Why do I have to go through this? A question like this is created on lack of self-acceptance. The medicine bag and Hanging fire both use similar and different ways to develop the universal theme of acceptance. Both authors use conflict, speakers, and word choice to express their unique ideas about the theme. In the story the medicine bag, the universal theme of acceptance is shown in three ways, Conflict, character, and word choice. The main character Martin does not want to accept the medicine bag even though it is part of his family tradition and he needs to take it to continue the tradition. Martin also does not want to accept his grandfather's presence. “His get-up wasn’t out of place on the reservation, but it sure wasn’t here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavement” This shows that Martin has trouble accepting his grandfather when he is off the reservation. “His get-up wasn’t out of place on the reservation, but it sure wasn’t here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavement” This shows that Martin has trouble accepting …show more content…
The conflict of the story is, the main character doesn’t accept or want to accept the fact that her body is changing. The opening sentence of the poem is “ I am fourteen, and my skin has betrayed me” This shows that the girl is having trouble accepting her skin and herself. She also says "how come my knees are always so ashy?" This supports my point that the main character has trouble accepting herself. Following the conflict, we have the word choice. The word die is repeated multiple times throughout the story, as well as the phrase “and momma’s in the bedroom with the door closed” She uses words that show that she is lonely and feels neglected by her mother. It connects to the theme because it shows that she doesn’t feel accepted by the world, by the people she’s surrounded by, and most especially by her