The Confrontation Between the Natives of Mr. Jackson and the Natives of His New Home - Essay Example

Home by Ian Crichton Smith The story revolves around married couples who have shifted from where they use to live and now live in Africa a place where they first saw each other. Their present lives totally change from that which they had previously. The man is known to be powerful and above that very wealthy and ambitious. This is where we meet the first contrast when the setting of the story describes a wealthy man living in an environment an environment that is poor. He is a man of endurance as the writer puts it in the story and is assumed that he will with stand the life in this hard conditioned life. The environment that the man is in makes him look lost and this makes him develop some attitude towards it that makes the people around him to realize he is not from that place. He has no idea that his livelihood and wealth totally contradicts the place in which he is currently living in and that the people around consider him as a conspicuous visitor. This context helps us to define the place called home. Is it where we live or where we feel comfortable? Does culture define home? Smith in his writings defines home considering all these aspects. To him home is a place where one feels comfortable. In the story it is hard for the man to manage staying in the surrounding that he has moved into because he does not fit in. the reason for this is that he is wealthy and believes that he belongs to a certain social class which contradicts the place that he is currently living in. He develops a negative attitude towards the place which makes the natives to see him as a visitor. it gets much worse when the natives develop the notion that the man does not belong to that environment as they are equally uncomfortable with him being around . Eventually they decide that they want him to leave. The man finds the Glasgow to be a harsh environment to be in and tells his wife that he misses home. From this statement we can define a home as the place where one feels comfortable to live and where one relates well with the people around him or her. When the environment becomes hostile the notion of home lacks and this is where one feels like he is not in the right place (Thomson, D, S et al2008 pg.128). This calls for evacuation as security is a secondary basic need in a human life. The man clearly understands that Glasgow is not his home and though he tries to fit in. This is evident in his speech when he speaks in Scottish language and tries to remember people as well as events from his past. This brings in the second notion of home where we look at home as a place where memories reflect. Memories do not make a place to be home but only brings the feeling of comfort but in real sense they do not define the term. It is like living in the world of fantasy and confusion. A home is where a person appreciates and is able to adapt without convincing himself using past memories. Colour has also been used to portray the setting or the story and describe the theme as well. Brown is used to describe the state of the tenement. In this case the brown colour emulates the state of poverty and dirtiness. This is contrasted by the arrival of Mr. Jackson as he arrives with a black well polished car. This cannot be a home to him as he belongs to a different class of environment. The polished car proves his wealthy condition and the brown colour shows that he lands in a place of poverty and much suffering. It is a new experience to him making the argument of social class and home take the direction to its close generating the idea that a home can be defined by the social class in which someone belongs (Thomson, D, S et al , 2008 pg.125) . Mr. Jackson arrives in the tenement wearing a red ring to signify pride and luxury. He is too proud to come from such a poor area. He further looks at the tenement with excitement. To him the thought that he had left the tenement gives him a sense of advancement and would not want to relate to it again. Mr. Jackson becomes aggressive to his wife since they do not share a common interest in regard to home. He accuses the wife of not having table manners and bases this on the thought of the wife not having similar pleasure as his about their new home as compared to the old one. Mr. Jackson’s wife does not have a discriminative character thus conflicts with his husband because of this.   Confrontation between the natives of Mr. Jackson and the natives of his new home drive in the aspect of home. This is an indication that Mr. Jackson was not fit to stay in that environment. He is seen as a person who belongs in a different world which makes the natives feel uncomfortable living with him. He looks down upon people who do not fit in his kind of lifestyle. His pride also makes people hate him and desire for him to leave. The wife also does not like his behavior as she sees no point of boosting around people who are poor. However she fails to confront him about this because she reflects on the memories of their courtship and feels embarrassed of the place. Though Mr. Jackson’s wife feels sorry for the people living in this kind of a set up, her mind still consider this place not being home as she would not want to relate her past memories to her present life. She wares cloths designed with fur as she walks around. To her this is a shield to her past life. She does not want to de confronted with her past life. They both fail to agree that life has progressed and they are not in Glasgow any more. It makes life more difficult for them as they do not accept the new place and call it home. A place can be called home if the mind can adjust to its adaptation. A home is the place where one lives no matter the circumstances that lead to its existence or occurrence. The theme of home in the story is relevant as it is proved by the characters mentality, way of life and their perception towards their new home. They do not want to consider there memories as a reason of acceptance to their current life. The contradicting part comes where the wife does not want to acknowledge Glasgow as her home as she is not supportive of the husband’s behavior. She uses a coat as a sign of protection and removes it when she gets to the hotel where she is comfortable. Here the writer once again introduces the aspect of comfort. For a place to be called home, comfort must be present. Nobody would like to live in and environment in which he or she dislikes. Shame is another factor that the writer looks at in relation to the theme of home. The couple was ashamed of being associated with their new home and yet it was a place where they chose to be. In conclusion, the writer’s view of a home is guided by both the present and the past events as they relate in a way. It is not right to underestimate the capability of people because of their social background. Poor people can intermingle with the rich and life will move on well. References Thomson, D, S. Smith I, C. Mitchell, A. 2008. Taking you home, New York: Argly Read More