Friday, February 25, 2011

Literary Essay for "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross

How do the characters all contribute to the circumstances in the story (adultery and death)? How did their choices affect the other Characters?

  • Ann's wishy washy attitude towards her marriage with John. This resulted in both adultery and indirectly, John's death.
  • John's possessive and obsessive attitude towards Ann resulted in her feeling "trapped" and "alienated," thus caused her to cheat.
  • John's loyalty to Ann brought him home, despite the storm. As a result, he froze to death.
  • Steven influenced Ann's decision to commit adultery, as he continuously said that John would not try to come home in the storm.
  • Steven's tendency towards taking care of his appearance encouraged Ann's disloyalty.

Topic: Who is responsible for John's death?
  • John: He decided to walk 5 miles when they know that there would be a storm. He left her alone with Steven and encouraged him to come over, telling them not to wait up for him.
  • John: For seven years, Ann has felt alienated in their marriage. John wouldn't socialize with her.
  • John: Refused to take care of his appearance, despite Ann's comments.
  • Ann: She's very judgmental of John and his appearance, therefore she slept with Steven and John left the house in the storm when he saw them.
  • Ann: Her weaknesses caused her to fall to the influence of her lust.
  • Ann: She knew that John would try to come home in the storm, but she had the affair anyways.
  • Steven: He convinced her that John was not going to come home.

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