Serena: The Ignorance of Pemberton
Evan Moon
English 102
28 February 2014
Pemberton’s Fatal Ignorance In Ron Rash’s novel “Serena” he brings together the perfect couple. You learn throughout the novel that, not only are they the perfect couple, but also the perfect business team. In order for them to function so well together, they both have to be almost identical in every way. Rash illustrates them as such as the story goes on, but in his concluding segment the reader finally realizes that Serena only differs from her husband in the fact that she doesn’t value his life as much as the company and her dream. My read allowed me to see another path that could’ve been taken that would’ve changed the story in an altogether positive way. This path can be opened by a simple question; what if he’d married Rachel? Pemberton and Serena were supposedly the perfect couple, and it’s easy to believe so. They had plenty of things in common. They both had a demeanor of confidence about them. It can be assumed that Pemberton was looking for this quality in a woman, due to the fact that he needed someone that could intimidate both his workers and his business competition. She definitely did that and more throughout the novel, as is apparent when the workers start telling tall tales about her. The confidence that inspired these tales also caused another similarity between her and Pemberton; both had incredibly determination. Pemberton was known for being a man you couldn’t say no to before he met Serena, and then she not only matched that determination, but surpassed it. It was yet another thing Pemberton was grateful for in business meetings. But the thing that Pemberton and Serena had the most in common was their level of commitment. Pemberton loved most that Serena loved him just as much as he loved her. Not only that, but she was just as committed to the advancement of the company as he was, and that was yet another positive that seemed to only help him. Unfortunately for Pemberton, he didn’t see the
English 102
28 February 2014
Pemberton’s Fatal Ignorance In Ron Rash’s novel “Serena” he brings together the perfect couple. You learn throughout the novel that, not only are they the perfect couple, but also the perfect business team. In order for them to function so well together, they both have to be almost identical in every way. Rash illustrates them as such as the story goes on, but in his concluding segment the reader finally realizes that Serena only differs from her husband in the fact that she doesn’t value his life as much as the company and her dream. My read allowed me to see another path that could’ve been taken that would’ve changed the story in an altogether positive way. This path can be opened by a simple question; what if he’d married Rachel? Pemberton and Serena were supposedly the perfect couple, and it’s easy to believe so. They had plenty of things in common. They both had a demeanor of confidence about them. It can be assumed that Pemberton was looking for this quality in a woman, due to the fact that he needed someone that could intimidate both his workers and his business competition. She definitely did that and more throughout the novel, as is apparent when the workers start telling tall tales about her. The confidence that inspired these tales also caused another similarity between her and Pemberton; both had incredibly determination. Pemberton was known for being a man you couldn’t say no to before he met Serena, and then she not only matched that determination, but surpassed it. It was yet another thing Pemberton was grateful for in business meetings. But the thing that Pemberton and Serena had the most in common was their level of commitment. Pemberton loved most that Serena loved him just as much as he loved her. Not only that, but she was just as committed to the advancement of the company as he was, and that was yet another positive that seemed to only help him. Unfortunately for Pemberton, he didn’t see the