity,” the narrator
elaborates on the importance of engaging life to the fullest. “Curiosity” uses allegory,
point-of-view, paradox, and allusion to show that sometimes, in order to live a fulfilled
life, people must take risks and question the world around them.
Allegory uses a series of symbols that work together to create a story underneath
the surface of the poem. In “Curiosity,” cats and dogs symbolize two types of people.
Cats symbolize the curious: people who are reluctant to accept prescribed answers to
life’s questions; they scavenge life to find answers. Willing to give anything a try, these
are the kind of people that search for truth and reality in a world of chaos. Dogs
represent incurious people. These are the people satisfied to acknowledge their ignorance
and to live unthinkingly. In the poem, cats always “distrust / what is said” (Reid line 7-8)
and seem to “ask odd questions” (line 9). Constantly contradictory, cats crave knowledge
and truth, even if the truth is not what they want it to be. Cats are motivated to follow
their dreams and to make the sacrifices necessary to see their dreams fulfilled (lines 910). They are prepared for the harsh realities they must accept as a result of their
questioning. Unsuspecting of the possibilities in the surrounding world, dogs are content
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with their “well-smelt baskets, suitable wives, and good lunches” (Reid line 12). Dogs
will never search for or dream of a life any better than the one given to them because they
will not venture outside of their own backyard. At the slightest tug on the leash, dogs
will heel as they have been taught; they will obey. As symbols, cats and dogs create
allegory. The allegory in this poem describes how individuals interact differently with
their surroundings and how these interactions affect quality of life. The blissful
ignorance of the incurious provides them with an empty life. Although the incurious
believe they are content, they never experience extreme happiness or distress; they never
live life. “Curiosity” is about why curiosity did, in fact not kill the cat, but how curiosity
improved the cat’s quality of life.
The point-of-view in “Curiosity” is third person omniscient. The narrator knows
every character’s personal thoughts and has an unlimited knowledge of the details in the
poem. The point-of-view emphasizes fundamental difference in the beliefs between the
dogs and cats. The narrator shares that dogs believe cats “change too much, are
irresponsible,” and “are changeable” (line 26-27), while the cats prefer to take chances in
life to live (line 40-41). These ideals are presented to the audience because of the
narrator’s ability to see every aspect of the dogs and cats as characters. The poem
uniquely includes the narrator as a character in the poem. After presenting a brief
overview of the different lifestyles between cats and dogs, the narrator engages the reader
with brief monologue declaring, “Curiosity/will not cause us to die-/ lack of it will” (lines
17-19). In other words, a person will never experience life completely unless he or she is
willing to question and explore. If a person never questions anything, he or she can not
mature emotionally (Reid lines 20-27). Although, there is risk in curiosity, life will be
Tallmadge 3
more satisfying if it is questioned and explored. Point-of-view highlights how curiosity is
essential to living a fulfilled life.
The last four lines in “Curiosity” contain important paradoxical phrases that
contribute to the interpretation of the poem. The first phrase states, “dying is what the
living do,” (line 42). How can someone dying be living? Well, this statement is true
because “dying” is not dead. Everyone will eventually die so everyone living is
essentially “dying” at the same time. Another phrase declares, “dying is what the loving
do” (line 43). The curious people, the ones willing to risk physical and mental anguish
by loving and trusting another and depend on someone else to always be there, are truly
living. Finally, the poem says, “dying is what, to live, each person has to do” (line 45).
In the search for knowledge, people will not only discover the harsh realities of the
world, but will be faced with dangers and risks. But the ones willing to take these risks
realize that their lifetimes are limited and try to make the most of every moment. Life’s
hazards are necessary dangers to engaging to the fullest extent in life. If you are not
engaging in life, what is the point of living life? What in life makes it a consequence to
lose it? Dying is losing life. Those who know they are dying want to live for the small
amount of time they have. The shock value contained in these paradoxical statements
reflects the importance of the messages. “Curiosity” employs paradox to further
elaborate on the fact that people must know that they have something to lose in order to
live.
“Curiosity” employs an allusion to the popular proverb “curiosity killed the cat.”
The hackneyed proverb warns against being too curious because of the risks involved.
Although less well known, there is a second half to this proverb that creates an obvious
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connection to the poem. The full proverb states that “curiosity killed the cat, but
satisfaction brought it back.” This allusion creates a second layer to the poem and
identifies the reoccurring theme in the poem. In the poem, the cats “die” because of the
disappointing answers they find as they question the world around them (Reid lines 611), but the satisfaction of obtaining knowledge saves them from being dead (lines 4245). The cats are living because they are taking chances. Like the full proverb, people
may be heartbroken internally from the knowledge they obtain while living, but they are
not dead. The brokenhearted are rescued as they press forward and continue to engage in
life. The allusion to the proverb allows for an immediate connection to the main idea of
the poem. While the dangers of curiosity are unavoidable, knowledge can never leave
you lifeless.
“Curiosity” uses literary elements to promote a basic thesis to the reader. Curious
people have more chances to experience life than the ignorant because the curious
continue to seek knowledge to enrich their lives. Curiosity about the surrounding world
can be burdensome only because of the imperfect conditions that exist. People like to
believe they are immortal, but in reality, a lifetime is just a speck on Earth’s timeline.
Ignorance is not always bliss. The uncertainty of the world almost implores people to
question its dynamics. Although it may seem easier to never engage in a risk, to never
have heartbreak or mourn over the death of friend, this is the pain that lets people know
they are alive. The unfeeling contentment of daily life is not living. Life needs risks and
chances. To live, people must investigate and question their surroundings and take risks.
“Curiosity” distinguishes two types of perspectives about life. Will people be satisfied
Tallmadge 5
with their ignorance as they blindly walk through life, or can people accept the challenges
of truly living?
Tallmadge 6
Works Cited
Reid, Alastair. “Curiosity.” Perrine’s Literature. Ed. Thomas R Arp and Greg Johnson.
Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 749.
Date
Name
Topic/Title
Area
Ideas and Content
Organization
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Voice
Lower Order Concerns
Presentation (Research Guide)
Insight
Support
Introduction and Conclusion
TOTAL
GRADE out of 50
Score
Comments
10
10
10
10
10
9
10
10
10
10
99
49 very nice job in terms of analysis; most of your revisions focsu on LOCs--an
there are very few of those; well done