Jayber Crow Thesis

How do you deal with the loss of both your parents at a young age? In the novel Jayber Crow by, Wendell Berry, Jayber tells us about what he goes through after losing his parents when he was just a young boy,. H grows up to be a well known barber in Port William. The city of Port William respects Jayber as a citizen and as their town barber In Port William,. Maybe Crow tell us how he deals with love, lost, and hope in many of his situations in life. “ Love is a deep and strong feeling you have for another person.” Jayber’s love for Mattie runs deep he has been in love with her since she was a teenager, this is seen in the novel, when Jayber talks about the first time he sees Mattie and her friends walking up the street laughing and talking.

“ At such a moment , to the bestow my memory, I first took actual notice of Mattie Chatham - or Mattie Keith, as she was then.” To Jayber Mattie was the prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on. He knew that he could not be with Mattie because, she was with Troy, but that did not stop Jayber from falling for Mattie.

Even after Mattie and Troy got married and had kids Jayber still dreamed about being with Mattie got stronger as the years went by. In the novel, Jayber talks about how life would be ion he was married to Mattie and how his love grew stronger. Jayber know Mattioe is younger than him, but he cannot help how he feels about her . In Jayber eyes Mattie is the prettiest girl he know . Jayber knows he can never be with Mattie because she is married to another man. “ I was married to Mattie Chatham but she was not married to me, which pretty fairly balanced her marriage to Troy, who became less married to her, thought legally ( and varyingly in appearance) he remained her husband.” In the article Painful stages of falling in love with someone you can never have these are 25 steps another is “ There are plenty of fish in the sea,” this is seen in the story when Jayber meets Clyde at the Rosebud

cafe. Clydie is the Great-low-Violet Greatlow’s niece, Clydie came to work at the cafe. Clydie and Jayber develope a amity relationship . Jayber likes Clydie and he want to go on a date with her , but he does not want to cause problems in their friendship. This is seen in the story when Jayber says, “I was a longish time asking Clydie to go out with me. I was enjoying things as they were, and i was afriad she would turn me down, which would change things.’’ One night while Clydie was at work and Jayber is there he orders a drink and when Clydie brings him the drink he ask her on a date and she says yes. Eventhough Jayber like Clydie he does not love her the way he loves Mattie. Jayber states the way he feels about Clydie, “ I would be pleased to say I love her, but “liked” is probably the better word.” Eventhough Jayber has met Clydie and has established a great relationship he wil never love Clydie the way he love Mattie. “ Coping with loss of a close friend or famliy memeber maybe one of the hardest challenges that many of us face.” In the novel Jayber Crow by, Wendell Berry, Jayber tells us about how he had to deal with losing both his parents and his fellow friends in Port William.

Jayber’s parents die in the terrible winter of 1917 and 1918. Jayber take losing his parents veryhard, this is seen in the story, “ And then an old woman I knew as Aunt Cordie gathered me up without asking and sat down in the rocking chair and held me and let em cry.” This shows that Jayber took losing his parents hard. After losing his parents Jayber goes to live with Aunt Cordie and Uncle Othy in Squires Landing. While living with with Aunt Cordie and Uncle Othy Jayber helps out around the house thsi is seen in the story when he talks about how he helps with everything, “ I helped her with everything: keeping up fries , maintaining the lamps, cooking, cleaning fish, dressing poultry, washing the dishes, washing the dishes , washing the clothes, cleaning the house, working in the garden, putting up food for winter.” Jayber also like going down to the store when he is not helping Aunt Cordie at the house. He also helps Uncle Othy with some farming jobs. But he like to help Aunt Cordie more than Uncle Othy because he is hard to please. One afternoon Put Woolfork found Uncle Othy lying face down in mud on the riverbank, where he had gone to bail out his boat after hard

rain. Put hollered for Jayber and Aunt Cordie she sent Jayber running across the hill to the Tripples’ so they could help get Uncle Othy home. Uncle Othy died just a little after dark. . After the death of Uncle Othy Aunt Cordie and Jayber continued to work and the shop and on the farm until Aunt Cordie got sick and one night died in her sleep. After the death of his Uncle Othy and Aunt Cordie dies Jayber is sent to live at The Good Shepherd an orphanage in central Kentucky thats when he decided he wanted to be a pastor. Jayber lives in The Good Shepherd until he graduates school and go to college in Lexington on a scholarship in order to enter the ministry. Jayber attends Pigeonville where he is a pre-ministerial student. “Does hope give people anything substanial to cling to, or is it like cotton candy, sweet and statisfying in the moment, but leaving one with nothing more than a sugar high in it aftermath.”
In the story Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry Jayber talks about having that one day him and Mattie will be together. the quotes state “When I say that Port William suffered a new run of hard times in the 1960s, I dont mean that it had to “weather a storm” and come out safe again in sunshine. i mean that it began to suffer its own death, which it has not yet sompleted, from which it may or may not revive.” This qoute shows that Jayber still has hope for his hometown and does not want it to be a ghost town. Therefore, he will stay postivie and hope that his lovely town will revert to the way it was when he first came to town. Jayber being a man of faith , most of the time, resembles hope in stituations that knock most people off their feet and make them slip in to depression. In the novel, Jayber quotes , “ I have in memory only a few scattered pictures of my early lost life at Gofth.”Jayber mirors hope by keeping memories of his deceased parents and also remembering what he did with his parents before they took a turn for the worst and past away when he was young . Altough Jayber has a terrible past, he keeps on pushing through with his life and not lettign anything or anyone hold him back. He keeps on with life and his love for Mattie. Mattie Chatham is a married woman who Jayber hopes to be with one day. In the novel Jayber Contemplates, “Was I fooling myself? I know to be a man skilled in self-mind.” Jayber had been in love with Mattie since she was a teen and eventhough he knew she was married he had vowed to be married to her although she had know clue of this. In conclusion Jayber has exprienced love, loss, and hope throughout his life but he contiunes to live life to the fulliest and still has faith that over time things will start to play out in his favor.