Hajaj Saleh
Dr. Mackin
English 2030-059
29 November 2014
Don’t Judge too Quickly
In “I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down” and “The Paperhanger,” William Gay addressed the human nature of quick judgment. In both of his stories, he created these complex main characters who went from being one-dimensional to becoming a multi-faceted individuals by the end of the story. The author’s interest with how humans co-exist and interact was clear in both of his works. What Gay wanted to address was how humans fail to not judge people too quickly and how fast they formed opinions of others without any prior knowledge.
In “I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down,” Gay introduced Abner Meecham as an old guy who was forcibly imprisoned in a nursing home. …show more content…
At this point, Gay changed the character to a crazy old man who used to beat his son and his wife, and after his wife died he just went crazy. Towards the end of the story, Meecham wanted to put Choat in jail. He orchestrated a tenant house fire where he stayed and wanted to blame it on Choat. At this point, the author showed Meecham as an old man who haunted the Choat family who were struggling to have a better life. The character became a complex individual and completely different the beginning of the story. Gay simply wanted to challenge the readers by giving them conflicting thoughts about …show more content…
He introduced him as a hardworking man that wanted to make a living. The Paperhanger worked on a house that belonged to a rich family. The wife of the doctor that owned the house had a very boasting character and considered herself better than everyone else. She had a daughter who was an exact replica of her. The daughter used to play with the Paperhanger’s hair while he works. The Paperhanger couldn’t stand the mother’s arrogant personality. The daughter disappeared in broad daylight inside the house that was filled with construction workers. The Paperhanger helped search for the little girl and she was never found. The doctor and his wife broke apart. The mother became an alcoholic. Come to find out that the Paperhanger had killed the innocent little girl just for the sole reason of bringing her mom to her knees. He killed the girl by choking her and stuffing her in his toolbox. This shows that it’s not a small change about the character, but rather an enormous one. The author dramatically and violently changed the Paperhanger’s character to another level. Suddenly he became this insane and cold blooded
Dr. Mackin
English 2030-059
29 November 2014
Don’t Judge too Quickly
In “I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down” and “The Paperhanger,” William Gay addressed the human nature of quick judgment. In both of his stories, he created these complex main characters who went from being one-dimensional to becoming a multi-faceted individuals by the end of the story. The author’s interest with how humans co-exist and interact was clear in both of his works. What Gay wanted to address was how humans fail to not judge people too quickly and how fast they formed opinions of others without any prior knowledge.
In “I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down,” Gay introduced Abner Meecham as an old guy who was forcibly imprisoned in a nursing home. …show more content…
At this point, Gay changed the character to a crazy old man who used to beat his son and his wife, and after his wife died he just went crazy. Towards the end of the story, Meecham wanted to put Choat in jail. He orchestrated a tenant house fire where he stayed and wanted to blame it on Choat. At this point, the author showed Meecham as an old man who haunted the Choat family who were struggling to have a better life. The character became a complex individual and completely different the beginning of the story. Gay simply wanted to challenge the readers by giving them conflicting thoughts about …show more content…
He introduced him as a hardworking man that wanted to make a living. The Paperhanger worked on a house that belonged to a rich family. The wife of the doctor that owned the house had a very boasting character and considered herself better than everyone else. She had a daughter who was an exact replica of her. The daughter used to play with the Paperhanger’s hair while he works. The Paperhanger couldn’t stand the mother’s arrogant personality. The daughter disappeared in broad daylight inside the house that was filled with construction workers. The Paperhanger helped search for the little girl and she was never found. The doctor and his wife broke apart. The mother became an alcoholic. Come to find out that the Paperhanger had killed the innocent little girl just for the sole reason of bringing her mom to her knees. He killed the girl by choking her and stuffing her in his toolbox. This shows that it’s not a small change about the character, but rather an enormous one. The author dramatically and violently changed the Paperhanger’s character to another level. Suddenly he became this insane and cold blooded