Glass Roses By Alden Nowlan
Practice Essay 1
Jan 2011
How can someone pursue a personal desire if they spent their life trying to conform? Alden Nowlan’s short story, “The Glass Roses” explores this through the protagonist, Stephen. Stephen’s personal desire to feel accepted conflicts with his feeling of having to become like the pulp cutters because he is not mentally or physically ready to fit in with grown men. This results in Chris finding a way to become his own person. Stephen’s journey to pursue his personal desire is shown through setting, character development, and symbolism.
The setting that Stephen is in requires him to be well built and mentally prepared, but unfortunately, he is too young to be prepared for his surroundings. Stephen has been in the forest for six weeks, he notices the gale force winds howl as he lays in bed. He watches the pulp cutters playing Auction Forty-Five and envies their endless strength. Stephen wants to play the game but is physically incapable of it after another day of being battered by the wind and snow choosing to rest by himself instead. The “huskiest and most solemn” pulp cutter and the foreman is Stephens’s father. His father creates an environment of fear. Stephen’s father warns him that pulp cutting “is not a kids job” but Stephen chooses to put aside his childhood and conform to his father’s desire in fear of his disappointed “cold-grey eyes” and hope to be accepted by him. By taking the job as a pulpcutter Chris must also fight his humanity because at the time(mid 1900’s) men were defined as being animalistic, they had to be husky and solemn as well as have strong bodies with ox-like shoulders. Stephen is not capable of cutting down countless trees and feels scorn towards himself for not being able to come back and play cards with the other pulp cutters, he is unable to conform to their animalistic ways of grunting and spitting because his body cannot stay up after reaching the bunkhouse. Stephen unwillingly pursues his desire to
Jan 2011
How can someone pursue a personal desire if they spent their life trying to conform? Alden Nowlan’s short story, “The Glass Roses” explores this through the protagonist, Stephen. Stephen’s personal desire to feel accepted conflicts with his feeling of having to become like the pulp cutters because he is not mentally or physically ready to fit in with grown men. This results in Chris finding a way to become his own person. Stephen’s journey to pursue his personal desire is shown through setting, character development, and symbolism.
The setting that Stephen is in requires him to be well built and mentally prepared, but unfortunately, he is too young to be prepared for his surroundings. Stephen has been in the forest for six weeks, he notices the gale force winds howl as he lays in bed. He watches the pulp cutters playing Auction Forty-Five and envies their endless strength. Stephen wants to play the game but is physically incapable of it after another day of being battered by the wind and snow choosing to rest by himself instead. The “huskiest and most solemn” pulp cutter and the foreman is Stephens’s father. His father creates an environment of fear. Stephen’s father warns him that pulp cutting “is not a kids job” but Stephen chooses to put aside his childhood and conform to his father’s desire in fear of his disappointed “cold-grey eyes” and hope to be accepted by him. By taking the job as a pulpcutter Chris must also fight his humanity because at the time(mid 1900’s) men were defined as being animalistic, they had to be husky and solemn as well as have strong bodies with ox-like shoulders. Stephen is not capable of cutting down countless trees and feels scorn towards himself for not being able to come back and play cards with the other pulp cutters, he is unable to conform to their animalistic ways of grunting and spitting because his body cannot stay up after reaching the bunkhouse. Stephen unwillingly pursues his desire to