Life's a journey. There are many hills and bumps, but also areas where you can simply coast along. In the end though, everyone’s journey ends at the same destination. “Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab (shee-hab) Nye is about the journey and the final destination. More specifically, it tells us which of the two is more important in life.

The title of the poem refers to a question a young girl asks her mother one day, while she lies sick in the backseat during a road trip. “How do you know if you are going to die?” the girl asks. “When you can no longer make a fist,” the mother replies. This line speaks about the strength of the individual. The strength to go on. There are things that we need to get past in order to live a fulfilling life - like trials, tribulations, and roadblocks that might stand in the way of our happiness. That being said, Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem is an optimistic look at life through the metaphor of a road trip shared by a mother and a daughter.

“Making a Fist” uses assonance and alliteration to detail the road trip. The use of the words “wide” and “inside” in stanza 1 is an example of assonance. The same could be said for “past” and “glass” in stanza 1 since the “t” on “past” is so quiet. The alliteration includes, in stanza 1, the words “harder,” “harder,” and “here.” All three words follow closely behind one another. This is also an example of a free verse poem. Stanza 1 is a sestet, stanza 2 is a quintain, and stanza 3 is a sestet.

An example of a metaphor would be when she compares her stomach to a melon in stanza 1--  "My stomach was a melon split wide open inside my skin." Symbolism is an important part of this poem. The car ride that she takes with her mom symbolizes her life and the fact that the journey through life would not be easy.

“Making a Fist” is rich with ideas and deeper meaning. Naomi Shihab Nye has written this poem to be about more than just the clenching of a fist. Her poem is meant to symbolize her willingness to soldier on through life.