Understanding the Misunderstood
The three short stories, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, and "A Small, Good Thing" by Raymond Carver each create an atmosphere that is intriguing and manage to deliver a surprise at the end. Each of these stories has very different settings and plot, thus seeming uncorrelated at a first glance. However, there is a unifying theme. All three short stories portray that misunderstanding and judging others in society can be destructive.
“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is set in the future where society approached equality as every human having the same capabilities. Those who are more capable of certain aspects such as above average intelligence, athleticism, or …show more content…
In the beginning, Ann judges the baker by assuming he has children and can relate and understand her happiness for an occasions like a child’s birthday. It’s states, “it seemed to her that everyone, especially someone the baker’s age-a man old enough to be her father-must have children” (Carver). By the middle, while her son is in the hospital, Ann, now stressed, misunderstands unknown calls as harassment. After her son’s death and realizing the caller’s identity, her sadness and anger causes her to want to kill the baker. Ann screams, “I’d like to kill him. I’d like to shoot him and watch him kick” (Carver). In the end, Ann learns that the baker does not have children after talking to him. On the other hand, the baker tells Ann, “Listen to me. I’m just a baker…I’m deeply sorry. I’m sorry for your son, and sorry for my part in this” (Carver). Instead of judging Ann for wanted to murder him and hating her, he apologizes. Ann listens to his story, and begins to wash away her judgements. Since both parties decided to listen to one another and understand each other, they are able to find solace in a dark time. Misunderstandings and judgements are not permanent, a simple conversation leading to understanding can avoid a
The three short stories, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, and "A Small, Good Thing" by Raymond Carver each create an atmosphere that is intriguing and manage to deliver a surprise at the end. Each of these stories has very different settings and plot, thus seeming uncorrelated at a first glance. However, there is a unifying theme. All three short stories portray that misunderstanding and judging others in society can be destructive.
“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is set in the future where society approached equality as every human having the same capabilities. Those who are more capable of certain aspects such as above average intelligence, athleticism, or …show more content…
In the beginning, Ann judges the baker by assuming he has children and can relate and understand her happiness for an occasions like a child’s birthday. It’s states, “it seemed to her that everyone, especially someone the baker’s age-a man old enough to be her father-must have children” (Carver). By the middle, while her son is in the hospital, Ann, now stressed, misunderstands unknown calls as harassment. After her son’s death and realizing the caller’s identity, her sadness and anger causes her to want to kill the baker. Ann screams, “I’d like to kill him. I’d like to shoot him and watch him kick” (Carver). In the end, Ann learns that the baker does not have children after talking to him. On the other hand, the baker tells Ann, “Listen to me. I’m just a baker…I’m deeply sorry. I’m sorry for your son, and sorry for my part in this” (Carver). Instead of judging Ann for wanted to murder him and hating her, he apologizes. Ann listens to his story, and begins to wash away her judgements. Since both parties decided to listen to one another and understand each other, they are able to find solace in a dark time. Misunderstandings and judgements are not permanent, a simple conversation leading to understanding can avoid a