Living Life to the Fullest: God's Marvelous Gift

Motivational slogans appear everywhere, it seems. Printed on water bottles, or painted in murals, or perhaps even sewn onto T-shirts, enthusiastic flags display themselves wherever the eye might look. One particular saying that has become quite popular reads, “live life to the fullest.” Average teenagers see it so often that they become callous to the truth of this simple, cliché saying. For God did indeed create humans to live their lives to the fullest and to enjoy their Creator's marvelous gift of life, and in doing so to give glory to Him who made all things. Unfortunately, the majority of the population rush through their nerve-wracked days; speeding from one thing to the next in order to climb higher on the social ladder as they disregard

the true purposes for which God created mankind. Two examples of such people appear in a couple of short stories, one by Jack Finney and another by Kate Chopin. Tom Benecke in “Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets” undergoes a rattling event that causes him to reconsider his life, just like Mamzelle Aurlie in “Regret.” However, Tom displays this belief by taking action and refusing to continue down his previous dismal path, whilst the sobbing Mamzelle is proof that action accomplishes much more than simply griping about the past.
Both of the characters in question start as stolid, down-to-earth people with quite fixed and unwavering notions of themselves and their appointed tasks.

However, Tom Benecke, from Jack Finney's “Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets,” strives passionately towards a goal that he has become obsessed with. Indeed, the young man finds himself so consumed with becoming “. . . know as the Boy Wizard of Wholesale Groceries” (Finney 1) that all else appears irrelevant, and Tom lets his young family go unattended whilst he types away furiously. Mamzelle, on the other hand, remains quite placidly in her aimless life, and makes no attempt to better herself or change her situation. Day after day she goes through her solemn routine, devoid of any laughter or love in life, very much complacently alone and content in staying so. These two people, Tom and Mamzelle Aurlie, appear as quite different characters, but they share a key personality trait – a mind that cannot see past its current circumstance, and which neglects to tend to the truly important things in life, such as love and family. Doubtless, each author wrote the individual characters in this way so as to prove a specific point, or to get a message across to their audience. Such

differences
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in Tom and Mamzelle, along with the obvious similarities, are important because they help different personalities and age groups to relate to a specific character more, while still giving the same overall message.
As the story progresses, both main characters undergo circumstances that cause them to reconsider the things that they had held to so tightly before.

In Tom's case, the situation rapidly descends into an emergency and brings him near to death, which prompts him to rethink his priorities. While he dangles outside of a window, the determined businessman realizes that what he regrets most in life are “. . . the evenings he had spent away from her [his wife], working. . .” (11), when he should have spent them with the woman he loved. For Mamzelle, however, the situation comes out of nowhere, yet it turns out as a positive experience and brings happiness into her dull soul. Needy children arrive upon her doorstep and begin to teach her what it means to love, yet when the youngsters return to their family, a gaping hole forms in Mamzelle's heart as she now begins to realize how much of her life she has dwelt in loneliness and absence of emotion. Tom and Mamzelle Aurlie's separate realizations hold importance because they develop each character in different ways, therefore showing several common types of reactions under similar circumstances, as well as showing that one does not have to necessarily go through a near-death experience jump out of his or her comfort zone. Realizing that it does not always require a severe jolt in order to reconsider one's purpose on Earth creates opportunities for teenagers to reconsider their own lives, and for certain the author designed their

stories in order to create such an opportunity.
When the stories close, both main characters deal with their newfound recognitions about life, but they do so in extremely different ways. “Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets” concludes with Tom sprinting after his wife in order to join her for an evening of lighthearted amusement, as he already acts on his convicted heart. Tom takes action, and quickly chooses to prioritize his family and not waste another day on the things that matter less. At the end of “Regret,” on the other hand, the reader finds Mamzelle Aurlie “ . . . [letting] her head fall down and [beginning] to cry.” (Chopin 3) as she grieves for lost opportunity and for what could have occurred. Mamzelle takes no action, but instead chooses to bemoan her lost youth and love without making any actions to reclaim it. By showing these two ways of dealing with a traumatic event, the authors implicitly ask the reader which reaction they lean towards, and how they would react to a situation such as in these stories. Both tales contrast the two most common reactions to a worldview-changing revelation, holding up both responses for the readers to weigh in their minds and determine for themselves how to react when life throws a curve ball.
To summarize, both Tom Benecke and Mamzelle Aurlie undergo drastic character development as they
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realize that they have lived futile and lackluster lives. Both characters react in contrary ways, however, Tom resolves to change and acting on this resolution, whilst the lovelorn Mamzelle wallows in her sorrow, making no move to change her situation. Between the two separate characters and their reactions, a vast majority of readers can relate to such a confrontation by reading the short stories and analyzing the two responses. Hopefully, most people would come to the conclusion that Tom moves on in a much more desirable way than Mamzelle's apathetic breakdown. When one takes action and reclaims what time has yet to remain un-squandered, then he or she finally begins to fulfill one of the purposes for which God created them. Enjoying the marvelous creation of God in this world, as well as loving the wonderful people that He has placed in it, are glorious things that mankind lives for, and what blessings beckon for those who make the most of their short, precious life.