Free Essay

A Journey

In: English and Literature

Submitted By xzja
Words 1179
Pages 5
A Journey

“A Journey” is a short story written by Colm Tóibín in 2006. The story follows Mary who picks up her twenty-year-old son David from a hospital. The car ride home is not only a journey in itself but becomes a ride of memories. A ride that through flashbacks shows Mary her journey of life which gets her to start reflecting on the decisions and choices she has made in the past. It is about acceptance. Accepting your life as it is or turned out without looking back and that is the key to start looking forward instead.

This story begins in medias res with a flashback. “’Mammy, how do people die?’” (Tóibín, line 1). The flashback is very important since it gives the readers an insight to what has happened in the past and how David’s childhood was like. It also gives the readers the ability to figure out the course of David’s depression which is interesting because his own mother cannot seem to find a reason. She does not want to accept that she might be the reason for his condition and through several flashbacks throughout her journey, she is trying to find another answer. “She tried not to think, tried to keep her mind fixed on the road ahead, but random images of places in the past kept coming to her, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.” (Tóibín, lines 51-53). She puts her focus on old problems she has had in the past, like selling her father’s shop, as if that is going to solve the current problem who is sitting in the backseat of her car. The protagonist gets the flashbacks on her journey home from the hospital but the flashbacks themselves take her on a journey through her own life. So with all the flashbacks combined, it becomes a point of no return for her since they open her eyes towards a whole new perspective of life. In that way the title can have two different meanings.

It takes place during March and it is dark and cold outside. The protagonist drives past a few roads which could set a location if you know them. “The long main road of Arklow was deserted, and there was just Gorey, Camolin and Ferns…” (Tóibín, lines 46-47), but that is not the most important thing. The significant part of the setting is the social circumstances. The flashbacks play a great part in this too since they are the ones which show the readers these particular circumstances. Without them, the story would have been a big mystery to the readers. With the help from the flashbacks, we are able to analyse the relationship between Mary and the rest of her family which helps us to understand who Mary is as a person.

The story is being told from the perspective of a 3rd person narrator. It is an omniscient narrator with an unlimited point of view. “She pictured as well their first sighting of the old two-storey house beside the school that her father had bought for them when they got married.” (Tóibín, lines 55-56). We as readers are entering Mary’s mind since this is something she is thinking and not saying. In this way, it is easier to picture and describe Mary as a person. The language is based upon her thoughts in her mind. They are reported thoughts and work as a good interplay to an understanding of Mary. We get to know what she is thinking and how she is dealing with different episodes of her life.

Mary is the protagonist of this story. She is the mother of David and the wife of Seamus. Mary did not spend as much time with David as she could have during his childhood.
“They were used to being free. Yet David did not really make the great change in their lives that she expected. Mrs Redmond… came in every day to help her and babysat at night if they wanted to go out… As David got bigger he began to spend more and more time with Mrs Redmond. Often, when Mary went down to the cottage to collect him, he did not want to come home.” (Tóibín, lines 13-19)
This might be the reason of David’s depression but Mary does not seem to notice or think of that. Mary and Seamus had been free for such long time that they did not even notice that they neglected David. Even when she is told by the doctors that her son suffers from depression 20 years later, she still cannot face reality with him and tries to avoid talking about it. Throughout the journey home she keeps asking him if he wants to sit in the front seat instead of asking how he is. It is not until they are almost home that she asks him how the stay at the hospital was.
“’What was it like, David, the hospital? I never could get any sense of it when we visited. I could never tell how you were… But it was the best thing at the time, wasn’t it? I mean there wasn’t anything else we could have done.’” (Tóibín, lines 94-101).
This is the first time she confronts him about his situation. She is starting to face reality and acknowledges that her son is depressed and that her husband is sick. In the end she realizes that there is nothing she can do about it now. “She noticed how strange her well-kept blonde hair looked beside the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth… It was time, she thought, to let the grey appear.” (Tóibín, lines 155-157). It is like she gets a revelation at this point. Like she admits to herself that she has made mistakes in the past. By saying that it is time to let the grey appear, she is accepting her situation and allowing the negative things to come out. She knows that it is not the importing thing. The important thing is to focus on her future and her family.

The main theme in this short story is as earlier written, acceptance. To learn how to accept everything that comes to you in life and every decision you make. Otherwise you might get stuck in the past just as Mary is in the beginning of the story. You have to learn how to accept it all to move forward because there will always be something new that you have to take a stand on. As some might say, life goes on.

So this story is about learning to accept your life as it is. We all have regrets, wishes about undoing some stuff or even handling a certain situation differently and that is okay as long as we learn to accept that what is done is done. When we learn to accept it all, we can let go of the past and look towards a brighter future. Colm Tóibín shows this message very clearly in this short story.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Immgration

...got much [worse and out condition was horrible. The first thing we did was take a boat across the Atlantic Ocean, It took us forever, and it wasn’t any luxurious ride. WE were not happy and there was something bugging our little noses. We had beds in the bottom of the boat. There was bunk everywhere! There were no many people. I didn’t like it because I was feeling like a potato sack. WE didn’t have much room to even get comfortable. There was a storm that rocked the boat and forth, that made me feel sick. The storm bough so much rain that it was actually pouring down like it would ever stop. I did hear a person that did say that the captain thought we might sink. I was getting very scared. Finally the storm stop and we final start our journey. We past the statue of Liberty and that how I knew we were was very close to Ellis Island which we going stop. They put gangplank down; I heard a mad start to scream put your luggage here. He said that one men need to go one direction and women and their children go another. This made me so sad because our families were separated; we hope that we could see our father again. There was a New York inspector board the boat and we had to get medical exam. A man made me take all our cloths off this made me very uncomfortable. They did ask me so many different question like where...

Words: 764 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

A Storm Gathering

...A storm Gathering. Write a summary of A storm Gathering: The story takes place in an underprivileged village in Sudan, where we follow the protagonist Malik. it all begins with Malik lying in his bed while thinking about the deterioration of his village, even though the USA promised that they wouldn’t allow another famine. An unnamed female doctor arrives but Malik gets quite disappointed discovering that she only carries medicine for a few people, even though she carries a lot of food. The female doctor visits the chief of the village, only to discover that he’s dead. When Malik hears about the chieftain died after he received medicine, he fears that the village people will blame him for the chieftain’s death. Just as the panic gets to both of their minds, a storm approaches and Malik sees this as their chance to escape. At last Malik, the female doctor are sheltered in a car. suddenly, Malik is hoping for the storm to last eternally. Characterize Malik: Malik is a master of science of Khartoum University, which is much respected. Despite his cleverness, Malik lives in a poor village, sleeps on a rush bed and the whole village depends on him. Malik seems very insecure and worried with the current circumstances, you can tell anxiousness penetrate his body: ‘’ He lay on his rush bed staring up through the darkness, nervous, slim, naked, wrapped only in silence’’. His body seems like it’s haunted as it seems like he’s used to living in the fear of the worst. And when the...

Words: 602 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

King Lear

...Tiffany Monroe Critical Analysis IV Ms. Gill 12/14/12 Madness and Blindness in King Lear King Lear by Shakespeare is a play that has many motifs and ideals that are supported by its characters. One motif that is introduced in the very beginning is the relationship between blindness and madness. Although the development of this relationship can be seen within characters such as Glouchester the Earl, and Goneril and Regan, the king’s daughters, it is best illustrated by the king himself. The relationship between blindness and madness illustrated in King Lear teaches that blindness will lead to madness, and madness will lead to enlightenment. No character in King Lear experiences the effects of this relationship like the main character himself, King Lear. In the very beginning he proposes a question to his daughters that he has no way of knowing the true answer of; in essence he asks his three daughters how much they love him to see who loves him the most. Two of his daughters, Goneril and Regan feed him lies, and basically tell him that they love him more than life itself. King Lear’s third daughter, Cordelia answers truthfully; she tells him that she loves him for giving her life, and as much as a daughter should love her father. Because of the King’s blindness, he is outraged by this response. He fails to see that Goneril and Regan were lying to get ahead while poor Cordelia, who he then banishes, is the one who truly loves him. The king...

Words: 517 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Poetry Essay: "Storm Warnings" & "Diving Into the Wreck"

...Poetry Essay: "Storm Warnings" & "Diving into the Wreck" In "Storm Warnings," and "Diving into the Wreck," by Adrienne Rich, both have the same idea of creating a place of sanction and comfort. The main lesson to learn from both of these poems is that one must create a place of sanctuary, where one can go back and look back on the past, and finally they learn to move on rather than to try fighting it. Specifically in "Storm Warnings," the narrator is comparing her emotions to the storm brewing outside. To illustrate, "weather abroad and weather in the heart alike come on regardless of prediction," literally means the weather is unpredictable. Also, it means that a person's emotional long haul is hanging by a thread and is erratic. Furthermore, the poem goes on saying that no matter what, you cannot change the weather, "Which clocks and weatherglasses cannot alter." Which just goes on to say that the person will have to come into reference with their emotions, and settle all the little issues. For example, the weather, pain, and sadness you feel inside you can be pretty unpredictable and can surprise you when you aren't careful. Adrienne Rich uses a wide variety of figurative language to create a sense of foreboding and helplessness in her poem "Storm Warnings." The opening of her poem uses imagery to convey the threat of the incoming storm: "winds are walking overhead" and there is a "zone / Of gray unrest" that she notices out of her window. The darkness of...

Words: 1059 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Untitled.

...In some parts of life I have seen through the eyes of my heart, and breathe from the cleaves of my eyes. For so many reasons I have found darkness through the brightest lights in the sunny days and found the deepest bliss through the darkest nights in suffocation. The thought right now is to be thankful, through life-love-lovelife lessons I could never get from any other moments in life. It is as if I am looking down while flying on a blimp; when you could fall and drop your courage in an instant. Such visions, might be overcoming in nights past twelve in every state of my thinking line. When two weeks ago I was spending a lonely time through the city, I was partly enjoying what people might be looking for in days and nights through their loneliness. Carving through woods and trees… and I might be overlooking through carving through people and splash of pudddles and running in the rain and fighting over small things on the street, or even carving through the darkness in the city of lights that are followed by thousands of human’s breaths that smell thoroughly no longer breathable through these contaminated lungs and polluted minds. Then I ran away piercing through the crowds that stare with laughter of suffocation and pain, through those rainy days and lonely nights and peaceful hearts. Then I sip through one beautiful smell of sight in front of me; a cup of Mandailing coffee. As a witness it tries to test the endurance of my loneliness in the city of ignorance. I have found such...

Words: 445 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Winnebago Trickster Tales

...people how insignificant humans really are. Whether it is an outbreak of tornados, or just a really bad case of poison ivy, nature finds a way to remind. Trickster shows that side people think that they are indestructible. Nature also has a way of warning people of what is to come. An example of this today would be kids playing outside while there is thunder. In the beginning of this travel Trickster gets his warning. While on his second journey in the story, he comes upon a voice. The voice said, “He who chews me will defecate; he will defecate!”(108). Trickster then comes to find out that it is a bulb on a bush that is saying this. This is an example of nature warning him, ahead of time, about the consequences of eating the bulb. Trickster, being the arrogant man he is, doesn’t heed the warning by the bush and eats the bulb. This shows just how much this story can still be related to children today. Most children when told not to do something, they will still do it, no matter the consequences. After eating the bulb, Trickster continues on his journey. He keeps commenting on how...

Words: 615 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

A Long Day's Journey Into the Night

...A Long Day's Journey into Night Should “A Long Day’s Journey into Night” be considered an example of Naturalism? Why or why not? Naturalism depicts the realism of events, occasions, life and people. It considers the inescapable force of heredity, social conditions and environment in shaping human character. An intensive analysis of the “A Long Day’s Journey into Night” clearly shows that it is an example of naturalism. This argument is supported by the following facts and discussions. The play has the quality of naturalism evidenced by the unfolding nightmare realities of family life right from the beginning to the end of the play. At act one, Mary, James’ wife is treated from the addiction of morphine and seems to abandon the habit and tries to assume a new life. In some occasions she opted to sleep alone to seek self comfort by avoiding the snoring of her husband. She shows great improvement in health and everybody in the family is happy about her change. Surprisingly, this new life without morphine does not hold long, she is forced by her unhealed addiction and breaks loose into it. The family stress of Edmund bad health, James and Jamie alcoholism may have contributed to her further indulgence into morphine. The fact that one of the family member contracts tuberculosis seems to be anticipated as it is revealed Mary’s father died of it. This case objectively support naturalism, it explains that the disease was passed through...

Words: 898 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Mishka Kornai's Growing Up

...Mishka Kornai, filmed “Growing Up” capturing the essence of maturing in a diverse way. Kornai drew us in and caught our attention by placing seventy-five different individuals in this film, each growing up in a beautiful and complex way. Mishka Kornai displays growing up in a short 16-minute film. The short film by Mishka Kornai is an interesting documentary that uses story telling and film to show us the how complex it is to grow up. The author, Mishka Kornai captures growing up as people transform right in front of us. This documentary features individuals who also have their own thoughts on the aging process. “Growth follows its subjects (75+ “unique” individuals) as they discuss their own personal theories on the aging process – from the innocence of youth to the fragilities of life.” (Munday) The author made sure he caught innocence and the meaning of youth but he also did capture the fragilities in this life. The main idea is to show you a series of different people with different cultures, academics, backgrounds, races, etc. In the film, towards the end one women discussed the overall look at life and said “Growing up is like your reflection in a mirror becoming clearer and crisper as time goes by” Also, towards the end they address that no matter what you want to be and where you want to go you will make it to your destination. Kornai gave us insight on multiple different perspectives of what its like to grow up both through a complex perspective and a beautiful perspective...

Words: 730 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Business

...Hear the lights can’t let no one see me get down He’s alright I know they think I get around U an I got something they cant no about Really only heaven no’s my heart Cuz u know this aint an ordinary love We got so much history and a story about us So come on ova baby We gone light some candles tonight very special We gone do what Eva you like very special Got so many chilling on ice very special Hope u make the rest of my life very special Very special all night Wanna bet, its a little cold on yo shoulder Mama said I will understand when I’m older In my head even if u tell me it’s over Ill pretend u told me I’m your all Cuz u know this aint an ordinary love We got so much history an a story about us So come on ova baby We gone light some candles tonight very special We gone do what Eva you like very special Got so many chilling on ice very special hope u make the rest of my life very special Very special all night Flower gifts restaurants I swear he by me anything I won’t That’s y I’m so quick to put that music on for him to sip to baby We gone light candles What Eva u like Got so many chilling on ice for you baby I hope u make the rest of my night Very special All night We drinking We partying We pouring yea All...

Words: 260 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Essay on Van Der Vaals Forces

...Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you By now you shoulda, somehow, realized what you gotta do I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now Back beat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out I'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now And all the roads we have to walk are winding And all the lights that lead us there are blinding There are many things that I would like to say to you But I don't know how Because maybe You're gonna be the one that saves me And after all You're my Van Der Waal Today was gonna be the day but they'll never throw it back to you By now you shoulda somehow realized what you're not to do I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now And all the roads that lead you there were winding And all the lights that light the way are blinding There are many things that I would like to say to you But I don't know how I said maybe You're gonna be the one that saves me And after all You're my Van Der Waal I said maybe You're gonna be the one that saves me And after all You're my Van Der Waal I said maybe You're gonna be the one that saves me You're gonna be the one that saves me You're gonna be the one that saves...

Words: 275 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Long Day's Journey Into Night

...Long Day’s Journey into Night: The Perpetual Cycles within O’Neill’s Play O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night (1956, 2002) is a depiction of the Tyrone family and the ongoing cycle of events that occur within the span of one single day in their life. At first glance, patriarch James, his wife Mary, and adult sons Jamie and Edmund, appear to be the average family in the year 1912, until one looks further and finds that each appears to be in their own version of purgatory, stuck in a repetition of events and behaviors that are both non-productive, as well as destructive. Ultimately, these result in their being condemned to continually relive the worst events in their life with their most unflattering characteristics, time and time again. Yet, in doing so, they not only self-sabotage, but sabotage each other and prevent any member of the family from realizing any genuine relief or finding any true resolution amidst this perpetual cycle, which is essentially foreshadowed by the title, itself. Therefore, from the ongoing cycle of denial and blame, to anger and guilt, to drug use and abuse, Long Day’s Journey into Night is a cynical story that illustrates the seemingly infinite cycles that depict the perpetual struggles that occur within one family over the course of an average day as the light gives way to darkness. As such, the paragraphs that follow elaborate on some of the most prominent cycles within the story, beginning with a discussion of the Tyrone family’s...

Words: 1933 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Work

...The rising All is rising All is rising All is rising The storm has calmed, all was well. The wind blew calmly and not a worry in sight. The sun rose high and set late. The sea continued to rush. Follow the lights to find a path, the storm has calmed, all was well. Find the lights to to find the path. The wind pickup to disturb the day. The birds fly loud and high above the trees. the night came once again. The river runs long and deep in the valley plentiful of spirt and sand. The storm has calmed, all was well. The wind blew calmly and not a worry in sight. The sun rose high and set late. The sea continued to rush. Follow the lights to find a path, the storm has calmed, all was well. Find the lights to to find the path. The wind pickup to disturb the day. The birds fly loud and high above the trees. the night came once again. The river runs long and deep in the valley plentiful of spirt and sand. The storm has calmed, all was well. The wind blew calmly and not a worry in sight. The sun rose high and set late. The sea continued to rush. Follow the lights to find a path, the storm has calmed, all was well. Find the lights to to find the path. The wind pickup to disturb the day. The birds fly loud and high above the trees. the night came once again. The river runs long and deep in the valley plentiful of spirt and sand. The storm has calmed, all was well. The wind blew calmly and not a worry in sight. The sun rose high and set late...

Words: 356 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Freedom Riders

...actions I have made up my mind to join those people. To stand up and stand out in order to see that discrimination comes to an end. There are some 400 freedom riders putting the Supreme Court ruling to the test. We often go in inter-racial teams from somewhere North in to the Segregated South. Essentially backed by Boynton v. Virginia, (1960) ruling that segregation for passengers engaged in interstate travel was unconstitutional. We all knew what we were getting in to. However, we had no idea just how sideways things were going to go. From violence to being arrested it was apparent that anything was on the table. White vs. Black was the rule of the day and there are some minds that simply could not be changed. Being a freedom rider is a journey in fear...

Words: 977 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

My Days

...ZION TOURS & TRAVELS MAIN ROAD. OPP MEMBER HOSTEL DIPHU ASSAM.IN Phone: 9435166216/9085278260 Thank you for booking with ZION TOURS & TRAVELS. This is your E-ticket. ZION TOURS & TRAVELS wishes you a pleasant journey and hopes to serve you again in the future. Booked on : | 06 Jul 2013 08:15 AM | Contact Mobile: | 9613352779 | ZION TOURS & TRAVELS reference number : | FMN0UX6CLXO | Airline PNR number : | PZ43RP | | | Your E-Ticket as on 06 Jul 2013 08:16 AM To fly easy, please present the E-Ticket with a valid photo identification at the airport and check-in counter. The check-in counters are open 2 hours prior to departure and close strictly 45 minutes prior to departure. Itinerary | From/To | Flight | Date | Dep. | Arr. | Stops | | | | | | | Chennai(MAA, Terminal ) - Guwahati(GAU, Terminal ) | IndiGo 6E-292 | 27 Sep 2013 | 01:30 PM | 05:25 PM | Kolkata | | | | | | | Passenger | Charge Description | Amount | MT / ZACHARIAS MR     [Adult] | Air Fare | 449.00 INR |   | Taxes, Surcharge and Fees | 3,484.00 INR |   | UDF: | 10.00 INR |   | Service Tax: | 1.24 INR |   | Total | 3,944.24 INR | Fare Conditions |  All Guests, including children and infants, must present valid identification at check-in.  Check-in begins 2 hours prior to the flight for seat assignment and closes 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure.  Carriage and other services provided by the carrier are subject to conditions...

Words: 413 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Freedome Riders Journal

...A Freedom Rider De’Shunda L. Davis-Brown HIS/145 The American Experience Since 1945 December 15, 2014 Instructor: James Green Looking back to 1960 and 1961, I am reminded of a time of fear, despair, inequality as well as accomplishment. Being an African American was hard during those times, but, as an activist and active part of the change seen today in 2014, I am proud to say I was a tremendous part of the Civil Rights Movement. Patterned after a 1947 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) project known as the Journey of Reconciliation, the Freedom Rides began in early May with a single group of thirteen Riders recruited and trained by CORE’s national staff. We were a diverse group of volunteers, black and white, young and old, male and female, secular and religious, Northerners and Southerners (Arsenault, 2006). In 1960, the US Supreme Court expanded upon previous rulings and declared segregation in bus terminals, waiting rooms, restaurants, restrooms, and other interstate travel facilities unconstitutional. A year later, SNCC joined forces with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in an effort to test the will of local and federal officials to enforce the new legal decisions. Black and white “Freedom Riders” (as we called ourselves) traveled together on bus rides into the Deep South. During these rides, we challenged the government to protect participants from mobs of Klansmen (members of the Ku Klux Klan) and violent segregationists. In 1961 CORE undertook a new...

Words: 786 - Pages: 4