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Where The Sidewalk Ends is a poem, but also serves as the title of a collection of poems. The author of both the poem, and the collection is Shel Silverstein, a children’s poet, book author and songwriter. “Where The Sidewalk Ends” was published in 1974, it gained instant fame and was deemed a "children's classic." After its publication, it became not only a national classic, but also an international classic, as it has been translated into more than 20 languages. Today, it continues to be used in classrooms all over the country as well as households to serve not only as something enjoyable to read, but has also been used as an introduction to poetry for children everywhere. ==General Analysis== There have been several analysis and interpretations of Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends, but among them all, a general conclusion has been drawn. Silverstein is famous for being a children's poet, yet many of the ideas tucked in the corner of Where the Sidewalk Ends are made for adults. Silverstein argues that adults live in a world that is dreary, and that children live in a world full of life and joy. Silverstein is saying that adults need to go to the place that children know; essentially telling adults to take a step back and to take on the point of view of a child to find the life and joy that they have. Silverstein begins the poem by describing the place where the sidewalk ends. This place that is only encountered by the imagination.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Shel-Silverstein/19774/comments )〕 As he mentions the grass growing "soft and white" and also the "cooling of the peppermint wind," we know that this is a mental state, how someone views the world. Finding the place where the sidewalk ends may not as much be about finding an actual place rather than reaching a certain mental state. As Silverstein writes in the second stanza, saying " Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black And the dark street winds and bends" He is referencing the world that adults live in, the one that is far from what he described as the place where the sidewalk ends. Yes, this could be taken literally, as adults live and work in urban settings. But just as he has done previously, this description is referring to a state of mind. One that sees the world for everything bad that it possibly possesses, a mindset that is totally lacking in any sort of imagination.〔 There is a transition in the middle of this stanza though, a transition from despair to hope, hope of achieving the child like imagination that is found where the sidewalk ends. He says "and watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends" Meaning that if you are alert and aware, the hopeless mindset adult can find a way to get to the place where the sidewalk ends. The final stanza is simple. "Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go, For the children, they mark, and the children, they know The place where the sidewalk ends." Silverstein is saying yes, we'll follow the arrows and we'll go. Yes, we will open our minds and look for the signs to find the place where the sidewalk ends. "The children, they mark, and the children, they know" Silverstein is coming forward and saying simply, the children mark the way. Follow the children because they know the place where the sidewalk ends. Looking more in depth at this poem makes clear what Shel Silverstein is saying. Do what the children do. They know the place where the sidewalk ends. And in doing so, you will find the joy and passion for life that they have. When he says follow the markings of the children and you will find the place where the sidewalk ends, it is not a literal command to physically follow them. Rather he is saying put on the mind set of a child and you will in turn find the imagination and joy and innocence that children have. Children do not have to work at finding the place where the sidewalk ends, they know. They know because they know nothing else, the joyful, imaginative mindset they have is purely natural. While adults minds have been influenced by the hardships of the world, and in turn have to work at finding the place where the sidewalk ends. Adults must leave behind the black smoke and look beyond the dark streets that come with adulthood in order to truly find the place where the sidewalk ends. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Where the Sidewalk Ends (poem)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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