Heating the World Essay Attempt

Introduction: The community considered Tucker very fortunate for his marriage, and so did Tucker, nevertheless he had no knowledge of modern women and the marriage had bought changes he had not predicted. This is a statement made early in the short story “Heating the world” written by Owen Marshall. This story is set in a rural Northern area of the South Island. The story is a fiction piece classified under social genre, it is also written in third person, so it is narrated from an on-lookers perspective rather than a personal perspective. This lets the reader develop their own thoughts on the characters and view the ideas in which the writer may be trying to convey. An Idea that is developed throughout the short story is that marriage can bring unpredictable change to a typical rural bachelor. This idea is portrayed through Tucker’s conversations about his new wife to “Neville O’Doone his counsel in such things”. Tuckers views on life and finance, what he thinks are Justifiable purchases and why are also ways of showing the idea before and after marriage. The idea is also conveyed through Tucker’s views on the introduction of new food, fashion and modern life’s necessities.

At the beginning of the short story we get an idea of where Tucker is in his life. Tucker recently married at forty two after having been one of the last bachelors in his district to marry shortly after his mother had passed away. Before marriage Tucker had done for himself and lived in “traditional rural simplicity rather than poverty”. His financial priorities were focused on things for the farm which were “natural expenses of life”. So it made his life very unsettled becoming newly married when his wife started to spend money. Tucker found her purchases unjustifiable. Quote: “to buy a new lampshade or replace the kitchen lino for reason of colour co-ordination would no more enter his head than to dine at the Victor Hugo restaurant in town when he had food in his own home. A four and half