self-discovery Through Adversity

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A self-discovery is the act or process achieving self-knowledge. In the short stories, “A Small, Good Thing” by John Updike and “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff, self-discoveries took place with Ann and Peter. Ann was a mother of one and a wife. Peter was a husband and a real estate agent. In the end both Ann and Peter come to a self-discovery.

Ann Weiss, from “A Small, Good Thing”, discovered how much she cared for her son. How she would do anything to get him back. After the death of her son the Baker put her over the top. The phone calls that he would make were not called for at all. Ann was very unstable and she was about to blow at any second. When they got to the Bakers she went off on him. Her son is dead and she is just going to have to move on with her life. Peter, from “The Rich Brother”, discovered that no matter what his brother did he really did love him. Donald, Peter’s brother, would always come to Peter for help. Donald never had any money. Every time Donald would need a place to stay Peter would let him stay at his house that he worked so hard to get. Ann and Peter, both came to a self-discovery in their life.

There are some similarities between the self-discoveries of Ann and Peter. One similarity was how much love they had for their respective family. Ann being a mother she loved her son so much. She spent all of her time at the hospital wait for her son to wake up. She only went home once during the three days her son was in a comma. Peter did love his brother Donald. Peter always gave Donald money and let him stay at his house that he had worked so hard for. Donald went off to live at a farm. When he needed a place to stay because he was kicked off the farm, Pete said, “I guess you’ll have to stay with us.” Then Pete said, “I’ll come get you”(Wolff 67). He knew that Donald would hitch hike home if he sent him money for a bus fare. So Pete picked him up. They also differ with each other. For example, Ann has always loved her son on the other hand Pete at one point tried to kill Donald.

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