KaylaBoone

Mr.Yates
APLiterature/Period3
05March2015
AstronautsEssay
InhispoemAstronauts,RobertHaydenquestionsthemotivationofmanasherecountsthefirst
ventureintospaceandthemoon.Wovenintothepoemareelementsthatdehumanizetheseastronautsand
deprivethemofpersonalqualitiesamidthedesolateunknown.Throughemployingdehumanizingdiction,
oxymoron,andrhetoricalquestioning,heisabletoheightenhiswarinessonpushingmankinds
boundariesintothebleakunknown.Theseliterarydevicesenablehimtocapturehiscynicalnatureashe
ultimatelydrawsattentiontotheriskofthemission.
Haydenfirstincorporatesdehumanizingdictioninordertounveilthatmankindisinadvertently
pushingtheboundariesofscience.Inthebeginningofthepoem,thefacelessastronautsfloataboutthe
moonscape,concealedbehindthevisorsoftheirsuits(line2).Theuseofthewordfacelessdepicts
theanonymityoftheastronautsastheyarelimnedwithoutappearancenorpersonalitytheyareportrayed
asmereemotionlessandlifelessfigures.Thisdehumanizingdictionunderminesthesignificanceofthe
astronautsandinsteadpaintsthemasdistalandinasense,inhuman.Haydenstripsthemfromtheir
humanitybecausehewantstoelucidatethatourattemptstodiscoverandunderstandtheunknownare
fruitlessasweareaimlesslysendingoffthesemendespitethedamageitmayentail.Hedehumanizes
theseastronautsandinstillsanabsenceofpersonalityandidentity.Thus,Haydenemploysdehumanizing
dictiontohighlighthisanimositytowardstheentiretyofthemission.
Haydenalsoutilizesanoxymorontoencapsulatetheambiguityofmansjourneytospaceandthe
moon.Towardstheendofthepoem,theastronautsarerenderedasheroicantiheroesastheyloom
aboveus(line31).Thedepictionoftheauthorsasheroicsymbolizesthisbreakthroughinourhistoryas

theyarehonored,praised,andapplaudedbysociety,howevertheyareantiheroesinthattheirattempts
aredoneinvain.Theymaynotrealizethefutilityoftheiractions,howeverHaydencondemnsthemfor
blindlyagreeingtothemissioninthefirstplace.Theoxymoronapparenthereis,inturn,incorporated
becausealthoughtheastronautsareseenasbraveandvalorous,theyhavedonenothingbutpotentially
kindledastrongerdesiretoexploretheunknownandheightenourcapabilities.Haydenhimselfisalready
waryaboutthisfirstventureintospace,soheemploysthisoxymorontoencapsulatetheoverall
ambiguousfearandfascinationhumansharborwiththebleakunknown.Thus,theoxymoronaidshimin
capturinghiscynicalnatureabouthumanityscarelessnatureandunrelentingneedtodiscovermore.
Lastly,Haydenusesrhetoricalquestioningtoaugmenthisheedfulnesstowardshumannatures
innatedesiretounderstandmore.Intheendofhispoem,heisleftquestioningmoreaboutourown
existenceratherthantheastronautsthemselves.Hequestionsnotonlywhatweaskofthesemen,but
ofourselvesandourownhiddendesires(lines3536).Thelaststanzaappearstoraisemorequestions
thanitanswersashebeginstotargetourselvesandappliesthistoeverydaylife.Hetouchesuponhuman
natureandhowweconstantlydesiretosearchanddiscovertheforeign,yetweneveractourselvesand
emplaceresponsibilityonothers.Haydenbeginstoemanatehiscynicalnaturebyposingthesequestions.
Thepoemgraduallybecomesbroaderandbroader,notonlyapplyingspacenowbutourexistenceasa
whole.Thus,heendswithrhetoricalquestioningtoencasehiscynicalnatureaboutourgrowing
carelessness.