The Cockroach : An Analysis

The Cockroach
Kevin Halligan

       The poem The Cockroach provides an interesting view of human life as compared to that of a cockroach . It is about a cockroach which is a dirty and repulsive little insect foreshadows the author’s projection of himself. At first glance it may appear to be boring and seems like he’s just talking about a cockroach pacing around the room, but there is more to it. At the very end of the poem, the last line works as a mirror which reflects the rest of the poem in a new light. From a mere observation of a cockroach, the poem rises to the level of a true reflection on life in a highly philosophical way.

The poet observes every movement of a cockroach. Each of the movements matches with our own stages of life. We get stuck at some point in our lives in which we want better things or we rush into things not knowing what we really want.  

“At first he seemed quite satisfied to trace

        A path between the wainscot and the door.”

These lines tell us about how the cockroach is satisfied with his current situation, but then it quickly gets bored of it and begins to crave for something more, something new and fresh.

“But soon he turned to jog in crooked rings.”

This tells us, he was moving around with bigger ambitions. After he reaches this ambition he comes up in life and doesn't know what to do from there.

“After a while, he climbed an open shelf

                   And stopped. He looked uncertain where to go.”

He becomes restless and then finally finds something exciting new in the “open shelf”. His actions match with those of humans at a late stage in life, when we suddenly get greedy and want more, instead of realising to be happy with what we’ve got.  

“A former life had led to? I don’t know.”

These are moments of hesitation and uncertainty.  Is the risk worth it? And finally the poet ends is by saying

“Except I thought I recognised myself.”

This line acts as a interpreter for the whole poem.  The poet sees all the similarities between the cockroach and himself as he rushes through life frantically, not wanting to experience life as it is, but by rushing into things without no true goal or purpose. We are constantly looking for choices but then we realise we don’t even know what we truly want.