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Marxist (sociological) Criticism: Violence is a large part of culture in most countries at this time. There are wars and other fighting all over the world. Violence is becoming more prevelent in the games played by children. People are becoming more and more desensitized to the finality of death. It is easy to forget that life is not a video game, and that when someone is killed, that is the end. Sharon Olds explores this idea in her poem, "Rites of passage" The children in this poem speak of beating up people younger and smaller than themselves as if it is a game. It is a way for them to distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd.

Feminist Criticism: The narrorator of this poem is a mother looking on her son's sixth or seventh birthday. She portrays the irony of the boys obsession with violence from a woman's point of view. If this were a young girls birthday, the scene would have been very different. It would have more likely been a buch of girls playing with dolls or makeup. Girls also tend to be conserned with the wellbing of those around them, not with the destruction of others. In this poem, the mother describes the action of the boys in a sarcastic tone calling them small men, bankers, and generals. Like she can see their future, but also as if she is mocking them wanting to be these things while they are still so young. Boys tend to try and act more grown up and tougher than they are. They are less focused on their emotions and more on their wants. Since these boys want to seem more grown up, they try to act thougher than they really are. This is a thought that Sharon Olds portrsys well in this poem.