Themes Of Change Essay, Research Paper

Themes of Change

When you are born people are there to take care of you, love you, and guide you through life. As you grow up and life changes, you must take charge of your own life and not become so dependent on others. Throughout the course of life a person will encounter many changes, whether good or bad. In A&P , The Secret Lion , and A Rose for Emily , the main characters in the stories are Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily who face changes during their lives. All of these characters are in need of change. Because of their need for change, their lives will become much better. They are filled with wonder and awe about the world around them. No matter what type of person, everyone will encounter changes. It is part of the natural process. A person is encouraged to make these changes for the good. Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily all encounter changes in their lives that fulfill their need to become something different.

In A&P by John Updike a young cashier named Sammy is very confused about the concept of life. In the beginning of the story Sammy is very passive and ignorant about life. His passiveness and ignorance are brought upon by his mother sheltering him during most of his life. Sammy compares himself to another cashier who works at the A&P, Stokesie. Stokesie is twenty-two and Sammy is nineteen. Sammy sees a reflection of himself when he looks at Stokesie because of his lack of ambition and wanting to become nothing more than a manager of the store. When Queeny comes into the store, showing all of her leadership abilities, he sees the total opposite of himself. Queeny is like a shepherd leading a flock of sheep; she is in control. Sammy recognizes Queeny s headstrong attitude and he admires it very much. Queeny is just how Sammy would like to be, a headstrong person, a leader, and a person with ambition. After the conflict at the register with Queeny and the manager, Sammy decides to take charge of his life and do something for himself. Because of Sammy s huge change, he is no longer passive and ignorant. He is now active and realistic toward the world and its changes.

In The Secret Lion by Alberto Alvero Rios, the young boys are filled with wonder and fascination about the world. Throughout this story everything in these boys lives changes. The grinding ball is a great example of the boys lives. The boys believe that there is nothing more perfect on this earth than the grinding ball. The grinding ball represents the young boys lives, perfect and innocent. As the boys grow, their innocence is replaced with the experience of being able to succeed in life. The grinding ball is not the only example of the boys lives. The golf course is another example of their life. Before the boys realized what they had found, they saw the golf course as a fantasyland, a place of enchantment. When the boys were admiring the wonderful things on the fantasyland, their lives were changing. When finding out the fantasyland was nothing more than a golf course, their lives took a huge step toward adulthood. They discovered change; nothing is what it seems. Everything changes for the boys throughout the course of their lives. They change from being naive about the world to becoming intelligent and perceptive about their lives. The boys lives changed from childhood to adulthood because of their curiousness and determination to explore the world.

In A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, a woman experiences a great deal of change as she becomes older. Miss Emily was a bit conceited about herself, and as her life changed she could not take being a normal person. From childhood she has been raised as part of the upper-class. As her life progressed, she began to experience change and society was not bowing down to her. Miss Emily became a person in seclusion; she became a mystery woman. Her life changed dramatically; she went from being in touch and active with the world to becoming very distant to it. Miss Emily is the type of person who has to be in control. As time passes and society changes, she loses most of her control. During most of Miss Emily s life, it is society changing around her that initiates all of her life changes.

The theme of life changing and nothing staying the same is expressed differently in two of the three stories. In A&P and The Secret Lion , the theme is focused around becoming more in touch with the world and getting more experience. In A Rose for Emily , the theme is focused more around the changing society and how Miss Emily s life changes with it. I believe, out of these three stories, Miss Emily had the hardest time dealing with change. She could not commit herself to change like the other characters. Change is a natural part of human nature and I think these stories exhibited types of change wonderfully.