The Half brothers Essay Example for Free

The Half brothers Essay He doesnt understand how someone could leave another person to die, and to him, the fact they were in a war, where people are killed, doesnt make a difference. I suppose that if a person has not experienced the feelings of what its like to be in a war, to lose someone you dearly love, then there will never be able to totally understanding as to how someone could do something so sad. I also believe that during the 1930s and the 1940s, people had a different way of life. The fact that Mrs Rutter lost her husband in the war made her feel as though the jerry plane crashing was a blessing, and it is obvious she has no regrets. We see how Sandra has an insight at why Mrs. Rutter felt she had nothing to be sorry for in acting this way. The setting of The Half-Brothers shows a sense of loneliness and most of the story takes place on the harsh and lonely Fells. There was also the lack of relatives and friends at the funeral of her daughter. In the text it says that the people who did go were Neighbours my aunt, and one far off cousin, Who were all the friends they could muster It shows that she doesnt even have hope of having anyone to be close to. She has her sister, but they are of very different personalities. Even though Aunt Fanny was a kind, warm hearted creature, who thought more of her sisters welfare than she did of her own Helen felt they couldnt talk to each other and because of this, could not share her feelings of sadness with anyone. This feeling that the main character no longer has anyone to understand them is strong in both of the stories. Later in the story Helen gives birth to a baby boy who she called Gregory. And he became her life. She seemed after that to think of nothing but her new little baby. Helen used her obsession as a way out of thinking about the bad things that were happening to her. Because she had felt so lonely, she found her new child the only thing to make living worthwhile. Her sister was really worried about her still, as she knew that with no money they would surely be unable to survive, so Aunt Fanny stayed, but she knew that something would still have to be done. Thats when William Preston, who was afterwards my father, came in, Helen married William Preston because he said that he would make sure that her child was looked after, the child that was Helens sole reason for being. He basically bought her into marriage, and it is obvious that Helen only married him because of her financial situation. This means that it was clear from the beginning of the marriage that William Preston wanted Helen because of her good looks, and Helen needed him more because she had no money. This made it very easy for him to rule over her. This saddens the reader, as Helen is so weak that she feels that all she has to live for is her only child. Helen falls pregnant again, and was unsure about having another child, as she loved Gregory so much. She guards him with her life, and because of this, she gives birth early due to an argument about Gregory being bad, as she made excuses for his behaviour. William Preston knows that Helen does not love him the way he wishes she would, and he feels jealous by all her love for her sons. He blames everything on Gregory, and when Helen dies due to the early birth, that too is his fault. He is not treated the same as he is only seen to William as a stepson. Almost as though he is nothing but an inconvenience. The ending of the story made me feel sad by what happened. The tension in the darkness out there is that of fear, of shock, but in half brothers it comes across in sadness of the tragic events that happened in the story and the unfortunate fate of Gregory. The Half-Brothers is a very detached story, as the narrator does not seem to have any sort of connection with the people he is talking about, even though he is the second son, he bears no name throughout the whole story. The narrator in The Darkness Out There I would say is Sandra. I think this because right at the very end of the story, it is Sandra who does what seems to be a conclusion, and this brings out her maturity. At the beginning she is annoyed by something so small as who she has to work with, but the events that happen show her how everything is not always as it appears. At the end, it is not only Kerry who has grown, but herself too. My Own Personal Views: I found the story Half-Brothers more informative and its structure appealed to me more because I found it more interesting. However I found the contrast between darkness and light in the story by Penelope Lively rather fascinating. The twist and turns of the short story were very cleverly put together to form a roller coaster of a read. When I was reading the beginning of the story about sunshine and flowers I started to think about the title and how it seemed very strange in connection to what I was reading. The reader could quite easily become stuck into what at first seems like some kind of fairytale, only to be suddenly hit by a somewhat shocking ending which is totally unexpected. Half-Brothers has a rather steady flow. I do not mean by this that there is no tension because that certainly is not the case. The tale has a very tragic structure all the way through, and all throughout reading this story, as a reader, I felt generally saddened almost as though it were a true story.