Analysis Of The Fly

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In Katherine Mansfield 's "The Fly," an older gentleman referred to as "the boss" struggles with a fight. However, it was a fight with his own thoughts and despair. Although the boss is able to forget in the end, who is to say that this has not happened before or won 't happen to him again. The sadness he feels for his son will always be there, but he just cannot bring it to the surface. Although the fly drowns as if to symbolize his despair, his need to cope is gone. The boss as depicted by Katherine Mansfield in "The Fly" seems to be inadequate physical health but is fighting his own depression that he thinks he should be feeling for his son, yet the fly provides a distraction that he needed to move on. In this short story, the boss is known …show more content…

When the boss first finds the fly, he chooses to save it and observes it see if it survives. He even praises it aloud saying, "You artful little b..." implying his wish to escape from depression. No one expects his or her child to die in war and I believe the fly represents his son who was in a dark, deadly place, and who the boss wanted to survive desperately. Although, the fly also represents something else, the boss 's depression. He drips ink onto the fly again just to watch it struggle to free itself and it does escape, but grows tired. At one point he even cheers the fly on by saying, " 'Come on, ' and, ‘Look sharp! '" He does this to find out how strong the fly was and to find out if it could survive something enveloping its body; like his despair. The ink depicts his depression and the fly is the boss. Right after he believes he is fine, he is covered in the dark ink of depression yet again. He is depressed that he cannot feel the way he once did for his son 's death. Lastly, he drops ink on it a second time and the fly struggles to survive, yet ultimately fails and dies. This shows the boss just how easy it is to give into depression even if you put all of your efforts into surviving. He seems to have started to overcome his son 's death, the story proves this by saying, "The boss lifted the corpse on the end of the paper-knife and flung it into the …show more content…

The boss seems to be inadequate physical health but he is fighting his own depression that he thinks he should be feeling for his son, yet the fly provides a distraction that he needed to move on. From his talk with Old Woodifield to the drowning of the fly, the boss is fighting an internal battle few could understand. He is no longer needing to cope with his son 's death but now needs to cope with why he does not feel as upset as he did for all of those years. His physical health is strong, but his mental health is deteriorating. The boss and the fly are perfect symbolism of what depression actually is or what it does to someone. They show that fighting back is not always

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