Sodier’s Home Essay, Research Paper

Harold’s mother, the grandmother, and Bartleby are selfish

characters.

In Ernest Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home,” Harold’s mother

shows selfishness in that she refuses to understand his

changing behavior. Her son, Harold Krebs, is a young man who

is returning home from his tour of duty in France. The

overwhelming shock of his experiences at war molds Harold

into a different man. Harold wants to talk about how the war

has affected him. He is unable to tell his mother the

unvarnished truth about his battles because of the time

period in which they live. His mother has no concept of what

really happens in a war and this is evident when she says “I

know the temptations you must have been exposed to. I know

how weak men are. I pray for you all day long.” She prays

for Harold so that he will be strong and fight off the

temptations of women. This is sickening to Harold, because

the desire of a woman is a minor fault compared to the

horrifying events that occur in the outbreak of war. Harold

cannot explain to his mother how the war affected him. He

betrays symptoms of his discontent with his behavior

hoping that she will make some kind of logical relation.

This drastic change in his behavior does not spark a

question of doubt in his mother’s mind. The connection

between his recent return home and his changing behavior is

not made. Harold isolates himself from his family and his

community. He does not "want any consequences.” The

psychological damage he receives from the war causes him to

act cold and emotionless. Harold’s mother asks him, “Don’t

you love your mother,” and he replies, “no.” His mothers

love for him is selfish because she refuses to acknowledge

the affect the war has on her son.

The grandmother in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is

Hard to Find,” is similar to Harold’s mother. The

grandmother reveals her selfishness in that she persistently

tries to change her son’s mind about where they will be

vacationing. The family is taking a trip to Florida. The

grandmother wants to go to Tennessee to "visit some of her

connections." Her selfishness induces her into boldly

telling a lie. She pretends that she is genuinely concerned

for her families safety when she tells Bailey about a

criminal being loose in Florida. Even though it appears that

she is concerned, her underlying motives are to change

Bailey’s mind about vacationing in Florida. The grandmother

wants her way so badly that not only does she lie to her

son, but she tries to make him feel guilty and says, “I

wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal

like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience

if I did.” Her selfishness is present again when she lies

about her concern for her grandchildren. She protests that

the grandchildren “have been to Florida before, You ought to

take them somewhere else for a change so they would see

different parts of the world and be broad.” She is not

worrying about her grandchildren’s worldliness, she is only

trying to change her son’s mind about the trip to Florida.

Another example of her selfishness is when she tells her

family about the man that she could have married. She tells

them that she “would have done well to marry Mr. Teagarden,”

because of his wealth. Not one time does she ever mention

that the marriage would be out of love for him. She only

mentions that he is “a very wealthy man.” Her egotistic

personality is evident when the family encounters the

Misfit. The grandmother’s only concern is for herself. She

does not worry about her family, she only tries to save

herself.

Like the other two characters, Bartleby, in Melville’s

“Bartleby, the Scrivener,” also has a selfish nature.

Bartleby is a copyists that works at a lawyers office. He

does not speak much, but thoroughly does his work. He is

secretive and gives vague replies to all questions. He works

diligently copying paper after paper. After only a short

period, he decides that he has “given up copying,” without

any warning to his boss. Bartleby abruptly gives up copying

and all other work in the office. The narrator discovers

that Bartleby is living in the office, but does not make

Bartleby leave. Bartleby does not ask for permission to stay

in the office. He selfishly assumes that he can stay there

rent free. Even when the narrator tries to tell Bartleby

that he needs to quit, he replies, “I would prefer not to.”

Bartleby is selfish because he takes advantage of his kind

hearted boss. Bartleby never thanks his boss for trying to

help him out. The lawyer moves his office across town to

rid himself of Bartleby. The new landlords at the building

have Bartleby thrown in jail because he refuses to leave the

building. His boss feels obligated to help, because Bartleby

does not have any family to speak of. Bartleby also shows

that he is selfish when he is in jail. On the lawyers first

visit to the prison, Bartleby tells the lawyer that he has

“nothing to say” to him. The Lawyer continues to visit him

frequently and pays for his meals. Bartleby never expresses

any gratitude, no matter what the lawyer does for him.