Blackberries In June Ron Rash Analysis

Hardships are never easy things to overcome, everyone goes through them; some more than others. Just like we go through them, we also have different ways of handling them. In the short story, “Blackberries in June,” by Ron Rash, every character goes through a hardship. While most deal with them in the same way, there are three characters who are polar opposites. Linda, Matt, and Jamie both face some pretty tough problems, but while one likes to play the blame game, the other looks on the bright side. Linda is a complex character. All throughout the story, she does nothing but complain and while it can get frustrating, we soon learn later on in the story that there is a reason behind her madness. Linda and her husband, Charlton, both struggle financially. Of course expecting to have money left over when someone has had three kids in the first five years of being married isn’t likely. (207) Money problems are a common hardship for many, and when we see someone younger than us with more money, anyone can get jealous and/or angry. Even after having the kids through, Linda doesn’t do much to help lessen her growing money issues. As Matt explains to Jamie, “The money they waste on whiskey and her makeup and

We learn that it’s hard to fix them, and sometimes we want to give up. But throughout this story, Rash teaches that it’s okay to have problems. He teaches us that we can overcome them and move past them, either by ourselves, with others, or just blow them off and put them on other people. He shows how they are each handled through the characters; Linda, Matt, and Jamie. While Linda puts the blame on others, Matt and Jamie take the hardships and work to fix them. After reading the story, it helps us to re-evaluate our choices. Where most give up when they hit a dead-end, others push through it. That’s what needs to be done. Instead of obsessing over the problem, work to better