The poem "More About People" by Ogden Nash is about the problems meddlesome people cause in American society. Fortunately, due to the nature of the passage, readers should have no such problems reading and comprehending it. The poem is straightforward with unambiguous messages and a tone of irony and annoyance. Being so simple, the poem has few symbols or metaphors. Upon closer examination, the seemingly random punctuation has structure. The content of the poem is organized very logically and, again, straightforward with an AABB rhyme scheme. This coherent type of poetry enables the narrator to express forcefully his disgust at the ills of the people of society.
Complaining about these types of people is the central theme of this poem, and all the meanings stem from it. Firstly the narrator claims people are meddlesome. They are always "asking questions" or suggesting things (line 1). Secondly, people hate other people who don't work so they try to convince you to work. If "you don't succumb," people will "starve you" (line 14). This means that your employers will not pay you, thus disabling your ability to buy food. Finally, the lesson to learn from this poem is that to avoid work, people must work. Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality of life which is captured perfectly by Ogden Nash in this poem.
This harsh reality is portrayed in the poem by a rather simple style and a tone of irritation. Nash uses a simple style because this is a simple poem of cause and effect. If you do not work, people tell you to work. If you still refuse to work, people "starve you" (line 14). By working, the effect is that you "earn enough money so that you won't have to work" (line 17). This rational style aids the author in presenting his choice of tone, one of understandable annoyance. The narrator is fed up with everybody telling him to work and meddling in his business. He is not so mad that he might do something crazy, but he is mad enough to complain and express his anger with logic.
