The pain of infidelity can destroy a relationship. It takes quite a bit of strength to get through the ups and downs of a typical relationship, but if trust is broken, it can be a difficult thing to rebuild. In “The Gilded Six-Bits,” Zora Neale Hurston allows the reader a look into the relationship of a young married couple dealing with the emotional pain brought on by infidelity. Analyzing symbols and characters from the story, such as the silver dollar coins, the gilded gold coin, Otis D. Slemmons, and the main characters’ Saturday afternoon routine, can provide examples of hope, love, deceit, hurt, and forgiveness. A close reading of “The Gilded Six-Bits” can provide insight into dealing with the hurt brought on by breaking one’s trust and moving on to forgiveness. The nine silver dollars that Joe gives to Missie Mae are a symbol of his wish to have children. The narrator states during Joe’s walk home from work, that he wants children more than anything else. (Hurston 287) Having a child, it seems, would make him very happy. Joe brings the silver …show more content…
For Joe, it is a reminder of how Missie Mae hurt him. He keeps the gilded coin in his pocket and pulls it out at the dinner table and sets it down in view of his wife. (Hurston 288) He wants Missie Mae to see this and think about what she did. This could be seen as him contemplating what he wants to do about the situation. Is he thinking about leaving her? Is he wondering if she is going to leave him? This action is upsetting for Missie Mae. The coin is not as valuable as they had originally thought. Missie Mae has mixed feelings when she finds that the coin is not actually gold. She is relieved because she thinks that Joe has forgiven her. She is also hurt and wonders if Joe is trying to buy her love like Otis D. Slemmons had tried to do. (Hurston 288) She loves him and wants him forgive her, but she is unsure that he
Zora Neale Hurston’s The Gilded Six-Bits is a beautifully written short story about marriage and forgiveness. This story tugs at the heartstrings, as Hurston paints each scene with vivid imagination. The characters, their surroundings, and their behaviors are visually and emotionally illustrated.
Zora Neale Hurston has been married and divorced twice, which assisted her in developing Joe and Missy May’s marriage. Hurston’s rocky marriage occurred just prior to the writing of “The Gilded Six-Bits” which portrays a marriage replete with infidelity and hatred. Missy May’s infidelity tests the strength of her marriage with Joe, which ultimately succeeds the trials and tribulations. Perhaps Hurston spared Joe and Missy May’s marriage to prove to herself that marriages can stand through infidelity, because neither of her marriages continued through the hardships. Hurston saw marriage as an important commitment capable of forgiveness and recommitment. Hurston creates Joe, as the character that forgives and forgets, possibly this is what she expected or desired in her own husbands. Hurston uses her own life experiences to depict her characters a...
In describing the most important qualities of an ideal marriage, one would likely place an abundance of love, mutual support, trust, and honesty somewhere near the top of the list. Even in the best of unions, successfully cultivating these qualities requires mindfulness, yet malicious meddling by outside parties can erode these foundations. In “Othello,” William Shakespeare conjures up the destruction of a blissful marriage at the whims of the diabolical Iago. Similarly, in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” a picture-perfect couple is torn apart by the ill-intentioned revelations of a desperate man, Nils Krogstad. Though both detail lives and love unravelling at the hands of disgruntled employees, the similarities end there. The relationships between the husbands and wives are vastly different, as are the motivations and actions of the two saboteurs.
In class there have been many discussions over the relationships and marriages among the books we have read. When someone thinks of marriage, a fairy tale with a happy ending might come to mind, or possibly a safe haven for those looking for something stable. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, marriage takes a turn for the worse. Marriage is no longer the happy memories in a lifetime. It can be the thing that hinders the women in these stories from developing their full potential or experiencing the world and other lifestyles. Through these texts and this time frame, we will analyze the meaning of their marriages, how they function, and the end result of both.
Zora Neale Hurston, author of the Gilded Six Bits, has a very unique writing style. The artistry in her story makes it a pleasant, easy read for any audience. The title suggests the story is based around money; but rather if one were to dig deeper the reality of the story is being told around the playfulness of money. Character disposition, an idealistic dialect, and the ability to work past an issue all work together to prove that Joe and Missie May’s lives are not strictly revolved around money.
Love caused his logic and sensibility to fail him, and provoked him to commit monstrous acts that destroyed many lives. Through analysis of “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood, it can be concluded that one of her many intended lessons was to show the value and the powerful effects of love. Atwood successfully proved this lesson by using powerful examples of both successful and disastrous relationships to illustrate the positive and negative effects of love. Atwood truly demonstrated what it is like to follow your heart.
In “The Yellow Wall-paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the unnamed female protagonist is going through a rough time in her life. (For now on, this paper will refer to this unnamed character as the “the narrator in ‘Wall-paper,’” short for “The Yellow Wall-paper. The narrator is confined to room to a room with strange wall-paper. This odd wall-paper seems to symbolize the complexity and confusion in her life. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard must also deal with conflict as she must deal with the death of her spouse. At first there is grief, but then there is the recognition that she will be free. The institute of marriage ties the two heroines of these two short stories together. Like typical young women of the late 19th century, they were married, and during the course of their lives, they were expected to stay married. Unlike today where divorce is commonplace, marriage was a very holy bond and divorce was taboo. This tight bond of marriage caused tension in these two characters.
Money is another big mis en scene prop. The whole movie is based around the theme of the rich and the poor. Money is the biggest focus in the movie and is used as a symbol of happiness or unhappiness. The millionaire has all this money, yet is living a lifeless life. Where as the poor flower girl, though she has no money, is living a happy life. The quote “money can’t buy you happiness” is the perfect example for this
“What! You can’t mean it! That’s impossible!” (Maupassant 173)This quotation from the character, Loisel’s husband, shows the utter panic with a look into the inciting action. “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant is a short story which will teach the true meaning of honesty, is a brilliant read with an elaborate setting. It also carries out an intense truthful theme with extremely interesting characters.
Lower class citizens in the 1800's were represented as good hearted people who took all they could get and make the best out of what they owned. Joe was described as a man of many words and a person who crafted and was skilled in his work. He worked as a blacksmith and made the best living he could from his small income. He became a victim of Mrs. Joe's abuse and also turned into a long lost friend of Pip's. His status in this particular book was represented as being an unpopular person, but someone who would give the shirt off of his back for the man who was striving to live more than he was. Joe never let Pip down even when Pip erased Joe from his memory. During Mrs. Joe's funeral service Pip came back to a saddened Joe with not a word to be said. Joe was a strong person during this time, but also held his heart in his throat thinking deep down he would never become something to Pip. Pip now being wealthy thought he would surround himself with wealthy humans, but in reality never understood the friendship Joe cherished and he also took for granted what Joe taught him in life. During the time of Pip's debt Joe came to Pip's rescue and nursed him back to stable condition. Pip had no money, but yet was considered upper class. Joe paid off all of Pip's debts out of the goodness of his heart and left Pip with these words on page 439," Not wishing to intrude I have departed fur you are well again dear Pip and will do better without.
The character Joe Gargery is an honest, simple, modest, and hard-working blacksmith who is always able to forgive those he loves most. He represents the forgiveness and loving loyalty part of human nature, which Pip realizes towards the end of the story. “O dear good Joe, whom I was so ready to leave and so unthankful to, I see you again, with your muscular blacksmith’s arm before your eyes, and your broad chest heaving, and your voice dying away. O dear good faithful tender Joe, I feel the loving tremble of your hand upon my arm, as solemnly this day as if it had been the rustle of an angel’s wing!” (141)
I read a story, after I finished reading it my mind was still reeling over what I had just read. Stories like this are quite impressive magnificent; they draw the reader into the story and leave them with a strong impact. How we interpret a text is in itself impressive, as every person is different, every interpretation is too. As I read “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, I could not help but notice that Kate Chopin uses the window to symbolize the future that Mrs. Mallard has been pinning for all her life. Chopin also uses Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition as a symbol of Mrs. Mallard’s marriage. The short story is consequentially the story of an oppressed woman who had to confine herself to the social norms of marriage. Through Formalism Criticism, we will explore the various symbols that Chopin uses to describe how Mrs. Mallard yearns for freedom, and through the Feminist Criticism, we will explore how the institution of marriage oppresses our heroin.
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.
Due to human nature, we tend to seek out the best materialistic things. We work hard to earn more money to get newer and nicer things and sometimes this greed can get to even the best of us. When reading The Pearl by John Steinbeck I found that Steinbeck proposed many universal themes that are highly relatable to my life. Many themes and symbols have been cleverly weaved within Steinbeck’s novella allowing the reader to connect to Kino’s experiences. All things considered, Steinbeck’s symbols can clearly relate to my life through shared experiences with manipulation, chaos, and over obsession.
Janwillem Van De Wetering says, “Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough.” Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace” tells of Mrs. Mathilde Loisel’s longings for the finer things in life. Her desires are so intense she risks her husband’s affections, the friendship of an old chum, and even her mediocre lifestyle to pursue these cravings. One small decision based on an ill-placed desire causes a slow drawn out death of the spirit, body and relationships.