"Toads"

"Toads"
by Philip Larkin

Once I understood this poem, I quite liked it.  Question four asked for the name of the second toad, and I say its responsibility.  Responsibility can be a burden.  Responsibility does not allow a person to cheat or swindle, and therefore the speaker will never get "the fame and the girl and the money/ All at one sitting" (Larkin).  It's hard to just quit working if a person is responsible, even if he hates work.  Continuing to work is the  responsible thing to do, so that a person can pay bills and provide for the family.

I also paid attention to question five, because the speaker's hatred for work is one of the first things I noticed upon reading the poem.  He is comparing work to a large toad that he wants to expel with a pitchfork.  Toads are unpleasant creatures anyway, but the author also includes phrases like, "brute" and "sickening poison" to add to the imagery.  The speaker doesn't seem lazy per say, just frustrated.  He wants to survive without work, live off his wit like some other folks do.  But he's too responsible to quit his job.  His desire of successful unemployment is out of reach.