Tairesa S. Holland Dr. Lori Kupczynski LITR221-American Literature since Civil War 29 August 2014 The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Ethan Frome The character that I have chosen for my project is Ethan Frome. He was the best choice of character since he is the one that the reader learns most about, considering he is the basis of the story. Ethan works very hard as a farmer and takes care of his wife, Zeena, who is constantly ill. He has hopes of what he would like to accomplish but is unable to see them fulfilled due to his lack of ambition. There are a few examples of him demonstrating his part of the American mold. Ethan portrayed a kind and loving nature. He took care of both of his parents until they passed away, which caused him to not be able to complete the schooling that he desired. When Ethan contemplated running away with his wife's cousin Mattie, he felt guilty about the thought of leaving his sick and dependent wife alone …show more content…
There is also a lot of symbolism within the novel. Zeena's red dish that Mattie places on the table as a centerpiece that the cat knocks off and breaks is symbolic of the death of Zeena and Ethan's marriage, and even perhaps the eventual death of the relationship between Mattie and Ethan as well. There was also mention of a dead cucumber vine that dangled from the porch. Ethan wondered if it was there to represent his wife Zeena and her bad health and, eventually death. At the beginning of the novel, it is told through the point of view of the nameless narrator who is an engineer. He is very curious of Ethan and desires to learn more about him, so the introduction is biased toward Ethan. Throughout the rest of the story the point of view is in third person, but the focus seems to stay mostly on Ethan. This is expected since the novel is about him and gives us glimpses into his life and