Spoon River Analysis

Words: 725
Pages: 3
Open Document
“The tender heart, the simple soul, the loud, the proud, the happy one? - All, all, are sleeping on the hill” (Masters, “The Hill”). Though all members of the small town of Spoon River, in Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, come from many different backgrounds, they all end up with the same outcome. Marriage is an important theme in the novel, which links many of the characters together in either positive or negative ways, no matter who they are or where they come from. Mrs. Charles Bliss, who makes the decision to stay in a broken marriage while raising children, sees the negative effects of her decision throughout her life of being a mother. Masters says, “And all were torn with the guilt of judging, and tortured in soul because …show more content…
Elsa gets pregnant with Greene’s child and soon had to deal with the situation that she is expecting a baby whose father cheated on his wife. Unexpectedly, the Greene’s offer Elsa a deal. The deal was that she gives up the baby to be raised by the couple in exchange for land and a place to settle down. Masters says, “One day Mrs. Greene said she understood, and would make no trouble for me, and, being childless, would adopt it” (Masters, “Elsa Wertman”). Mrs. Greene telling Elsa everything is fine and she has a solution shows how Mrs. Greene values her reputation very deeply. However, value to her meant keeping her prestigious reputation of her and her husband from being ruined. Therefore, Mrs. Greene does whatever it takes to keep her family’s stellar reputation intact. This includes raising a child who is not even her own. But, not all wives like Mrs. Greene live their lives with issues and secrets. Dora Williams only marries for …show more content…
Dora, ironically, goes through multiple marriages that each leave her with great fortune when the spouse dies. Masters says, “A year passed and one day they found him dead. That made me rich” (Masters, “Dora Williams”). Dora’s first husband is dead after one year of marriage, but she is not devastated, for she is focused on the fact she is left with a large inheritance. This, however, is not the end for Dora. She soon finds the process of marrying older men who are established and very successful leaves her, the official spouse, a great deal of money from their deaths. An example of this is when Masters says, “I moved on to New York. A gray-haired magnate went mad about me- so another fortune” (Masters, “Dora Williams”). Dora manipulates these men into marrying her despite the fact many people believe marriage is meant for two people who are in love. Dora was in love with the money, not the men. Since she is not marrying for love, this shows how people, especially in Spoon River, marry with different intentions and outlooks on how they want to live their
Show More

Related Documents: Spoon River Analysis

The Spoon River Anthology Analysis

tell us about the basics concepts of human existence: death, revenge, regret, and love? Edgar Masters attempts to answer these questions in his short book of poetry entitled, “The Spoon River Anthology.” Each of his poems is about an individual member of a quaint country town called Spoon River. Don’t be fooled by the Spoon River’s quaint, Christian reputation. The inhabitants of its graveyard reveal the prejudice and sin that permeates the small town. The dead speak about their faults and many tell…

Words 828 - Pages 4

Spoon River Anthology Analysis

Guilt is the Nerve of Every Sorrow A Discussion on the Theme Guilt in Spoon River Anthology Guilt can be described as an unacceptable feeling for doing something morally incorrect. When people have guilt, they have regrets for their wrong doings or for previous actions from long ago. Guilt can enhance humans’ everyday lives by making them alert and aware of their poor choices and conduct. This can also affect social lives and has the ability to isolate people from the rest of society. If the guilt…

Words 653 - Pages 3

Spoon River Anthology Analysis

Spoon River Anthology and Life From the book “Spoon River Anthology” I have chosen three of my personal favorite epitaphs that connect with life. This book is about a small town called Spoon River. The author of, as some would say, this masterpiece is named John Hallwas. John Hallwas has created over 200 poetic vignettes to show us the life of this small town. Spoon River focused on the triumph and disorders of the force and also the decline in turn-of-the-century America. “Ace” Shaw, Lois Spears…

Words 481 - Pages 2

Spoon River Illinois Chapter Analysis

Spoon River Anthology People Often Sleep With the Enemy In Spoon River, Illinois, there is a hill where everyone who has past away is buried. This hill is the town cemetery. Many of the dead are connected in different ways. Whether they were husband and wife or they just impacted each others lives in a small way. Many of the dead believe they only have one live. In believing this, it hinders them because many do not find happiness in this life. But that doesn’t mean they can’t find happiness in the…

Words 689 - Pages 3

gold rush Essay examples

The personalities: The Issues/Themes: Analysis: Life on the gold fields The facts/figures: The personalities: The Issues/Themes: Analysis: The Chinese The facts/figures:…

Words 566 - Pages 3

Essay about Water and Habitable Planet Unit

A.P. Environmental Science Syllabus 2009-2010 General scope and sequence for the course |Unit |Topic |Relevant Text Chapters | |1 |Sound Science, Stewardship and Sustainability |1, 22 | |2 |Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles |2, 3, 4…

Words 4001 - Pages 17

Feasibility Study on Eco-Smart Dish Washing Liquid Essay

PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG PASIG Alcalde Jose St., Kapasigan, Pasig City A Feasibility Study on Merchandising EcoSMART, A Multipurpose Organic Cleansing Solution Presented to The Panel of Oral Examiners of College of Business Administration and Accountancy In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship NAME OF PROPONENT: Chiyuto, Maricar Claudette And Company Professor Oscar Pagulayan…

Words 12994 - Pages 52

Essay on The Work of Art

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Walter Benjamin (1935) “Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon things was insignificant in comparison with ours. But the amazing growth of our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained, the ideas and habits they are creating, make it a certainty that profound changes are impending in the ancient craft of The Beautiful. In…

Words 9709 - Pages 39

9344 20953 1 PB Essay

ISSN 1799-2591 Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 515-520, March 2013 © 2013 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland. doi:10.4304/tpls.3.3.515-520 The Inevitability of Tess‟s Tragedy Haiyan Gao School of Foreign Languages, He Ze City, China Abstract—Thomas Hardy is the influential English novelist and realist writer in the nineteenth century. His masterpiece Tess of D'Urbervilles has won him the world prestige. Tess’s tragic fate is the core and clue of the novel. By analyzing…

Words 5501 - Pages 23

technology and ethics Essay

Technology From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the use and knowledge of tools. For the Russian band, see Technology (band). For other uses, see Technology (disambiguation). Page semi-protected By the mid 20th century, humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the atmosphere of the Earth for the first time and explore space. Technology (from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) is the making, modification…

Words 6502 - Pages 27