"Toads"

“Toads” by Phillip Larkin

Larkin utilizes symbolism in his poem, mostly when talking about the second toad. He explicitly defines the first toad as work. For example, “Why should I let the toad work squat on my life?” The first toad he mentions represents external work and burdens one deals with every day. Larkin does not directly define the second toad. However, he supplies clues and characteristics of the second toad. “For something sufficiently toad-like squats in me too.” From this detail, we can infer that the second toad is internal. The second toad symbolizes a persons’ pride. A person does not cheat in order to get money and fame because their pride does not allow them to. Pride and work coincide with each other; one cannot work without pride. People work hard and do not take short cuts in their life because they have pride in their morals and in themselves.