The writer, who is the speaker of the poem uses his pen and writing as a tool, not a weapon, with a desire to peacefully unite people together. Overall, "Digging" represents the speaker's journey toward honoring and departing from his history and finally feeling that his choice of being a writer is acceptable. While his natural ability may not involve physically digging like his father or grandfather, he can still "dig" with his writing and honor his family's hard work ethic and be loyal to making positive change in his family and country. .
In the poem "Progressive Insanities of a Pioneer" the pioneer's identity is collapsing. His identity gives him very little hope. He seems determined to "stamp" (62) his identity on the soil where he is established, yet he is forced away at every turn. His efforts to plant his crops and cultivate the soil is shown to be futile, "It was like enticing whales with a bent pin." (49-50) In spite of all of his efforts to cultivate the soil and proclaim control on this land around him, the pioneer is shown to have failed in his attempt to establish a sense of identity, in the end he "foresaw his disintegration." (74-75) The pioneer constructs a house as a structure to keep nature out. His obstacles are against the wilderness, against nature and the land; his inability to adapt, and the pioneer's choice to separate and isolate himself from the environment presents the obstacles that he must face. The pioneer is struggling to locate his real identity in the strange environment where he is being placed. This attempt to maintain power over nature is an attempt to maintain his identity. The pioneer ties who he is to the land; his blood, sweat, and tears pouring into this new dream. However, tying his identity to the elements of nature fail him. The pioneer fails to understand the futility of his attempts. The result is a broken dream and a broken man.