Kansas Essay
“Stupid Decisions”
In the story “Kansas,” Stephen Dobyns’ portrayal of the farmer as a round character demonstrates the theme of don’t make stupid decisions of characterization when the farmer chases after his wife, the boy hitchhikes, and the wife is being unfaithful. It started with a boy trying to get from a school in Oklahoma back to summer school. He hitchhiked on a dirt road in Kansas, and much to his surprise, his life would change forever. The farmer is a round character as he is the reason why everything began; he felt deceived, made a stupid decision when he planned to find his wife and kill her. He can’t get the police involved, because “it’s his wife”, and “it’s his problem,” (Dobyns 111) he will take care of the problem in his own way. He felt when you have something bad in your life “you stomp it out” (Dobyns 110 ). The farmer drove down the middle of the road, fifty or more miles an hour, tried to catch up to the car, but he couldn’t catch up with it. He was hurt that his wife would leave him for another man.
The boy is a dynamic main character in the story who is trying to make something out of his life, since he is from such a small town. He planned to one day be a great piano player and hopefully play at Carnegie Hall. He is caught in a battle within himself because of his stupid decision and a stupid decision of the farmer. His dream flashed before his eyes, when a farmer picked him up in a Ford pickup truck. He would soon realize the farmer had a plan of his own, to kill two people whom he was very angry with. The boy was too scared to try to talk the man out of doing it, so he sat quietly; thoughts went through his mind and he could hardly utter a word. The boy only answered questions and with few words. The farmer is a nice looking man and had skin that was a brown from the sun. He had a forty-five revolver lying on the seat beside him; he was looking for a blue Plymouth coupe, which was carrying his wife and another man.
In the story “Kansas,” Stephen Dobyns’ portrayal of the farmer as a round character demonstrates the theme of don’t make stupid decisions of characterization when the farmer chases after his wife, the boy hitchhikes, and the wife is being unfaithful. It started with a boy trying to get from a school in Oklahoma back to summer school. He hitchhiked on a dirt road in Kansas, and much to his surprise, his life would change forever. The farmer is a round character as he is the reason why everything began; he felt deceived, made a stupid decision when he planned to find his wife and kill her. He can’t get the police involved, because “it’s his wife”, and “it’s his problem,” (Dobyns 111) he will take care of the problem in his own way. He felt when you have something bad in your life “you stomp it out” (Dobyns 110 ). The farmer drove down the middle of the road, fifty or more miles an hour, tried to catch up to the car, but he couldn’t catch up with it. He was hurt that his wife would leave him for another man.
The boy is a dynamic main character in the story who is trying to make something out of his life, since he is from such a small town. He planned to one day be a great piano player and hopefully play at Carnegie Hall. He is caught in a battle within himself because of his stupid decision and a stupid decision of the farmer. His dream flashed before his eyes, when a farmer picked him up in a Ford pickup truck. He would soon realize the farmer had a plan of his own, to kill two people whom he was very angry with. The boy was too scared to try to talk the man out of doing it, so he sat quietly; thoughts went through his mind and he could hardly utter a word. The boy only answered questions and with few words. The farmer is a nice looking man and had skin that was a brown from the sun. He had a forty-five revolver lying on the seat beside him; he was looking for a blue Plymouth coupe, which was carrying his wife and another man.