Through The Box Man, Ascher portrays her main point that all must be content with the inevitability of isolation. The thesis of The Box Man is revealed by the juxtaposition a man’s simple life in chosen solitude with the lives of two women attempting to avoid a solitary life. In the final paragraphs of Ascher’s essay, she reveals her main point that “this [life] is a solo voyage” (paragraph 19). She continues to explain that the only hope that can be pursued in life is being content with isolation. “We may as well find a friend in our own voice” (paragraph 20). The Box Man, though isolated and without company, is not lonely like the two women are. By definition, loneliness is feeling sadness because one has no friends or company. It is
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She provides examples of this blindness to truth through allusions to the Annas, Ophelias, Emmas, and Juliets. These tragic characters suffered from their myopic view on love. They became the victims of their own doing. The essay is a warning to all people, men and women, that a person’s fantasy is not reality. Love cannot be created if none exists. Although Ascher agrees “that true love finds many ways” (paragraph 20), she states that everyone will experience exile and alienation. Because of this fact, Ascher argues that it is better to accept alienation than to fight with the …show more content…
He has triumphed over isolation and loneliness by choosing solitude as his lifestyle. The Box Man knows that disappointment and exile are inevitable, so he has nothing to lose by turning away from the world and creating his own reality in which he collects boxes. The two women, on the other hand, are portrayed as weak and selfish. The descriptions of the soup lady’s dry fingers and vacancy of expression displays that Ascher believes that living with false hopes only leads to more pain. Not only is this woman lonely, she has suffered physically and mentally. From her empty purse to her blank stare, her life has taken a much greater toll than the price The Box Man had to pay. With his freedom from loneliness, The Box Man is content with the simple act of collecting boxes, while the two women dwell on what will never
She provides examples of this blindness to truth through allusions to the Annas, Ophelias, Emmas, and Juliets. These tragic characters suffered from their myopic view on love. They became the victims of their own doing. The essay is a warning to all people, men and women, that a person’s fantasy is not reality. Love cannot be created if none exists. Although Ascher agrees “that true love finds many ways” (paragraph 20), she states that everyone will experience exile and alienation. Because of this fact, Ascher argues that it is better to accept alienation than to fight with the …show more content…
He has triumphed over isolation and loneliness by choosing solitude as his lifestyle. The Box Man knows that disappointment and exile are inevitable, so he has nothing to lose by turning away from the world and creating his own reality in which he collects boxes. The two women, on the other hand, are portrayed as weak and selfish. The descriptions of the soup lady’s dry fingers and vacancy of expression displays that Ascher believes that living with false hopes only leads to more pain. Not only is this woman lonely, she has suffered physically and mentally. From her empty purse to her blank stare, her life has taken a much greater toll than the price The Box Man had to pay. With his freedom from loneliness, The Box Man is content with the simple act of collecting boxes, while the two women dwell on what will never