The Strangers That Came to Town
In his short story, “The Strangers That Came to Town,” Ambrose Flack is showing that true freedom is about being accepted. It shows that true freedom is about being accepted because of the way that the Duvitch family is placed in a community where they are not accepted at first but then do become accepted. Mr. Duvitch didn’t talk much to anyone because of lack of freedom to be who he was, Mrs. Duvitch didn’t have the freedom to also be who she was because people talked about her and the Duvitch children to were quiet ones who didn’t have freedom in the sense that they couldn’t just go out and play with the other kids.
Mr. Duvitch gains freedom through the power of acceptance by those around him. At first Mr. Duvitch has trouble being able to talk and connect with people because those around him wouldn’t talk to him and make rude remarks based on what he was wearing and because of where he worked. “ It followed that the Syringa Street young, meeting him on the street, sometimes stopped their noses as they passed him by—a form of torment all the more acute when Mr. Duvitch had to share it with the children that happened to be with him” (3). It took only one man for Mr.Duvitch to gain that freedom to become who he really was. Andy’s father gives him the opportunity to open up and I think that’s what Mr.Duvitch needed, “ As the host Mr. Duvitch was a man we were seeing for the first time. Overjoyed to have neighbors in his house, he was so full of himself that I was conscious of an invisible stature in him which made him seem quite as tall as Father” (14). Finally, Mr. Duvitch gets that acceptance when those around him begin to look past his looks and their judgements to actually get to know him and talk to him, “People, often persuaded to accept what we accepted, to believe what we believed, began to think the Duvitches must really count, after all.” (15). By getting the acceptance to be who he really was, Mr.Duvitch breaks through the walls of freedom.
Mrs.
Mr. Duvitch gains freedom through the power of acceptance by those around him. At first Mr. Duvitch has trouble being able to talk and connect with people because those around him wouldn’t talk to him and make rude remarks based on what he was wearing and because of where he worked. “ It followed that the Syringa Street young, meeting him on the street, sometimes stopped their noses as they passed him by—a form of torment all the more acute when Mr. Duvitch had to share it with the children that happened to be with him” (3). It took only one man for Mr.Duvitch to gain that freedom to become who he really was. Andy’s father gives him the opportunity to open up and I think that’s what Mr.Duvitch needed, “ As the host Mr. Duvitch was a man we were seeing for the first time. Overjoyed to have neighbors in his house, he was so full of himself that I was conscious of an invisible stature in him which made him seem quite as tall as Father” (14). Finally, Mr. Duvitch gets that acceptance when those around him begin to look past his looks and their judgements to actually get to know him and talk to him, “People, often persuaded to accept what we accepted, to believe what we believed, began to think the Duvitches must really count, after all.” (15). By getting the acceptance to be who he really was, Mr.Duvitch breaks through the walls of freedom.
Mrs.