“Toads” by Philip Larkin–Central Theme

 The central theme of this poem is that government doesn't do enough for the average classes. Larkin comments that these men must work 6 days just to pay the minimum all of their bills. This does not even cover food for the family. This is why a these men go on with eating sardines, and their wives are so skinny. He is blaming the government for this because he comments that the rich have all the luck and always get their way while the average class gets stuck living paycheck to paycheck. He's saying that the rich and famous have everything handed to them, like the men who have fame, the girl, in the money. He's saying that like a toad is stuck being a toad for his entire life, and average class man is stuck being average for the rest of his life. This government makes it difficult for hard-working men to raise up and become more than average.