In Digging we have three characters: the author (the son), his father, and grandfather. The author is clearly making a comparison of his way of life and his fathers’ way of life. He talks more about his father and grandfather than he does about himself but his subject is clearly stated that he is a writer, while his father and grandfather are farmers. He makes the comparison by first relapsing into his fathers’ line of …showed first 75 words of 806 total…

…showed last 75 words of 806 total…with his father. The author describes all of his emotions towards his father and grandfather in a respectful way as though in the first verses he feels guilty of not being what they are, that he feels maybe he is an underachiever. But then by the end of the poem he starts to have a realization within him that writing is his farming and comes out with a better feeling and perception about his profession.