Adrian Beehner
Erin Davis
ENGL-175-40
9/12/15
We Live in Water Analysis
How do humans find ways to create empathy for others in modern society? With the walls that people build around themselves and the way society is constructed, empathy for one’s the fellow humans can be quite rare. In the collection of short stories We Live in Water by Jess Walter, the author constructs tales of troubled characters in a way that allows the reader to feel empathy; two of the author’s stories that exemplify this empathy are “Anything Helps” and “The Wolf and the Wild”. The short story “Anything Helps” tells the tale of a homeless man’s journey to buy his son a Harry Potter book as well as dealing with his own inner conflicts. “The Wolf and the Wild” is the story of a rich ex-con who works with kids for community service and his struggles to find his place in life after his own demons with his job and family. Jess Walter uses interior monologue and dialogue within
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“Anything Helps” and “The Wolf in the Wild” to shed a new perspective on these antiheros and create empathy for these troubled characters. To begin with, examine how the story “Anything Helps” uses interior monologue to help evoke a sense of empathy toward the protagonist named Bit.
Interior monologue used in “Anything Helps” demonstrates the admirable traits that Bit has hidden within himself, which develops a new perspective on Bit, creating empathy. The reader sees Bit’s emotional pain for his son when he “wants to say something about the grade, just so Nate knows he knows. He counts years in his head: one after they took Nate, one after Julie, and one he’s been trying to get better in the Jesus Beds—a little more than three years the Molson’s have had him. Jesus” (14). Bit demonstrates admirable traits as a father who just wants to be there for his son, but has fallen on some of the worst luck possible; the use of interior monologue shows the reader that life isn’t so clear-cut. Bit and the character Wade from “The Wolf and the Wild” both have issues when it comes to their family, Bit regrets losing his son, and Wade holds his own regret with
family. Within “The Wolf and the Wild”, interior monologue is used to show a new perspective of the character Wade in a more sensitive and empathetic tone, due to his admiration for the kids he teaches as well as his own family problems. Wade is presented in a more empathetic light, for example, when Wade is having a reading session with a child named Drew and remembers how “His own son, Michael, had been a lap-reader”, bringing back pangs of regret and sadness that his family was split apart and “wanted nothing to do with him” (143). Feeling the pang of regret and sadness for a family that doesn’t want him anymore reveals empathetic details of Wade only by the use of interior monologue. This creates an emotional connection to Wade; family is precious to most people, and Wade does not have his own family anymore. Interior monologue reveals the characters Bit and Wade in a new light, making readers feel empathy for these two unfortunate souls; dialogue can do similar actions with clever interaction between characters. Dialogue used in “Anything Helps” demonstrates how the protagonist Bit is not an atrocious homeless man who feels sorry for himself, but a human being with real feelings, issues, and dreams, showing a dynamic and empathetic character. Dialogue in this story proves that Bit wants to look for the future and be a better man. When Bit discusses why at “group” they have to talk about their sad stories, and “Why can’t we talk about what we think instead of just all the stupid shit we’ve done?” it reveals Bit’s ambition (7). Bit doesn’t want to feel sorry for himself, moving on and getting better is the dream; something many people can relate to and connect on an emotional level. Bit doesn’t want a sob story, he wants redemption. The character Bit shows heroic qualities for wanting to move towards the future and better himself, much like how Wade has great care and concern for the kids he is helping. “The Wolf and the Wild” uses dialogue to provide the reader with the noble characteristics hidden within Wade, developing him into a more understanding and grounded character, which provides empathy for Wade. Wade reveals to have admirable traits distributed throughout the dialogue, providing a new perspective of him. For instance, when Wade is discussing the kids he is helping with their teacher, he says, “‘You can’t request books? But this is a school.’ ‘Yes.’ She Smiled. ‘So a kid gets hooked on a series and he’s just…on his own? That’s crazy’”, which shows his concern for the kids (145). The reader would expect the character Wade not to give a care in the world for the kids; however, the use of carefully crafted dialogue shows that Wade actually has developed a compassionate relationship with all the kids he is helping. The dialogue here presents Wade in a humble perspective, making it so the ex-con can generate a feeling of empathy for losing his family and going through community service. Jess Walter uses interior monologue and dialogue within “Anything Helps” and “The Wolf in the Wild” to shed a new perspective on the antiheros and create empathy for these troubled characters. “Anything Helps” displays traits of an unlikely admirable person named Bit through the careful use of interior monologue, which develops empathy. Wade in “The Wolf and the Wild” is presented in a more sensitive light from interior monologue to generate empathy. The story “Anything Helps” uses dialogue to show that Bit wants to move forward in his life, making him more dynamic and empathetic. Throughout “The Wolf and the Wild”, there is dialogue that demonstrates to the reader Wade’s hidden admirable traits that show off a more grounded, empathetic character. Jess Walter in We Live in Water masterfully shows that empathy is not dead; it’s the human connections, the emotional ones, which tie everyone together. Works Cited Walter, Jess. We Live in Water. New York, US: Harpercollins Aust, 2013. Print.
Everybody on earth faces some type of hardship at some point in their life. Regardless of religious preference most people seek guidance and find comfort through practicing their faith. This is exactly the case for Ruth McBride-Jordan, James McBride’s mother. In the novel The Color of Water, James sends the messages that a strong faith in God can overcome any obstacle and is the foundation for a happy, prosperous life through the story of his mother’s life.
The short story “Virgo” in Jess Walter’s book We Live in Water is set in modern times which gives it a familiarity for the audience. For something that maybe unfamiliar is that he creates the protagonist to have a psychological problem. The author uses mental illness as an important part in his story, because the story is about the protagonists failing psychological health. This was caused from his parent’s lack of knowledge about mental disorders and his school’s fault for not educating him or his parents about mental illnesses. The protagonist has issues with his social skills, which are caused by the lack of treatment that he has never received from his schools and parents, then as a result attempts to commit suicide at the end of the story.
In the article “A change of heart about animals” author Jeremy Rifkin uses rhetorical appeals such as ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade humanity in a desperate attempt to at the very least have empathy for “our fellow creatures” on account of the numerous research done in pursuit of animal rights. Rifkin explains here that animals are more like us than we imagined, that we are not the only creatures that experience complex emotions, and that we are not the only ones who deserve empathy.
In Huffington 552). Huffington explains that individuals need to thrive with empathy. She also describes of how CEO’s in today’s society display a major lack of empathy but, with the lack of empathy can cause major political issues. Empathy gives individuals a opportunity to build relationship and associations instead of having a strict society. With a more open society, young individuals with take part more in their communities to improve it. Huffington writes, “And there is extraordinary creativity in local philanthropy,”(552). Volunteering has increased amongst the years and the act of volunteering exhibits caring for the community. Failing numerous times and not giving up because the drive to benefit society is an aspiration. The dedication and willingness to advance the nation is
In the essay This is Water, David Foster suggests that true freedom acquired through education is the ability to be adjusted, conscious and sympathetic. He uses this thesis statement in his essay and helps develop this thesis statement by using everyday examples which one would be able to relate to whilst reading this essay. He uses these examples in an attempt to make what he is trying to say much simpler, due to the fact that the point that he is trying to shed light on might not get across to all people who are reading this essay. He also uses metaphors to make it easier for the reader to relate to.
Empathy is imperative to teach kids from a young age in order to help them recognize mental states, such as thoughts and emotions, in themselves and others. Vital lessons, such as walking in another’s shoes or looking at a situation in their perspective, apprehends the significance of the feelings of another. Our point of view must continuously be altered, recognizing the emotions and background of the individual. We must not focus all of our attention on our self-interest. In the excerpt, Empathy, written by Stephen Dunn, we analyze the process of determining the sentiment of someone.
Empathy is one of the great mysteries of life. Why do people feel empathy? Do others deserve empathy? Is feeling empathy a strength or weakness? These questions may forever go unanswered, or they may not even have an answer. Even if they are answered, they may only be speculation. One author shows his take on the matter with one of his books. In The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien uses Gollum and Thorin to show that people do deserve empathy, no matter how horrible they may be.
Empathy has been the subject of scrutiny for many philosophers and writers throughout the years. Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of these speculators and ended up writing an entire story to portray her understanding of what empathy is. She writes in Uncle Tom’s Cabin that if we were all to simply do what makes us feel right and feel strong about it, then we will naturally become more empathetic and thereby a benefactor of the human race. This notion, however, has been contested by many and Leslie Jamison is no exception. In The Empathy Exams, Jamison argues that to be empathetic requires more than a general feeling of rightness; it requires wisdom and energy.
Empathy, is a self-conscious characteristic human beings hold that allows them to understand another individual’s situation and feelings (Segal, Cimino, Gerdes &Wagaman, 2013). In regard to ho...
Chiaet, J. (2014). Novel Finding: Reading Literary Fiction Improves Empathy. [online] Scientificamerican.com. Available at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/novel-finding-reading-literary-fiction-improves-empathy/ [Accessed 5 May. 2014].
Empathy is biased in many ways because connecting can others can seem hard if they are nothing like us. We might try to denying this, but “recent studies have shown
When we sacrifice our time to help someone in need, whether it is a great or small need, we become a part of their life and can help alleviate heavy burdens. We feel good for looking outside ourselves and contributin...
172). The Duke is not a modest man, but him making this seemingly humble statement in the midst of all his power stricken remarks establishes situational irony. Dramatic monologue can make an unforseen ironic statement have an ominous surrounding that totally encompasses the reader's attention. An individual may initially become very disturbed if an unannounced late night visitor knocked on their door, just as the Duke's unanticipated remark brought a weary feeling to the reader.
Empathy, at the turn of the century, was described as a “unique combination of cognitive effort and bodily feeling, thought to characterize aesthetic feelings,” and had been described as so for many years, much like, sympathy. Empathy, however, broke off from the word sympathy and has since been deemed differently as, “moral activity and a more specific physio-psychological process in how our brain is hardwired,” but empathy and sympathy are still thought to share key features in the 20th century, and society couldn’t be more wrong in using the word empathy so loosely. Sympathy is merely and understanding of one’s emotional state, where empathy is the extreme sense, awareness, and feeling of another’s emotional
Careers, school, work, activities, and spending time with friends are only some of the reasons why people are becoming inconspicuous and are unable to show compassion towards the problems and feelings of other people. Having compassion and sharing the feelings and problems of another is called empathy. Displaying empathy towards another person’s stress and worries is an extremely important concept that more people should know about because it will help both themselves and the other individual. Not only does it help them, but it helps shape society. Even adolescent students