Olive Kitteridge Essay

Essay on Olive Kitteridge: A Different Road The short story cycle Olive Kitteridge, written by Elizabeth Strout, showcases the lives of multiple residents of the small town Cosby in Maine, whilst keeping Olive Kitteridge as the main protagonist by featuring her in each story. In this complete collection of short stories, the author writes in a fashion that allows the story to have a deeper meaning once it is studied by reading between the lines. In the analysis of A Different Road, the symbols that appear tell a great deal about the true meaning of the short story, which is how Olive’s marriage was changed permanently after the robbery of the hospital. The symbols which were deemed important are the road, the setting of a hospital and the exposure of Olive’s robe. All three of them are significant elements, that when analysed, permit a better understanding of the story.
The first symbol that leads to a better analysis of
Henry pleads for something to cover his wife up when the robe slides off of her, saying “She is all exposed” (p.119). This exposure does not end at Olive being simply uncovered by her clothing, but can represent how Olive’s real thoughts were exposed at a time where she thought she might die. She was brutally honest about her distasteful opinions about Henry and his mother, and Henry equally lashed out by saying hurtful things to Olive. Their true feelings were thus uncovered, and the way they were exposed leads to understand that their marriage would be changed permanently. They said things that were not said out of fear, but because they were the truth that they kept hiding from each other. As a result, the problems and hostilities in their relationship were exposed, and after that, it was clear to Olive that her and her husband would never going to have a normal marriage