Lorraine In The Pain Tree
Recall your past. As you brush through your memories, it is easy to depict certain events and moments of your life with great certainty. However, if you dig a little deeper into some of those memories, you begin to discover some things that might have been misinterpreted. You may even reveal something deeper that changes the whole idea of that memory. It changes history. This is what happens to Lorraine in "The Pain Tree". After returning home, Lorraine digs into her past to discover the truth behind her childhood which reveals who she really is. Oliver Senior explores the idea of possessions with tangible items and memory to develop Lorraine’s understanding of her past and her identity.
Senior shows that Lorraine does not want possessions, …show more content…
Lorraine recalls that she and Larissa were best friends. She thought that they were compatible; they were similar and that is why the two got along so well. However, Senior points out scenes and some thoughts by Lorraine that prove that Larissa and Lorraine were two very different people. After Lorraine failed to put the nail in the pain tree, Larissa said, “Maybe people like you don’t need the pain tree” (Senior 317). Larissa always saw the separation, even in the past. Lorraine, however, was caught off guard when she was younger because she never really gave much thought as to how she was much more privileged in comparison to Larissa. To Lorraine as a child, everyone was equal. In response to Larissa’s words, Lorraine said, “It was the only time I felt uncomfortable with her” (Senior 317). She was so uncomfortable because this was the very first time Lorraine truly understood that she and Larissa were different. As Lorraine got older, she began to realize who she was in relation to Larissa and the others like her. Lorraine began to realize that her friendship with Larissa was not what she remembered it to be. Larissa cared for Lorraine and the two had good times but it was Larissa’s job to make Lorraine happy. After the job, she moved on like the others before her. Lorraine understood now: “The women like Larissa would always be one step ahead, rooms like this serving
Senior shows that Lorraine does not want possessions, …show more content…
Lorraine recalls that she and Larissa were best friends. She thought that they were compatible; they were similar and that is why the two got along so well. However, Senior points out scenes and some thoughts by Lorraine that prove that Larissa and Lorraine were two very different people. After Lorraine failed to put the nail in the pain tree, Larissa said, “Maybe people like you don’t need the pain tree” (Senior 317). Larissa always saw the separation, even in the past. Lorraine, however, was caught off guard when she was younger because she never really gave much thought as to how she was much more privileged in comparison to Larissa. To Lorraine as a child, everyone was equal. In response to Larissa’s words, Lorraine said, “It was the only time I felt uncomfortable with her” (Senior 317). She was so uncomfortable because this was the very first time Lorraine truly understood that she and Larissa were different. As Lorraine got older, she began to realize who she was in relation to Larissa and the others like her. Lorraine began to realize that her friendship with Larissa was not what she remembered it to be. Larissa cared for Lorraine and the two had good times but it was Larissa’s job to make Lorraine happy. After the job, she moved on like the others before her. Lorraine understood now: “The women like Larissa would always be one step ahead, rooms like this serving