“My Side of the Matter” demonstrated multiple themes, including acceptance, denial, and regret. The man in this story seems to have made many mistakes in his life. As he tells us right from the beginning, his first mistake is marrying his wife, Marge, and his second mistake was getting her pregnant. Marge seemed to want to have control over their lives, because she moves them to her Aunts’ house where her husband is not welcome. There, being as submissive as ever, doesn’t argue with her aunts when told her husband can’t sleep with her. To me, her aunts are a little naive to think that this married couple should not sleep in the same bed.
But on top of that, the aunts treat this man with no respect, insulting his manhood and being outright disrespectful towards him. I also think this man needs to communicate more with his wife. They seem to be on a strange level, one that is not very loving or sensitive. Marge hardly ever sticks up for her husband while her aunts bash his confidence, making fun of him for just cashiering at a store.
Personally, comparing this story to “The Somebody” I think they should be grateful this man even has a job. There is nothing they can do about their niece being pregnant, and it’s not like she isn’t married. Marge needs to move on and connect with her husband, I think they could work out most of their problems if they just talked with each other. The main tone is this story would probably be described as annoyed. Everyone seems annoyed at each other.
The Report on Southern Literature in Sweat, a Good Man and Story of an Hour
Southern Literature is considered a sub-genre in American literature because of its way of incorporating recurring themes such as dialect, importance of family, town history, rural setting and many more. The stories “A Good Man” by Flannery O’Conner, “Sweat” by Zora Neal Hurston and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin are all written in this southern style and contain similar elements such as ...
In the beginning the man is annoyed with his life and his choices. The married couple are annoyed with each other and finally, the aunts are annoyed with the nephew-in-law and each other. No one in this story seems to be happy about anything, they all fight, they are all angry, and they can’t really agree on anything, leaving them with the extreme measures the aunts took. Whether the husband is telling the truth or not, I do not know. But by the looks of that family, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was. One part of this story that is a strong image and opened a doorway for discussion happened many times.
Each thing the husband said something about the aunts, I get the feeling he is only doing it because deep down he probably likes them. He talks about them numerous times, and to me, if he didn’t like them so much, he would never talk about them as much as he does. Instead, to some extent, I think he likes the way they are strict. In the beginning, he said himself that he regretted marrying his wife.
So when the aunts told them they couldn’t sleep together, I think the husband was happy about it, although he didn’t want to show it. It seems like there is something missing in this story. I don’t find it really is making a very good point. I am confused as to why the man felt he had made so many mistakes.
Why doesn’t he get out of it if he is so unhappy? I think there is a deeper meaning than what I am getting from it. “My side of the matter”.
