In the short stories “Gwilans Harp” by Ursula K. le Guin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry all the characters experience a loss of some kind. In “Gwilans Harp” Gwilan loses her favorite harp, her husband, and her ability to play. “The Washwoman” focuses on the loss of a woman’s contact with her son, her health, and her ability to work. Finally, in “The Last Leaf” the two young ladies Johnsy and Sue learn loss through the loss of Johnsy’s health, the loss of hope, and the loss of their neighbor. Despite the fact that all the short stories deal with the theme of loss they deal with this theme differently. To begin, Ursula K. le Guin presents the theme of loss through Gwilan, and the loss of both her harp and her husband. While traveling Gwilans cart crashes and in the crash her harp is destroyed. “she did not take out a harp, but a piece of wood, and another piece, and a tangle of strings, and a sliver of ivory, and a twisted shell of silver chased with lines...” (Guin) After crashing Gwilan is forced to deal with the loss of her favorite harp. She decided that to deal with this loss she would marry Torm. Later on, after being married to Torm for quite some time Torm dies. “Torm took ill. He went from a cough to a high fever to quietness. and died while Gwilan sat beside him.” (Guin) Through these examples readers can see the consistent theme of loss and the ways Gwilan deals with the loss of her harp and husband. “The Washwoman” by Isaac
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”.
We have been shown that we can deal with loss in many ways, such as moving on after loss, having trouble moving on and instead taking some time to ourselves, or embracing the loss and acknowledging that whatever has been done is done and nothing else can change that. Robert Newton has shown us through this novel that no matter how bad a loss can be, ultimately, finding the right way to cope through it and enduring
In the play Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, and the novel Sounder, written by William H. Armstrong, most of the characters have a great deal of loss to cope with. The mother in Sounder suffered the loss of her husband and also lived through extreme poverty. She is a strong person to have survived the loss of a husband and lived on in poverty with a child to take care of. The next character who suffered lots in their life is Mrs. Gibbs from Our Town. She was forced to cope with the loss of both of her children before she herself died at the end of the play.
She lost so much in a matter of seconds and then with time. With the loss of her home, her children, and the person she once was, Mary Rowlandson grew to appreciate her life. To wake up one day and see that everything you had in your life is being taken away is astonishing. It's like not having the ability to breath from one second to the next.
Mallard processes her husband's death and the theme of death. Once Mrs. Mallard learns of the passing of Mr. Mallard, she has a brief period of indescribable grief. She soon realizes the benefits of her husband passing and she is feeling conflicted. She has an internal debate thinking that she should be grieving and upset but she is actually finding the benefits and positives of it. Chopin writes, “And yet she had loved him - sometimes.
In LeGuin’s story, “Gwilan’s harp” the main character, Gwilan, experiences a very unique loss: the loss of what gave
“I love you, I love you so much, and I lied to you, (Edwards, 115)” In the fictitious novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, the author, Kim Edwards, takes readers through the pernicious repercussions of deception. The main character, David Henry, becomes immersed in a sea of lies and dishonesty, making his identity unknown to even himself. His choice ultimately tears his family apart, leaving nothing but a slew of destructive secrets, emotional voids, and haunting memories.
Stage 2 English Responding to Texts: Poetry On a Portrait of a Deaf Man - Sir John Betjeman Casehistory: Alison (Head Injury) - Ursula Askham Fanthorpe Have you ever lost someone, or felt like you’ve lost part of yourself? Death is inevitable, and it is likely that we’ve all experienced some form of it. The poems I will be talking about today are On a Portrait of a Deaf Man by Sir John Betjeman and Casehistory: Alison (head injury) by Ursula Askham Fanthorpe.
The hardest type of loss is most likely losing someone that was loved or cherished. That is the type of loss that can’t be found again. Though, some things people don’t know they lost or are losing someone until it’s too late. Similar to what happened to Tessie Hutchinson in “The Lottery.” Villagers crowd around the town square to draw cards from a black box that determine who gets violently stoned.
“As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped for much, much more than a moment.”, states the narrator of the story. The most interesting feature of this passage of the book, after Curley’s wife death, is that narration – alongside with time and sound – finally stops. Opposed to the fast pace of the book, this moment reflects through words what death is like: everything stops for an endless
Louise’s victory in accepting her husband’s death is a feeling that she now cannot live without. The ultimate death of Louise Mallard is one that represents physical and emotional defeat. In this dramatic short story, Chopin uses imagery to sew together a tapestry of emotions all encompassed in an ill-stricken widow. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.”
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.
Loss can relate to many things, a friend, a pet,or a family member, or really anything that can be take away from you. Candy a swamper at the ranch, he’s an old man with one hand. The reason he works there is because the other people at the ranch felt bad because he only has one hand, he cleans up and organizes stuff. Candy had a dog and he was his best friend, the dog was starting to get pretty old and it was hard for the dog do anything. Late at night all of the workers got together and discussed candy’s dog, Slim was saying the dog was way too old,saying it smelt bad and it was useless.
He also demonstrates through his characters a human touch. The characters that are victimized are viewed with understanding and sympathy. The story of ‘The Necklace’ is about a lady called Mrs. Loisel who was born into a family with very normal social status. She settled for a life of mediocracy by marrying a minor clerk in the ministry of education.
Losing someone you love dearly is one of the hardest things anyone can go through. Sometimes it hurts so bad that you may yourself, “What’s the point of being here anymore?” I ask myself that question all the time, ever since my Grandmother passed away. April 22nd, 2016, was a very emotional experience for my family and me. The day started off like any other day for us.