The Plight of the Toads: An Analysis Toad. The word conjures up images of a grotesque, little amphibian and yet it is this little animal that Larkin decides to base his poem on. He describes two toads. One is the exterior influence that society has on and individual to work, and the other is the interior or personal prompting to work. He takes a thirty six line attempt at finding away to elude the "squatting" of the toads, and yet in the end his conclusion is that there is no way to hide from them. As the poem begins, Larkin wastes no time in introducing the first toad, "Why should I let the toad work / Squat on my life."(1-2) The first t