A literary analysis of E.E. Cummings' "she being Brand-new." In the analysis, it is argued that learning to drive a new car is an extended metaphor for learning how to approach a woman in a new relationship. Also argued is the paradox that arises when the car is seen as a metaphor for a woman and how the metaphor can be seen as subjugating women to objects that can be controlled and owned by men.
ee cummings "she being brand new"
At its surface, E.E. Cummings's poem, "she being Brand/-new" appears to be a poem about a man getting to know his way around a brand new car. The unnamed narrator of the poem describes each nuance as he discovers it and allows the reader to understand the complications that arise when adjusting to a new car. Consequently, "she being Brand/-new" is an extended metaphor for a relationship between the narrator and a woman and the adjustments he must make to learn what she enjoys and does not enjoy as the relationships shifts and sex is introduced. Through the use of imagery, Cummings is able to demonstrate how adjusting to a new car is similar to adjusting to a new sexual partner.
At the beginning of the poem, Cummings leaves the poem open to interpretation by stating, "she being Brand-new; and you/know consequently a/little stiff I was careful of her." Because the subject is not defined in this first sentence, the reader is lead to believe that the poem is about a woman and the narrator feels as though he must be careful in his approach of her, however, as the poem continues, Cummings leads the reader to believe that the "she" in the poem can also be a car as the narrator contends, "having thoroughly oiled the universal/joint tested my gas felt of/her radiator made sure her springs were O./K."
As the poem continues, the imagery used does not implicitly describe the woman the narrator is attempting to woo and instead focuses on the narrator's car. However, Cummings intends the narrator's experience with his car to be a metaphor of his experience with a woman. The narrator describes his initial approach as, "i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her/up, slipped the clutch (and then somehow got into reverse she/kicked what/the hell)." Taken literally, the narrator describes how the car jerked and was confused about his approach. If the narrator's approach is applied metaphorically to his approach to a new woman, his approach is too direct and his initial advance is treated with rejection as the situation "somehow got into reverse."
Because the narrator's initial approach was rejected, "next minute I was back in neutral tried and/again slow-ly; bare, ly nudg. ing." Like a machine accepts a second attempt, the narrator's companion appears to be willing to accept a second approach provided that the narrator not jump into action, but rather, that he takes his time getting to know her.
The third transition in the poem depicts the narrator's final and successful attempt at navigating his car/woman. The narrator contends that all the parts of the machine are in top shape, "my/lev-er Right-/oh and her gears being in/A 1 shape." The condition of the narrator's car, as well as the woman's willingness to be driven, so to speak, allow the narrator to continue with his navigation and the levers and gears pass "from low through/second-in-to-high like/greasedlightning," which insinuates that there was nothing impeding the narrator from shifting gears, literally and metaphorically.
As the narrator continues testing out his new car, he implies that he has gotten into a good rhythm with the car and that he has been able to drive the car for an unspecified distance before reaching "the corner of Divinity avenue." While the car is a metaphor for a woman, the act of driving is a metaphor for sex. As such, "Divinity avenue" is a euphemism for climax. As the narrator approaches orgasm, whether his or hers is unknown, he states, "i touched the accelerator and give/her the juice, good," and thus the narrator insinuates climax is achieved.
The final section of the poem allows the narrator to give his impression of his first ride in the new car. The narrator does not appear to be disappointed and states, "i we was/happy to see how nice she acted right up to/the last minute coming back down by the Public Gardens." It can be argued that the Public Gardens is representative of the physical reaction a body has following climax. This argument is further expounded in the narrator's final action. The narrator states, "i slammed on/the internalexpanding/&/externalcontracting/brakes Bothatonce and/brought allofher tremB/-ling/to a:dead./stand-/;Still)." Unlike the narrator's first approach in which the car rejected his approach, the tables have turned in this last section and it is the narrator that ends the car ride by slamming on the brakes. By determining how and when the car ride will end, the narrator seizes control of the situation and no longer allows the car to determine how it will be driven or approached. As harsh as it may sound, it also appears as though the narrator is only interested in the pleasure he derives from driving the car. Cummings' grammatical style, once again, allows the reader to see -- in addition to read -- how abrupt the narrator brought the ride to a halt by simulating applying two brakes at once in the form of bringing multiple words together into one.
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