Amy Hempel’s compilation of Allegories and the Resemblance to Scorpions

Many people assume that science is persistently correct in numerous ways because of its research and innovation provided in today’s society. However, in the stories The Harvest and Going written by Amy Hempel, the author compares the distraught characters to scorpion like tendencies to attest that humans resemble animals, unreasonably more than science text books have lead us to believe. Conversely, it has become common today to dismiss this argument due to Hempel’s intricate writing style.

It is often said that scorpions have nothing in common with humans. However, Amy Hempel proves that just like a scorpion’s sting is poisonous to its predators; a scorpion will only attack as a self defense mechanism or if provoked. Similar to human tendencies in our society, when we become offended or attacked by someone’s actions or words. In the story The Harvest, the author views the lawyer as a scorpion and the main character as the predator because the lawyer merely takes the case with doubts of succeeding in court, but he shows no care because he still gets paid at the end of the day. Hempel states, “I could tell that the lawyer liked to say court of law. He told me he had taken the bar three times before he had passed” (104). This leaves the main character suffering from the lawyer’s poisonous sting because the main character cannot defend himself in court, nor does he have any idea of the lawyer’s devious ways, such as humans feel when attacked by a scorpion.

Amy Hempel also argues that in her story Going, the main character, such as the one in the Harvest, experiences a poisonous attack when watching the scorpion sting itself to death when in contact with a drop of tequila. Hempel declares, “Then he brought out a jar with a scorpio...

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...ories. Though some argue Hempel does not prove this in her writing, they are simply mistaken. This is commonly come across in Hempel’s inscriptions due to her intricate writing style as well as her selective word choice. In all, Hempel’s short stories prove that scorpions and humans share the same tenancies because they are both are aware of the poisonous sting in their life. Also, They also share the tendency of emotion, more profoundly, abandonment because they have both been placed in similar situations when this feeling has come up, even though they deal with the situation differently, they can still relate to one another on an emotional level.

Works cited

Hempel, Amy. “The Harvest.” The Collection Stories. New York: Science, 2006. 103-109. Print.

Hempel, Amy. “Going.” The Collection Stories. New York: Science, 2006. 53-55. Print.