Preview

The Painted Door

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
642 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Painted Door
The Painted Door

Is John Guilty of Causing Ann to Commit Adultery ? It is evident that John is guilty of causing Ann to Commit adultery in Sinclair Ross’s “The Painted Door.” John’s desire, for instance, reveals his intentions. In addition, John’s low self-esteem suggests his motive. Finally, the card game showed us that John planned and deliberately caused Ann to commit adultery. The purpose of John’s action is to make Ann happy. John believes that Ann is the most important person in his life as he was described on Pg. 48 "… naively proud of Ann.” He believes that "it seemed only right that she should have [the best].” To John, Ann deserves a man better than a dull-witted man like himself. When John learned that Ann liked the companionship of Steven (Pg. 52 Once she had danced with Steven six or seven times in the evening, and they talked about it for as many months.), he conceived the plan for Ann and Steven to fall in love. Owing to John's love and devotion to Ann, he causes Ann to commit adultery with Steve. John’s intention or the reason for his action is his low self-esteem. John had so little faith in himself that he did not believe that he can fulfill his wife’s desires. On Pg. 49, John described one of Ann's needs, "That's what you need, Ann - someone to talk to beside me.” When Ann reveals to us that John does not often talk to her, Pg. 50 That's what I need - someone to talk to, John never talks, we learned that John is actually telling Ann that she needs Steven instead of him. In addition, John believes that he was such a stupid person that he could not do anything for his wife. “To him it was not what he actually accomplished by means of the sacrifice that mattered, but the sacrifice itself, the gesture-something done fore her sake"Owing to the little self-respect that he had, he decided to sacrifice his relationship with Ann and later on his own life to show Ann he loves her.Ann falling in love with Steven is not an accident, but instead, a part of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John –In the early stage of their marriage, John’s obligation is to take on his farming duties without any help just to prove his devotion to Ann. John also wanted a mortgage-free farm, a new house and pretty clothes for Ann, but Ann disapproved. John tried his best to keep Ann happy; however, Ann doesn’t seem to appreciate it. Their marriage has neither communication nor happiness. This leaves John bewildered. One day John was to walk five miles just to help his old father, Ann moodily began to act selfish. John wanted to reassure her that she will be fine, but she would lash sarcastic comments and showed no support of his walk. John also wanted to make sure Ann would be safe and have some company while he was out helping his father with chores, so he dropped in at his friend Stevens place on the way to nicely ask him to drop in later in the evening for a…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover, the reader discovers that John dies and Ann is heart broken. Her isolation lead to John’s death through her adultery with Steven. The reader can infer that since their is paint found on his hand that he came home last night and touched the door Ann just painted. He must have seen Ann in bed with Steven and put pity on himself for not knowing Ann was unsatisfied with him. To preserve her happiness, he proceeds to walk back to his fathers so Ann would never know he came home. Ross demonstrates how Ann’s loneliness leads to John’s death by “They found him the next day, less than a mile from home. Drifting with the storm he had run against his own pasture fence and overcome had frozen their…” (Ross 304). It is found out that John was…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John is rather a cold character showing no understanding or even wanting to understand his wife’s illness. He does not see it even as an illness but rather as her needing to pull herself together. He is almost fearful of any mention of mental illness and when she suggests her body is well but not her mind he gives her “a stern reproachful look” and describes it as a “false and foolish fancy”.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most glaring difference between John and Arthur is the fact that John isn't a holy man. Hell, he doesn’t even attend church on Sundays. But this doesn’t change the fact that he completely regrets his crime of adultery. I think it might affect John a lot more than Arthur because he already has a significant other. This makes the sin more personal for John in that regard.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The story: “The Painted Door”, is set in a cold, lonely, farmhouse, in the Canadian prairies, during a snowstorm. The story takes place in the 1930s, which happens to be the time period of The Great Depression. The time period and setting of the story is essential to the overall story, as it leads to the understanding of the characters traits. The couple’s cold, lonely, and isolated relationship is a clear reflection of the prairies during the Great Depression. As the reader begins to understand both Ann and John’s point of view, it becomes clear that both character’s make valid points.…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Monty Hall Problem is about what someone’s chances of winning a car if you had to pick the door that it is behind out of three doors. Behind two of the doors there is a goat and in the third door is the car. If you pick a door, the game show host opens another door to show a goat, should you swap doors or stick with the original door that you picked? The first thing that came to my mind is that it would not make a difference if you swap doors or not. You would still have a 50/50 chance of having the correct door. Since now you know that there are only two remaining doors, one with a goat and one with the car. It would only make sense that out of two doors one of them has the winning car. That is a 1 out of 2 probability of choosing the correct door. Well in all reality that response does make sense but according to the video that is not what the answer really is.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In John’s case it had hardened his voice and attitude towards others mainly from the regret of his own actions. John also had difficulty bringing up the issue of adultery in his life. seen when John was asked to say the ten commandments and forgot adultery. John’s regret made its appearance in the conversations with his wife, Elizabeth. John was very angry and frustrated with his past seen through his voice. Also john was very firm with Mary Warren, when he was trying to plead his case and convince mary to go back to the court with him. So…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The court believes John and his wife are lying to save themselves from being hung. Elizabeth found out about the affair .Elizabeth acted cold and abusive towards John. So he went elsewhere to find the love and comfort he wanted.Elizabeth was not happy when she found out about the affair. Things in the house were silent and at times very awkward.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    While John’s treatment of his wife’s depression is wrong, he does not necessarily do anything to make it worse. Just by ignoring her he is mistreating her. The problem with John in the story is that he holds all of the authority. He is her doctor as well as her caretaker. He is also stubborn and so sure he knows what is best for his wife that he disregards her opinion as just a symptom of her illness. His overly rational disposition and ignorance towards her proves him to be dangerous. John treats his wife more as a medical case than a person. He wants her to get better but ends up just making her situation a lot worse. It is this counterproductively that makes John’s character ironic.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John has committed adultery previous to the play. He is a farmer who has a good work ethic. John seems to be full of remorse for his affair with Abigail, his former servant. He has the mentality that he will not commit adultery ever again. A good example of this is when he is speaking to Abigail and says, “But…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though John committed the sin of adultery, does it seem that he is truly sorry for what he did? I feel as if he is truly sorry. I feel as if he is truly sorry because he cannot forgive himself for what he had done. Not only did John cheat on his wife but if anyone else was to find out, his good name would be ruined.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On John Proctor

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After John cheated, he began to think of himself as low, unworthy, and base. John knew he had committed adultery and couldn’t bare to speak of it. He wanted to right his wrong’s with Elizabeth. John speaks to Elizabeth and says “… I mean you please you Elizabeth…”(miller 916). John saw himself as a traitor to his own beliefs and compare what he did as worse than the people framed of witchcraft.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Of course, the narrator’s eventual insanity is a product of the repression of her imaginative power, not the expression of it. The narrator does not have a say in anything and when she finally mentions something to John, he always come up with an excuse. For example, “At first he meant to repaper the room, but afterward he said that I was letting it get the better of me, and that nothing was worse for a nervous patient than to give way to such fancies” (Gilman 165). After he makes that excuse he continues on to mention “You know the place is doing you good and really, dear, I don’t care to renovate the house just for a three months’ rental” (Gilman 166). What John doesn’t realize is that by not giving way to these “fancies,” he is making his wife’s condition worse instead of…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Painted Door

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. After seven years of ever-lurking silence Ann does something she soon regrets. At the end of the story Ann says, “If you knew him though- John would try” (p. 7). So did Ann really know John? I think Ann did know John and she knew that he would come home like he always did. But I think she let herself believe what Steven continued to say which was no one would risk coming home in such a bad storm. Ann always had feelings for Steven, but they were all for the wrong reasons. So I think her act with Steven was her defiance of seven years of ‘ever-lurking silence’ with John. Ann always felt alone with John and I think she thought Steven could give her more than what John had given her, but soon after her act with Steven she realized she was wrong. Ann realized John was a man and there was nothing Steven could give her that John wouldn’t, but by the time Ann realized this it was too late.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Painted Veil

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I have just read one of the Somerset Maugham’s novels under the title of “ The painted veil”, which he wrote in 1925. In his preface to the novel Maugham wrote, that he had felt a desire to use the story as an inspiration, but re-wrote it and made a more modern version of it. According to his words, it was the first time he started writing from a story instead of from a character.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics