Jealousy In 'Everyday Use And The Prodigal Son'

As stated prior on my discussion in regards to a connection seen in “Everyday Use” and “the Prodigal Son” is the jealousy and ungratefulness observed in both short stories and various characters. Dee in “Everyday Use” is jealous and upset how her sister was able to keep the quilt and the butter churn she wanted and assumed she deserved. The oldest brother in “the Prodigal Son” is jealous of the special treatment he received from their father after returning home. As stated in my prior discussion Dee was ungrateful the first time she was offered the quilt before she went to college. She felt as the quilt was tacky. The youngest brother in “Prodigal Son” was ungrateful on how hard his father worked to create the inheritance but assumed he was entitled to it.

After watching and listening to the lecture on “Good Country People” from a Wheaton college scholar a statement that stood out for me is “The best story did not explain everything and sew it all up. It leaves it to expand in our minds and hang on to the story.” This statement brings a thread of connections in

In “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour” the woman seeked freedom from out their marriage whether it was for the moment, a lifetime, or a few months. In the short story “Cathedral” observed marriage chronicles when the husband wished his wife would speak good of him infront of Robert and the lack of communication between the wife and Robert. When reading the story you observe how the wife treats and talks to Robert. She never offered to get more food for her husband but offers the blind man. She gets upset on how Robert talks to the blind man to spark a conversation. “Did you have a good train ride? I said. Which side of the train did you sit on, by the way? What a question, which side! My wife said. What’s it matter which side? She said I just asked” ( Carver, pg