from: the City Planners How does the poet's use of the words sanities, levelness, and rational affect the tone of the poem? D She purposefully chooses words which sound neutral to convey the idea of uniformity in suburban life.

"rational whine" is something of an oxymoron - it is more likely that a whining noise would be the product of an irrational mind, but here in the suburbs, the craziness is hidden behind a superficial normality.

The “Whine” has been sarcastically described as “rational” as a suburb where roads, buildings, and trees are in order, there the only noise that seems logical is that of the power mower. The grass that grows everywhere does not flourish here as they are chopped to maintain neatness.

Instead, the only sound is the “rational whine of a power mower”, which serves as a symbol of the relentless maintenance and upkeep required to preserve the illusion of perfection in this environment. Atwood personifies that power mower and the use of the word “whine” implies that the sound is unpleasant and uncomfortable