The Characters in the Short Stories Home Burial and Editha - Essay Example

Comparing and Contrasting the Characters in the Short Stories “Home Burial” and “Editha” Introduction “Home Burial”, a short poem written by Robert Frost is similar to “Editha”, a short story written by Dean Howells, in one way or the other. Also, the characters in both literatures have some similarities and differences here and there. Home Burial is a poem about a marriage that is hugely affected by the death of the only child (Robert pp 1). It presents two tragedies; the loss of a child and the instability it brings to the marriage of the parties involved. However, the conflict emerges at the point of mourning. The husband, an unnamed farmer, expresses his grief in a different way as opposed to her wife, Amy. Because of this, Amy accuses him of being unaffected by the death of their only child. “Editha” on the other hand, is a short story about a young lady, Editha, who compels her boyfriend to fight as a soldier in the Spanish-American war that has been declared (Howells pp 1). Editha believes the act to be the only way through which a man can receive honor in the society. She makes it clear to her boyfriend, George, that she will not be engaged to him unless and until she enrolls as a soldier to fight in the war. George does exactly that, but unfortunately, he does not return back alive. Mrs. Gearson, George’s mother is so grieved by the death of her only son. She accuses Editha of her selfishness and cowardness, and even supposes her to be happy now that her boyfriend has died a hero. Even though Editha is mourning about the death of her boyfriend, she expresses her grief in a different way that does not please Mrs. Gearson. She accuses Editha of not sincerely mourning the death of her boyfriend, when she is the actually the cause of everything. Comparing the above two stories, it is clear that a finger of not “appropriately mourning” is being pointed at some other person. It will be first better to compare and contrast the accusers, Mrs. Gearson and Amy, before doing the same to the accused parties, the unnamed farmer and Editha. The first similarity between Mrs. Gearson and Amy is that both of them are very emotional. They are so much consumed by the bitterness arising from the loss of their children, to the extent that they do not realize that the others are mourning too, but in a different way. Amy’s life is brought to a standstill by the death of her child. Every time she sees the grave, she feels as if it’s the end of the world (GrAdeSaver pp 1). She hates the world, referring to it as evil. Mrs. Gearson on the other hand is emotionally affected by the death of George, his only son. Her bitter emotions can be seen when she expresses her hatred towards war. The other similarity between the two is that they are in some way, insensitive. They are too much consumed by their grief to the extent of not realizing that the other parties are mourning too, but in a different way from theirs. The unnamed farmer expresses his grief in a physical or outward manner. He does this by digging a grave for his dead child (GrAdeSaver pp 1). According to him, this is the best way to pay last respect to his beloved child. However, all this is interpreted the wrong way by his wife, Amy. Amy thinks that the husband is not emotionally moved by the death of their child. She cannot understand how and why her husband is taking the loss of their child so casually. At this point it is clear that Amy does not recognize her husband’s way of mourning as sincere. Mrs. George on the other end is no different. To her, true mourning means expressing your internal feelings openly, lashing out at anything that has anything to do with the tragedy. However, Editha does not do this. She is mourning yes, but in a physical manner. She puts on a black clothing, as a sign that she is mourning the death of her boyfriend (Bernado pp 1). This, however, does not please Mrs. Gearson. She thinks that because Editha is not mourning in a similar way like her, she is not affected by the death of George. While lashing at her, Mrs. Gearson suggests that Editha is quite happy that her boyfriend has died a war hero. The other trait shared by Mrs. Gearson and Amy is that they are both inconsolable. Despite the other parties showing concern and wanting to mourn with them, they are just inconsolable. They seem not to appreciate. Editha does her best to mourn with Mrs. Gearson. She walks to her place almost on a daily basis, to share the grief. But Mrs. Gearson seems not to appreciate this. In “Home Burial”, the farmer is doing his best to understand the wife. He is even begging her to tell him what the problem is, but she is too resentful to do that. The accused on the other hand, the unnamed farmer and Editha, have one major similarity. They are not very emotional. They express their grief in a more physical and outward way. While the unnamed farmer expresses his grief by digging a grave for his dead child, Editha expresses her grief by putting on a black clothing and visiting her dead boyfriend’s mother. These two, the unnamed farmer and Editha do not internally and emotionally mourn like Amy and Mrs. Gearson respectively. They both accept the turn of events, and they understand that the only way to deal with the loss is to not dwell on it and move on. However, there is a major difference between the farmer and Editha. As much as Editha is mourning, she takes pride in the whole scenario (Howells pp 1). Her boyfriend died a hero. It therefore means that the grief is mixed up with some sense of joy. But the farmer truly mourns for the loss. He does not rejoice in anything. Conclusion It is therefore clear that “Home Burial” and “Editha” are so closely related, in that a tragedy occurs and one party is accused of not properly mourning. Even though both parties in each story are mourning, they do it in totally different ways that it leads to a great conflict. In each story, one party expresses their grief internally and very emotionally. The other parties express their grief in a more physical and casual way. They accept the turn of events and they are ready to move on, but the other parties are at a standstill. They feel that the loss of their children has brought to an end their lives. Works Cited Bernado, Karen. An Analysis of Wiliam Homells "Ediha". Nd. Web. 11 November 2014 . GrAdeSaver. Summary and Analysis of "Home Burial" (1914). Nd. Web. 11 November 2014 . Howells, William Dean. The William Dean Howells Society-Editha. Nd. Web. 11 November 2014 . Robert, Frost. Home Burial. Nd. Web. 11 November 2014 . Read More