Initial personal reaction:
I initially thought that the
young woman married a man that may have murdered his wife. The hand was physically described as big as
her face, squeezed the sheet like a strangler, plus the fact that he was
recently widowed, and the reference to the knife and slicing the bread at the
end. Then thought my imagination was
running too wild since it’s really late at night when I read this story.
Literary Element/Thematic
Analysis:
Colette’s use of symbols of
realization of time and change in “The Hand” reminds us to not rush into the unknown
without fully assessing the situation.
The “hand” represented the hands of time with its changing features that
the wife did not notice what she got herself into until she really gave it a
closer look as reality setting in. The
story started with the “hand emerging” “far away” meant to me that the young
bride could not wait to grow up like most young people do. It has only been a month since the young
blond man was widowed then went off to marry an adolescent girl solidifies the
fact that young people do not allow themselves time to think before rushing
into another situation. The young woman
lavished the newness of her situation in the “half-lit room” until she “looked
at the hand lying there next to her” meaning she has this moment to think since
time has finally crept up with her. She
also wanted to turn the “light” off as she may not have been ready to really
look into her situation but had to. The
closer look with the light on allowed her to see details that was symbolized by
the nail “whose ridges the nail buffer hand not smoothed out, gleamed, coated
with pink varnish” since we do not see the real situation when emotions clouds
our thinking. Reality sets in when the
“sound of a passing car pierced the silence with a shrillness that seemed
luminous” with the hand in its full ugly description. At this time, there was no turning back the
hands of time as reality had finally set it.
Questions:
Since reality/consequences
eventually sets in, should parents go overboard in sheltering teens from what
they know will be a potential bad situation or allow them to make mistakes to
learn from?
It's interesting you mentioned the man may have murdered. I never thought of it that way. Maybe it created fear for the woman. I also felt that the hand made her realized and changed the way she thought of him.
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ReplyDeleteWow!! I clearly missed some things. I totally agree with your post. I feel parents should allow there children to learn from the mistakes. In her case maybe that sheltering clouded her judgment on which she really married.
ReplyDeleteI also thought he murdered his previous wife! To answer your question, I believe parents should not shelter their kids. Yes, be there for your kids; give them advice; however they must learn from their mistakes to learn from them.
ReplyDeleteI thought there was a possible connection with murder also! I am glad I did not conclude myself as some psychotic minded individual. I believe that parents should give the children advice and information needed in order to determine whether or not his or her actions would be considered right or wrong. I have siblings who will teach me in two complete different styles. Some will try to prevent me from making mistakes by spoon feeding me and others will tell me basic knowledge of things and allow me to make the decision on whether or not to take action and if it is a mistake, it will be something I learn from.
ReplyDeleteGood question, I would probably let my child make its own mistake. Of course, I will be there in any given situation. Before anything I would give a my advice, point of view, and learning experiences in hopes they retained and understand it. Most times, you don’t want to be too strict or too forceful with your child, they will only rebel against you. Instead, respect your child and hope that they make the right choices. In this perspective, it only applies to my child of 18 years and older.
ReplyDeleteI think parents should let children make their own mistakes are learn from them. The best lessons in life are the ones we learn on our own. If a parents shelters their child too much, the child may become naive to certain things. This could ultimately make it more worse.
ReplyDeleteI think parents should direct their children to the right path. Advise them with the best knowledge they have, then let them hit the bumps in the road with a good suspension system. :)..
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