Theme Of Isolation In One's A Heifer

Isolation often leads to insanity. Human beings without companionship and love from others are left alone. They get trapped in their own minds, and become a threat to themselves. Remoteness is evident in one of the characters in Ross’ Short story “One’s a Heifer”, where Arthur Vickers becomes a victim of isolation. Desolation is apparent in Ross’s two short stories “The Painted Door” and “One’s A Heifer”. “The Painted Door” tells the story of a married couple, John and Ann, who have been struggling with spending quality time together. A colossal storm is forthcoming and John leaves to go help his father. He invites the neighbour, Steven, over to be with Ann, who often gripes about being alone. John witnesses Ann committing adultery with Steven.

There are many instances in the story how Arthur Vickers is a very violent person. When the young boy tries to look in the box stall Vickers seizes him and strangles the boy but luckily the boy gets away. Ross makes it apparent that his isolation leads to his violent nature by “It was as if he were reaching for a weapon, as if his invisible opponent were an enemy...he hurled the checkers with such vicious fury…” (Ross 425-426). Ross explains to us that Vickers is playing checkers by himself and is mumbling words under his breath. He is pretending to play with someone and the young boy witnesses him pick up a stack of checkers and hurl it at the wall, as if he is trying to hurt the person across from him. In addition, Vickers is supposedly hiding the dead corpse of the girl he last had a relationship with in the box stall. His isolation and insanity take over his mind and body and he must have killed the girl and hid her body. Ross makes apparent Vickers isolation leads to him killing the girl through “I looked up at her. ‘But the stall, then - just because I wanted to look inside he knocked me down - and if it wasn’t the calves in their -” (Ross 430). Ross tells us that the calves came home the prior night which means they could not have possibly be in the stall. This means the girl must have been in their. We even see the boy have an epiphany about the box stall right before the story ends. Arthur Vickers insanity and isolation result in all of the circumstances inside the short story “One’s a Heifer”. In conclusion, isolation results in a variety of fatal circumstances including Ann committing adultery with Steven, an epiphany about John and his death, and Vickers violent nature and him killing the