Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot

Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot was a very interesting read for me. Robert Olen Butler masterfully pieced together this tale of a jealous husband who, in his human life, refused to put a voice to his insecurities and feelings towards his wife and, ironically, in his parrot life, wished nothing more than to be able to communicate to her exactly what he was feeling.

The jealous husband parrot is a dynamic character because he comes to realize his flaws in their relationship. He realized that it was wrong not to talk to her about how he was feeling. He realized he was wrong for locking himself up (emotionally). As a parrot he desperately wants the chance to be able to communicate to her all the things he should have said to her as a man, but instead has to learn how to just let those feelings go.

This story has both internal and external conflict. The main character struggles with himself over his jealousy and insecurity of his wife being with other men and his pride which prevents him from opening his mouth about it. The external conflict, of course, is that as a parrot he can not communicate his feelings to his wife because of his limitations, which is very frustrating to him.

The setting is specific. It is set in Houston Texas in the home of the main character's wife from his life as a human. The story would be dramatically different if his wife hadn't been the one to buy him from the pet store. If, instead, a little old lady had purchased him, then the story would have more than likely been very flat. It would be missing the elements of frustration and irony brought about by him being in the presence of his wife and her new lovers.

Using first person point of view in this particular story is essential. We, as the reader, would not have had the same insight to the main character's struggles if it had been written in a third person or dramatic point of view. Also, the story would have been lacking if it had been told in any other