“Jesus wept” (John. 11.35). Loss acts as an inevitable hardship for all humans, even Christ himself cried over the pain that occurred from the loss of a dear friend. More complex than merely the displacement of something, loss brings grief and distress, consequently effecting anyone in or near its path. Providing examples of the effects of loss, the short stories “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry each take varying approaches on the topic. “Gwilan’s Harp” depicting long term, traumatic loss, following its repercussions through the entirety of one’s life. “The Washwoman” immersing readers within temporary loss, viewing how momentary relief can affect the entire outcome. “The Last Leaf” observing the forthcomings of loss, and how different routes for dealing with it beforehand play a major …show more content…
Henry’s “The Last Leaf,” uses seemingly inevitable loss, viewing the resulting effects that foreshadow. Johnsy, a young artist living in the heart of New York City’s art community, falls deathly sick with Pneumonia. Her condition growing worse by the day, she readies herself for death, solidifying in her mind that inevitably the pneumonia will result in her loss of life. Whilst waiting for death, she counts the leaves outside her window as they fall, stating, “I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down just like one of those poor, tired leaves” (O. Henry). Upon hearing of Johnsy’s clouded thoughts, neighbor Mr. Behrman sets out to clear her mind, promptly going out during a storm to paint a leaf outside of her window, so that one last leaf may never fall, so long as she stayed sick in her bed. Consequently, this act resulted in the loss of Mr. Behrman’s life, due to falling deathly ill whilst painting the leaf. Oppositely, for Johnsy this selfless act provided clarity, showing her that the loss of life acted not as a fact, but a choice for which she could make the
The worst bearing of both Rowlandson and Equiano has to face was being separated from their own love ones. Rowlandson was separated from her family and relations when her village was attacked then eventually lost her only child that was with her. Nevertheless, Equiano also endured tormented pain when he was parted from his sister while she was the only comfort to him at once. He was a young boy in a fearful atmosphere with nothing to convey a positive perspective. “It was vain that [they] besought than not to part us; she was torn from [him], and immediately carried away, while [he] was left in a state of distraction not to be describe”.
English Report "There is a sacredness in tears.... They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love." These words spoken by Washington Irving, tell us that somethings, whether beautiful or wretched, cannot be expressed through ordinary words. However, this should not stop one from sharing it with the world. Though not everyone is able to express themselves in a perfect way, everyone has the capability to do so.
“The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events: a marriage, or a last-minute rescue from death; but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.” – Fay Weldon Imagine one Janie Crawford, back in Eatonville, once again under the watchful eye of the jealous townspeople, scrutinized and harshly judged. Janie has been in this situation before, a long time ago, but what is different this time? The difference, among many others, is that Janie has taken a look at her core values, her goals, and her aspirations, and changed her outlook on life.
Sometimes the punches that life throws are subtle enough to reveal the reprehensible truth and how one can transmute it. Yet, when those punches unexpectedly knocks an individual out, the interpretation of the lesson changes. Indisputably, Mary Rowlandson came across a life changing tribulation after being held captive by the Narragansett Indians in 1682 after a series of raids in Lancaster. With the attack on her home, her captivity, and tragic loss of her child, Rowlandson began to appreciate her life and the one she once dearly possessed. Waking up to the startling realization that the life you have built has been stripped away within a matter of minutes is quite astonishing.
When she learns the news of her husband’s death, she was sad and shocked by it yet it gave her a sense of freedom and feeling of opportunity of what was to come of her day to day life without her
In our lives there will always be grieving in some type of form, in “ The Valley of Broken Hearts” Mrs. Joe lost her husband 13 years ago due to lung cancer. In “ New Development Stirs Old Case” the wife of Mr. Renfroe was strangled and found dead on his kitchen floor. Lastly in “French Quarter’s Black Tapping Feet” Rose suffered a great loss the loss of a parent. In every article, each individual had one thing in common they all had a heartache that dealt with death.
In the short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “The Story of an Hour,” the authors use literary devices to create vibrant female characters. These literary devices include diction, imagery, language, and sentence structure. “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin, opens with a woman, Louise Mallard, who has a heart disease, and her friends must gently break the news to her that her husband has passed away in a railroad accident. She mourns briefly, but then realizes that she can now live for herself, instead of just as someone’s wife. Shockingly, she walks downstairs after fleeing from her friends’ horrible news, and her husband walks in the door.
The Sad Fisher Family In the short story, “Blood Knots” grief is revealed in different ways. In the beginning of the story the main character is described as calm and laid back. This gives the reader the sense that she does not care for her father’s death and she announces, “I am still waiting for my own emotion to surface in what I am anticipating will be a sense of overwhelming, loss”(Burton 33). The main character is in great shock that even she cannot describe it.
Despite the guilt inside, the speaker chooses to let the feeling consume her rather than share it with her beloved grandmother. When the leaf changes colors, it will symbolize the balance of the two worlds of college and the speaker’s Appalachia
as in her final moments the narrator recalls her earliest connection to the landscape. A key theme throughout the poem is the importance of embracing nature, emphasized by the metaphor of the “fine pumpkins grown on a trellis” which rise in towards the “fastness of light”, which symbolizes the narrators own growth, flourishing as a fruit of the earth. Through her metaphors and complex conflagration of shifting perspectives, Harwood illustrates the relationship that people can develop with landscapes, seeing both present and past in
Anne Sexton’s The Truth the Dead Know conveys the speaker’s overwhelming feelings following the death of her parents within three months of each other. The story begins in June at the Cape, which would normally provide pleasant images of the sea and fresh air, but in the speaker’s grief, the wind is stony, the water is closing in as a gate, and the sunshine is as rain pouring down on her. She is intimately touched by death and realizes that all of mankind suffers this tragedy, even driving some to consider suicide. Yet, in the end, she realizes that her concerns are in vain because not even the dead have a care for how she is feeling; they are just like stones swallowed by the vast ocean. The poem is Sexton’s way of examining her feelings regarding
What are the aspects of loss? The characters in the short stories “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, Isaac Singer’s“The Washwoman” , and “The Last Leaf” by O’ Henry, all suffer great losses in different aspects. Ursula K. LeGuin characterizes Gwilan as a skillful, lighthearted harper; however she suffer a great loss later in her life. Unlike Gwilan, in the short story of Issac and O’Henry, the washwoman and Behrman both live a tragic life since the beginning of the story. The characters in three different short stories suffer losses materially, emotionally, and physically.
When people are traumatized by an event they are pushed to experience the five stages of grief. The “Gospel”, by Philip Levine and “the boy detective loses love”, by Sam Sax both use characters that are going through one of the stages of grief. Levine and Sax both explain the thoughts and process of what a person thinks when they go through these stages with imagery. Levine uses symbolism, a sad tone, and a set setting in “Gospel” to illustrate that grieving takes you into a depth of thoughts. Sax uses anaphoras, an aggressive tone, and an ambiguous setting to convey that grieving takes you into a tunnel of anger and rage.
Further, situational irony is present through the reaction that Louise Mallard has after learning about her husband’s death. Upon first learning of her husband’s death she is very devastated and distraught. As soon as she is alone in the bathroom however, it is clear to the readers she is not as upset. In fact she is slightly relieved in that “she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (235).
LOSS, GRIEF AND HEALING As human beings, we suffer losses of many kinds and sizes in our life time. While some of these losses are small and do not hurt much, some are big and hurt deeply. Those that are accompanied by pains that are difficult to bear include the loss of a loved one through death or divorce, cheating or unfaithfulness in a trusted relationship or loss of good health when a diagnosis of a terminal illness is made. In all these instances of loss, pain and grief are experienced and an emotional wound is created which needs healing.