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Lawn Party Essay

Decent Essays

Lawn Party Ann Beattie writes her short story “The Lawn Party” as a male narrator. Because men tend to be less emotional than women are, this makes the narrator’s point of view more believable. Although this is a story that moves from one agonizing situation to another, the lack of human emotion leaves one with a somewhat empty feeling. One could infer that the author removed all sensitivity from the narrator in an attempt to make him appear aloof, indifferent, and even somewhat callous.

The narrator lost his arm in a car accident. When asked if he would like a plastic arm or claw, he rejected both. When asked what he would like, he calmly responded “air”. Later in the story, he complained that he has to sip beer because …show more content…

She responded by drinking heavily and crying. For some reason he relented and married her as planned. His new wife would not see her sister again; however, he continued to see his wife’s sister throughout their marriage, further demonstrating his lack if sensitivity. Although he had a child with his wife, he does not express any emotion toward either of them.

It had been more than ten years since the affair began that led to the tragic car accident. He had been spending the day with his wife’s sister shopping. She was driving home when she swerved off the road, killing herself, and causing him to lose his right arm. When he awoke in the hospital, he expected his wife to take pity on him. Instead, his wife told him that he had deserved it. She also told him that her sister had tried to commit suicide. When he reflected on the accident, he cannot clearly sort through the possible emotions that would lead this woman to try to kill them both.
Through all of this, he shows no emotion about loosing his wife, arm, or his mistress.

After the accident, his family had their annual lawn party. He spent the entire day upstairs in his room. He refused to go downstairs to the party and socialize with his relatives. He sat there thinking about how his ex-wife was influencing his daughter’s opinion of him yet showed no sorrow and dismissed it. His daughter appeared to have little to do with him and he does

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