“Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul and a trait of a true coward. There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for-YOU.” In The “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot” by Robert Olen Butler, the jealous husband “dies” because of his cowardly actions he chose to deal with while his wife was cheating on him. Instead of standing up for himself and confronting his wife, the husband hides behind a cage and just watches as his wife cheats on him. This story illustrates that communication is key to a relationship. The short story, “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot”, exhibits the outcome of cowardly behavior and
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The husband turns into a parrot and still couldn’t speak; he continued to hide behind a cage. I believe he turns into a parrot metaphorically because the parrot represents miscommunication from his previous existence. Ironically, the parrot can speak, yet he cannot speak to the fullest; “Pretty bird," I say and I am saying, You are beautiful, my wife, and your beauty cries out for protection. "Pretty." I want to cover you with my own nakedness. "Bad bird," I say. If there are others in your life, even in your mind, then there is nothing I can do. "Bad." Your nakedness is touched from inside by the others. "Open," I say. How can we be whole together if you are not empty in the place that I am to fill” (Butler )? He knows what he wants to tell his wife, yet he can only say fragments and “codes” of what he truly wishes to say. He portrayed his irritation by stating, “I flap my wings and I squawk and I fluff up and I slick down and I throw seed and I attack that dangly toy as if it was the guy’s balls, but it does no good. It never did any good in the other life either, the thrashing around I did by myself” …show more content…
At the beginning of the story when he was in the pet store with the other parrots, the husband wonders “if it’s the same for them, if somebody is trapped in each of them paying some kind of price for living their life in a certain way” (Butler 103). The husband’s soul has reborn and is now on this earth again until he can come to terms with his jealousy. Anonymously spoken, “To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.” The husband risked pain, but he did not risk failure or being loved. I feel like I can relate to this story because I see jealousy influencing people’s emotions all around me today, even in myself. I understand that jealousy can mess with your emotions and to cause you to do things you wouldn’t do otherwise so although it was cowardly of the husband to act in the ways he acted, I can justify why he did what he did. According to psychologist, Joe Wilner, one area to look at to find meaning in your life is relationships. He says, “Having intimacy and a sense of belonging offers meaning. We all need relationships to help us grow and develop. Relationships provide a context for much of what we do and are an important factor for making decisions. Put time and effort into building
The husband turns into a parrot and still couldn’t speak; he continued to hide behind a cage. I believe he turns into a parrot metaphorically because the parrot represents miscommunication from his previous existence. Ironically, the parrot can speak, yet he cannot speak to the fullest; “Pretty bird," I say and I am saying, You are beautiful, my wife, and your beauty cries out for protection. "Pretty." I want to cover you with my own nakedness. "Bad bird," I say. If there are others in your life, even in your mind, then there is nothing I can do. "Bad." Your nakedness is touched from inside by the others. "Open," I say. How can we be whole together if you are not empty in the place that I am to fill” (Butler )? He knows what he wants to tell his wife, yet he can only say fragments and “codes” of what he truly wishes to say. He portrayed his irritation by stating, “I flap my wings and I squawk and I fluff up and I slick down and I throw seed and I attack that dangly toy as if it was the guy’s balls, but it does no good. It never did any good in the other life either, the thrashing around I did by myself” …show more content…
At the beginning of the story when he was in the pet store with the other parrots, the husband wonders “if it’s the same for them, if somebody is trapped in each of them paying some kind of price for living their life in a certain way” (Butler 103). The husband’s soul has reborn and is now on this earth again until he can come to terms with his jealousy. Anonymously spoken, “To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.” The husband risked pain, but he did not risk failure or being loved. I feel like I can relate to this story because I see jealousy influencing people’s emotions all around me today, even in myself. I understand that jealousy can mess with your emotions and to cause you to do things you wouldn’t do otherwise so although it was cowardly of the husband to act in the ways he acted, I can justify why he did what he did. According to psychologist, Joe Wilner, one area to look at to find meaning in your life is relationships. He says, “Having intimacy and a sense of belonging offers meaning. We all need relationships to help us grow and develop. Relationships provide a context for much of what we do and are an important factor for making decisions. Put time and effort into building