Curated set · answers marked
What central event does the speaker reflect upon in "Walking Away"?
AA soldier leaving for war
BA child's first day at school, after which the speaker watches the child walk away independently✓
CThe speaker abandoning a family home
DA lover departing on a long journey The poem expresses a father's thoughts as he observes his son walking away after a game of football. This moment symbolizes the difficult yet essential journey of letting go as a child moves towards independence.
What event or moment does the speaker of "Walking Away" use as the main metaphor to reflect on the experience of letting a child grow into independence?
AWatching his child leave for school on the first day
BA game of football (soccer) after which his child walks away from him✓
CHis child's wedding ceremony
DDropping his child off at university
Rationale
The speaker remembers seeing his son walk away after a football game eighteen years ago. This moment of parting becomes the poem's key image — the child moving away "like a satellite / Wrenched from its orbit" — through which Day-Lewis contemplates the painful yet essential act of allowing a child to embrace independence.
At the end of "Walking Away," what does the speaker conclude is the hardest thing love can do?
AHold on tightly and never let go
BExpress itself through words and affection
CLet go and allow the loved one to find their own path✓
DProtect the loved one from all harm and danger
Rationale
The speaker reflects on the experience of watching his child walk away independently and concludes that love's most challenging — yet essential — act is the selfless act of letting go: "love is proved in the letting go."