Ethan Frome Analysis essays

Ethan Frome Analysis essays Wharton emphasizes the theme of hopelessness and failure numerous times throughout the novel. As a young child, Ethan dreamed of studying science, but his dreams were shattered when he was obligated to return to the farm to care for his ailing mother. After she died, in fear of being alone, married Zeena, and ever since then, he could not seem to get away from his predetermined life on the farm. The theme is emphasizes the theme through the use of symbolism, point-of-view, and setting. Zeena cared so much about a dull pickle dish that she literally cried when she found out that it was broken while she was away. The dish shows how is unable to love people, so she gives all of her love to inanimate objects that can never return the love, proving that the relationship between Zeena and Ethan is hopeless and without love. It also symbolizes failure in the relationship between Mattie and Ethan, due to the fact that in reality they will never be able to be together. The narrator, a young engineer, tells the story of Ethan Frome. The first and last parts of the story are told in first person, while the middle part is told in third person limited-omniscient. The narrator knows Ethan as a tall, grizzled old man, and became interested in him and through many sources, including Ethan himself, educated himself about the mysterious Ethan Frome. The point-of-view is significant to the story, because it allows for flashbacks, which is the form that the majority of the novel is in. Without the use of flashbacks, the story would be much longer because the narrator would have to give more background information. In Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan lives with his hypochondriac wife, Zeena. They live on a small rundown, farm in a poor farming community. Ethans childhood dream was to escape the predetermined life that was passed on from his parents. He went to school to study science, but he was forced to return to the farm w...