Analysis

Metaphor and Simile

An extended mathematical metaphor is used throughout “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party” as the adolescent girl tries to find a balance between her strong math-oriented identity and her newly emerging sexuality.  The speaker describes the girl’s body as being “hard and / indivisible as a prime number” (5-6).  This comparison shows the independence of the girl.  She’s clearly found comfort in math, and she is a strong young girl in her character.  After jumping into the pool, the girl will turn her focus to the water rather than the boys surrounding her, comparing her height to the depth of the pool and doing division problems: “the numbers / bouncing in her mind like molecules of chlorine / in the bright blue pool”(8-10).  The simile of the numbers in her head bouncing around like drops of water splashing from the pool illustrates the quickness with which these mathematical calculations emerge in the girl’s mind as she jumps into the pool.  The math immediately surrounds her like all of the water droplets splashing in the pool, consuming her thoughts and inherently distracting her from paying more notice to the boys at this point in the poem. Upon climbing out, the speaker notes how the girl’s wet hair will hang down her back like the lead of a pencil (13). Once again, Olds continues the extended mathematical metaphor by comparing the girl’s hair to a writing utensil associated with schoolwork.  This metaphor shows the strong association the girl feels between math and her identity.

Imagery

The use of imagery in the poem highlights the girl’s youth, as well as her newly emerging sexuality. The speaker describes the differences between the boys and the girl:  “….They tower / and bristle, she stands there smooth and sleek” (2-3).  This juxtaposition of images shows a natural harshness or intimidation present in the male gender, even in adolescent youth, compared to the gentleness of the girl.  Though mature in mind, the girl is still childish in some ways. The image of the girl’s swimsuit patterned with hamburgers and French fries shows the girl’s youth.  The speaker describes the girl’s youth further:  “her sweet face, solemn and / sealed” (16-17).  The image of her sweet face shows the girl’s youth, while the mention of it being simultaneously solemn notes her knowledge and strength.  Olds continues her use of imagery to describe the emergence of the girl’s sexuality and how confusing it is for her.  She provides an image of “her math scores unfolding in the air around her” (4) as she is surrounded by the rough boys.  This description shows how the girl’s attempts at suppressing her new thoughts about the boys by distracting herself with the math that has always brought her comfort are now unraveling.  Olds’s use of the word “unfolding” (4) makes it seem as though the girl is losing the control that she might have felt when she was younger, before she was aware of boys in a more adult-like sense.  A similar image is provided at the conclusion of the poem:  “…and in her head she’ll be doing her / wild multiplying, as the drops / sparkle and fall to the power of a thousand from her body” (20-22).  Here, the speaker’s description illustrates the girl’s thoughts after seeing and analyzing each of the boys—their eyes, legs, and “curves of their sexes”(19).  The concluding image of her ensuing mathematical thoughts increasing rapidly, such that they “fall to the power of a thousand from her body” (22), shows not only how the girl’s thoughts about the boys seem to race uncontrollably, but that she seems to be working towards finding a place in her mathematical identity for her emerging sexuality.