Compare and Contrast Between Impressions of a New Boy by Marian Collihole and only the Wall by Matthew Sweeney

In the poems "Impressions of a New Boy" and "Only the Wall", both portray the school life of a new student. In "Impressions of a New Boy" (henceforth shortened as "Impressions"), the "new boy" voices his opinions of his new school and the details are explicit, plainly describing his displeasure in attending school. In "Only the Wall" however, the new boy has no voice, and the persona narrates the new boy's experiences through personification of the wall. While both poems deal with being new at school, the experiences of the personas are vastly different, where the persona in "Impressions" found acceptance and friendship, hence changing his initial negative impression of the school, while the new boy from "Only the Wall" never did, and was alone and oppressed throughout his short experience in school.

School did not start well for the new boy in both poems. The new boy in "impressions" made his displeasure in attending school evident, repeating "I hate it" and begging "please take me home" numerous times. He disliked school so much and was so desperate to leave the school that any excuse was enough, even something as trivial as the "peeling ceiling [is] far too high", "the [head's] voice is loud" or even "the yard is full". He evidently had a strong aversion to the school and is extremely uncomfortable being there. The new boy from "Only the Wall" shares a similar experience, and did not receive a warm welcome on the first day of school. He was bullied since "that first day", where "the wall saw the bully trip the new boy behind the shed". His experience at school started even more negatively than the new boy from "Impressions".

Both new boys also shared feelings of isolation in school. The boy from "Impressions" saw himself as alone. He felt "alone, alone though Mum stands here, close by". This shows that he felt detached from his surroundings, that even though he was not literally alone, he felt lonely and outcast. Everything feels inadequate to him, "the ceiling far too high", the "desk is much too small", revealing his discomfort in unfamiliar surroundings. His sense of displacement is further exposed by his sense of alienation amongst "a sea of faces", and his strong reactions towards places with many people, "the room is full - I hate it" and "the yard is full - I hate it". The persona believes in his outsider status so much that he thinks "bodies jostle [him] away" to segregate him. The word "jostle" shows that he feels that his schoolmates bore him hostility, as such, he felt very much isolated and friendless.

The new boy in "Only the Wall" as well, experienced isolation. He was bullied from "that first day", where "only the wall" noticed. As the days wore on, he was even more isolated. On "the second day", though "many boys stood around... no one cheered for the new boy" when he got into a fight. There was nobody on his side and he was made to feel even more alienated. On "the forth day only the wall missed the new boy", which shows that no one noticed his absence or cared enough to bother. Even to the bullies, he was insignificant and replaceable, who "picked another boy instead" when the new boy could not be found. He was obviously an outcast and was very much neglected,