Perspective Narration In A Summer Tragedy English Literature Essay

Through the ideas and feelings of African- American twosome Jeff and Jennie Patton in “ A Summer Tragedy ” by Arna Bontempa, the reader additions an all cognizing sense of position narrative besides referred to as 3rd individual omniscient. The storyteller of this narrative knows all and sees all within the characters and their edifice state of affairs. Throughout this narrative, the reader begins to derive the sense of bosom aching, and depression these characters have been traveling through as old age had taken over their organic structure ‘s strength and head, go forthing them unable to make a batch of things. The twosome worked for a white adult male they called “ old adult male Stevenson. ” Their debt had been constructing up, and with the loss of five kids within a two twelvemonth clip span they felt they had no manner out.

This narrative seems to take topographic point down south near in the general country of the Mississippi River.A Due to the fact that the Patton ‘s had been portion harvest husbandmans it can be assumed that this narrative would hold occurred during the Great Depression when the Jim Crow Torahs were coming into a greater consequence and the U.S. fundamental law was pressing to a great extent to do inkinesss and white equal. At this clip inkinesss were gaining about nil to farm and went into a great debt. Another hint to the clip the events in this narrative would hold taken topographic point is given when the Patton ‘s thrust through the countryside in an old Model T Ford. This auto was merely made and sold during the early bend of the 1900s.

We Will Write a Custom Essay Specifically
For You For Only $13.90/page!


order now

The chief characters of this narrative are portion harvest husbandmans Jeff and Jennie Patton. Jeff Patton has farmed the same estates for 40 old ages at the clip this narrative takes topographic point. Life had been really difficult and physically damaging on his organic structure and farming along with the Torahs of the land has kept him lodge in poorness. A shot had further disabled him than anything including his age. Jeff has an implicit in fright that another shot could this clip be fatal go forthing him to be a load on his married woman, Jennie, who has been blind for old ages and is now really delicate herself in age.

Both Jeff and Jennie are still wholly sane, but their lives have been set up to cover with far excessively many losingss in a short period of clip. These losingss included the deceases of five kids in a short clip span of two old ages ; together they portion a heartache and depression merely understood by those who have one time lost kids of their ain. Farming and old age have guided them toward a common treaty between the two, one which is non frequently sought after by people of such an old age to get down with.

On the peculiar twenty-four hours which the narrative takes place the Patton ‘s Begin to put their ( unknown at this clip ) plans into gesture. The brace decides to dress themselves in their Sunday “ best, ” so drive down a long soil route, past their neighbours and people they merely did n’t look to acquire along with, toward a drop and so into the Mississippi River below to a sad foreseeable and unfortunate decease. Jeff wore a “ stiff- bosomed shirt along with a sup tailed coat, ” which although it had been newly pressed had besides been badly destroyed with holes by moths in the old ages since he had last worn it. Unable to bind it, hands delicate and shaking, his bow tie remained to lie around his cervix as he proceeded to inquire his married woman for aid. Jennie, whose organic structure was little and frail, wore old stockings and places along with a newly pressed black silk Sunday frock. “ Being blind had been no disability for her, as she still worked good steering throughout the house as though she could still see. ”

The construction of this narrative begins in the expounding as the Patton ‘s are acquiring dressed for a twenty-four hours like any other, and what would be there concluding thrust out of town. Through the lifting action, we see the twosome begin their two stat mi journey in their Model T. As the Patton ‘s set out, Jeff becomes concerned with the simplest of things merely the idea of go forthing in the auto was doing him highly dying. As Jennie finished altering, Jeff went to draw the auto about ; here he becomes concerned with the simplest of things. Jeff entered the house for a concluding clip and in a soft cry he called to Jennie, “ you reckon I ‘d oughta lock the bash ‘ ? ” Weighing the idea of the inquiry, Jennie eventually answers, “ Ne’mind the bash, ‘ I see no cause to lock up things. ” As Jeff helped his married woman into the auto, he began trembling violently as he thought of the act he was approximately to perpetrate.

“ You must be scairt Jeff, ” Jennie said out of much concern for her hubby, soothing her he replies, “ No, babe I ai n’t scairt. ” This dialouge sets up the struggle of this short narrative. Both Jeff and Jennie understood their state of affairs and for that choose their love for each other over their ain lives. On the manner to the river, Jennie senses her hubby ‘s shaking ; he was frightened about the trip. All this concern was given for her hubby while her ain fright was crawling up on her. She did n’t believe that he was wholly all right with what action was about to take topographic point and attempts to guarantee him he should n’t be afraid and their determination was the right 1. They decided the best manner to make this was to drive their auto into the river. As they drove, they talked about their ain strength, occupation on the farm and friends they had. They talked about how immature they were manner back when and how old they are now. Then eventually on the last stat mi or so of their trip to the river they talked about the hurting he, and Jennie suffered after losing all five of their adult kids. Jeff admitted that he would hold liked a few more proceedingss in which to “ turn things around in his caput. ” He thought it childish to be afraid and had to maintain traveling, unaware his married woman felt the exact same manner.

Each single struggle I believe was both, internal and external, yet separate for each character. Jeff ‘s struggle had been both internal and external, as he was experiencing wholly emotional on the interior, and it was being displayed through the violent milk sicknesss traveling through his organic structure. Jennie, on the other manus, was sing a complete internal struggle as she saw how disquieted her hubby was through the drive she tried to soothe him while internally she excessively was 2nd guesswork what would shortly be an unchangeable determination.

The flood tide of the narrative is reached when the auto pulls up along the river, and Jennie hears the boom H2O in the bed of the river. Suddenly, Jeff ‘s silence had broken, “ Jennie, I ca n’t make it, I ca n’t. ” She was no longer listening but deep in her ain idea as her face became emotionless as she was absorbed in her ain ideas and feelings. Jeff began to make the same ; he began believing of his life and all he had loved, and all he had lost. His ideas showed no torment. Suddenly, he became courageous and his custodies became steady on the guidance wheel. He slowed the Model T down, and pulled off to the side of the route, “ the river clashed 50 or 60 pess below the surface of the route. ” Between the route and Mississippi was a dry clay incline where he parked the auto pointed straight at the watercourse. Mind hotfooting full of emotion, he so placed his pes steadfastly on the gas pedal, at this minute neither of them were scared any longer, as the auto moved rapidly down toward the H2O. Inside the twosome sat motionless. In an blink of an eye, the auto hit the river H2O and sank easy out of sight.

The subject of this narrative seems to be that self-destruction can frequently look like an flight or a weak manner to cover with jobs. But does that ever stand true? When persons such as the Patton ‘s have lived such long, difficult lives, they begin to merely wish to keep a sense of pride for everything they have accomplished even though they lost so much. Diing with pride, self-respect and regard on your ain footings can be apprehensible in state of affairss of a life filled with bitterness. “ A Summer Tragedy ” presents the true significance of hopelessness ; experiencing if you are in a bad adequate state of affairs that you have to take drastic steps to work out or acquire out of it, without truly looking at the whole image.

Throughout this short narrative the writer used several literary devices but two that stood out to me were the usage of idiom and allusion throughout this authorship. Through idiom such as the conversations between Jeff and Jennie as they discuss their feelings on the manner to the river, “ You must be scairt Jeff ” Jennie said out of much concern for her hubby, soothing her he replies “ No, babe I ai n’t scairt. ” Portraying this idiom gives the reader a sense of what life for practically all African Americans was like in the 1930 ‘s they were non that good educated, if they were even educated at all so their manner of pass oning resulted in the usage of much broken English. The allusion made in this narrative to the celebrated events that had taken topographic point during the clip of the Great Depression. African Americans were equal to white people in the 1930s harmonizing to the United States Constitution.A The Civil War Amendments gave them the right to vote and the right to the equal protection of the Torahs. Neither of these amendments was upheld forcibly until the early 1950 ‘s. So although African Americans were free they were still being held by slave proprietors and forced to work on husbandmans whether by pick or because of the big debt they owed to their owners/ landlords.

x

Hi!
I'm Petra

Would you like to get such a paper? How about receiving a customized one?

Check it out