"Hazel Tells LaVerne" by Katharyn Howd Machan

Hazel Tells LaVerne by Katharyn Howd Machan is a poem very similar to the story of The Frog Prince  but has a very different end to the poem. The second question after this poem asks about the poem's humor, how the language reveals Hazel's personality, and if how Hazel treats the frog is consistent to her character. The only "humor" I really observed in this poem was when Hazel called the frog a, "Little green pervert an i hitsm with my mop" (Machan, lines 20-21). In all honesty I did not find much humor in this statement, but that is as humorous as this poem will get. When it comes to Hazel's language, she uses jargon the whole time throughout the poem. Hazel's uneducated vernacular reveals that Hazel is very poor and struggles for money. This language may also imply that Hazel is not very confident in herself because she does not talk as though she is attempting to impress others. This also is revealed in the way she treats the frog. Her treatment of the frog is consistent because she is almost offended by the idea of being a "princess." She does not see herself as a princess, so she abuses the frog.