Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Money" by John Updike is a contemplative and somewhat satirical exploration of the nature of money and its role in modern society. Through a mix of vivid imagery and sharp commentary, Updike delves into the paradoxical qualities of money, highlighting its power, utility, and the freedom it ostensibly offers, while also critiquing the detachment and impersonality it engenders in human relationships.

The poem opens by personifying money as a compact and convenient entity, noting how it "takes up so little space" and how the bank expends the same amount of ink printing $9,998 as it does $1,001. This observation emphasizes the abstract and arbitrary nature of money’s value—how figures can represent vast differences in purchasing power yet require the same physical resources to create.

Updike likens money to water in its ability to flow electronically and dissolve issues, suggesting that money, like water, is a universal solvent. This comparison paints money as both essential and pervasive, capable of addressing a wide range of needs and wants without discrimination. The description of money as "Oceanic, yet as lucid as a mountain pool" further explores this dual nature; it is vast and deep, yet it retains a clarity that allows its handlers to see "clear to the sandy bottom." This imagery suggests a deceptive simplicity and transparency in financial transactions.

Despite its fluidity and ubiquity, Updike points out that "pennies don’t drip from faucets," underscoring the controlled and often scarce distribution of money, despite its seeming omnipresence and necessity. This line cleverly highlights the tension between money’s theoretical abundance (like water) and its practical scarcity.

The poem shifts to discuss the personal agency money confers on its spender: "It is freedom in action." The example of giving a "twenty-buck bill to the cabbie" and not caring how it is spent illustrates the nonrestrictive, almost indifferent nature of monetary exchange. This freedom, however, is double-edged; it allows for autonomy but also disengages the giver from the consequences of the receiver's choices, such as the cabbie potentially blowing the money "on coke."

Updike contrasts this concept of freedom with the situation in the former Soviet Union, where money had little utility because "there was nothing to buy, nothing to spend." This stark comparison highlights a different kind of freedom—"freedom of a kind, but not our kind"—suggesting that the presence of choices (even if problematic) is preferable to their absence.

The poem concludes on a note that captures the routine yet thrilling interaction with money in the digital age: "the dull electric thrill / when the automatic teller spits out / the disposable receipt." This line encapsulates the mundane yet essential role money plays in everyday life, emphasizing its transactional nature and the fleeting satisfaction it provides.

Overall, "Money" by John Updike is a rich and multifaceted poem that critiques and marvels at the complexities of money and its profound impact on human behavior, freedom, and society. Updike's reflections prompt readers to consider both the practical and philosophical dimensions of money’s role in shaping modern life.

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