Ethan's Last Wrong Decision example essay topic

With every fantasy comes a sacrifice but with every sacrifice comes a commitment. There are many ways in which a person can take these commitments and turn them into his fantasies. In the novel Ethan Frome, written by, Edith Wharton, Ethan looks at the decisions that he has made and the commitments that are required, that lead to his misery. Ethan's misery however is the result of the poor choices that makes- Leaving Florida, Marrying Zeena, And taking that last ride with Mattie.

For instance, Ethan, in the beginning of the novel, comes home when his mother turned ill and he took care of her till she passed on. When you think of the things that Ethan left, many seem to ponder why a man of that status, that he was in, having friends, the intellectual capabilities, and the comfortable surroundings, would give up heaven for hell. When I think of the "cessation" (pg. 45) his decision to stop and give up that perfect life, means that his family is that important to make that big decision. Another aspect seems to be, the reason for Ethan and Zeena getting married. The reason he stayed vs. why he didn't return to "Worcester" (pg. 45), might have been Ethan's ability that he could not survive without a spouse. This is yet another example of Ethan making a wrong decision.

The only thing Ethan should have thought about was what Zeena was expecting out of their marriage". She had let her husband see from the first that life on the farm was not what she expected when she married... Ethan learned the impossibility of transplanting her" (pg. 53). With this Ethan learns to late in the marriage that, what he was expecting, wasn't what Zeena wanted. One can interpret this as Ethan's life is tragic, in a sense that it's not what Ethan wanted for himself, and is continually looking for a way to get away.

Ethan's last wrong decision was the way he modified his and Mattie's lives regarding the "smash up" (pg. 124). He so desperately wanted to run away with Mattie, but he couldn't because his practical sense told him it was not feasible to do so. Mattie wanted so desperately to be with Ethan, Which she suggested in order to stay together forever, was to die together. It was Ethan's job to steer the sled into the tree, so that it looked like an accidental death instead of suicide. Instead of hitting the tree head on, he swerved and didn't kill either of them.

It just injured them, and these injuries stayed with them forever. In this way Ethan made his last wrong decisions not exceeding to die with his love, instead he has to live with the guilt from his wife, the injured Mattie, and broken dreams. In these three ways of leaving Florida, Marrying Zeena, and taking that last ride with Mattie, proves that the main problem in this story is Ethan and his wrong decisions. It appeared that everything Ethan tried to do, worked against his favor. With all the incidents that happened, it seemed inevitable that his life would always be a string of wrong decisions.