A Few Notes For Orpheus Don Bailey Analysis

It can be quite difficult to forget the past and ignore any mistake or regrets that occurred throughout an individual’s life. Oftentimes, individuals who frequently encounter this problem hold on to their past with great tenacity and refuse to let go causing it to become a burden on their life and the life of their loved ones. In the excerpt from “A Few Notes for Orpheus”, Don Bailey suggests that when individuals are forced to deal with uncertainties of the past then they will be unable to reconcile them due to feelings of inferiority and lack of support from their loved ones. Furthermore, they may never be able to resolve these uncertainties due to a perpetual desire for approval. Witnessing the interaction that the loved one, from whom you

This observation can create feelings of jealousy and can further any feelings of inadequacy that an individual has, which will cause tension in their relationship with the loved ones who appreciate them. Throughout the excerpt, the narrator is consistently comparing himself to his daughter. It is evident that he feels incompetent due to his father’s approval of his daughter which he did not receive as a child. He believes that it is “so easy for her to get his approval” and wonders whether it “was easier now” than in the past. This feeling of denial creates an uncertainty of why his identity was inadequate to his daughters. Furthermore, when his father says that “[he] was worse than the girl”, he feels incomparable. Witnessing the interaction that his father has with his daughter creates a deep desire for approval and he is forced to wonder about the other situations within his childhood in which he felt lacking. Moreover, when the narrator admits that “maybe [he] was jealous”, feelings of envy towards his daughter are created. These feelings could have a deleterious effect on their relationship and cause his daughter to desire the same feelings as he desires from his father. He finds himself comparing his interaction with his father to his daughter’s interaction. When his daughter falls off the boat he reminisces back to the time when he too fell off the boat, to get his father’s attention. Remembering his father’s reaction to him falling and using a hook to grab him compared to the current “yelling” and worry he has towards his daughter’s situation creates further feelings of envy. When dealing with uncertainties, individuals will oftentimes find themselves distracted to the point where they are unable to focus on the present which can cause an adverse effect on