Life Lessons In Gwilan's Harp, And The Last Leaf

Saving someone other than yourself in a terrible situation is not something everyone thinks about doing, but in this case Stefania Podgorska not only saved herself but 13 others, and they all lived. Podgorska didn’t plan to save all those people it was more a spur of the moment thing, and not only did she help them by getting them food she saved every last one of them; and they all lived to see more days. In life, good deeds go unnoticed, the courage and unselfishness of her mind at that time should not be something someone just forgets about it’s a wonderful thing she did and everyone should know about her. By examining Podgorska and her moral courage it is clear that she deserves all the attention given, and or all the respect others show. Stefania came from a well known Catholic family that served the community, and so, when it came to do what she did i’m sure it wasn’t in her mind out of the ordinary/or heroism.

Her father had kept her very sheltered. After her father dies she is left all alone. For three days she refuses to acknowledge his death, until the towns man makes

However, the feelings and emotions they all experienced cannot be that different. These three short stories, “Gwilan’s Harp”, “The Washwoman”, and “The Last Leaf”, all have examples of loss that the main characters experience. Gwilan, the main character of Gwilan’s Harp certainly loses something precious to her early on in the tale. In an accident driving a cart, her

Even so, this short story, too, sets misfortune as one of its themes. A Gentile washwoman, the main character, enters the life of a Jewish family and shows strength when she faces difficult circumstances. “Only God knows all the old woman had to endure each time she did a wash!... The old woman did not want to become a burden, and so she bore her burden” (Singer). This washwoman perseveres through trials, and when her health dwindles, she manages to faithfully return all the laundry before she passes away.

According to the texts, The Holocaust had a negative effect on the people who lived through it. Jews were first made to fear the Gestapo so greatly that they felt that they were told what to do and had to do it. They were put in concentration camps and Ghettos where they were treated horribly and were badly abused. Soon enough, 6 to 9 million people died as a result of the Holocaust. According to the three texts, Holocaust survivors suffered negative effects due to the fact they had been abused, lost loved ones and treated as less than human.

This is a great example of her knowing that her father and brothers rely on her and her mother to do all the chores. With the young sixteen year old girl, she was involved in an arranged marriage with an older man. The older man had given her this stunning ring one night. At the end of the night she had taken it off her finger and placed it down. In the morning she could not find it, and had informed her husband that she had no idea where it went.

She acted unkind to her mother when she saw this and asked why she was doing this. When the mother confessed what she has done the elder daughter had to face up to the abuse she has put her mother through. Even though the daughter was being unruly and cruel the mother stood proud and strong and did what was needed to provide and feed her children. In conclusion, I believe this is a message of hope and love, not of poverty. The two daughters will one day be mothers, if they are lucky and might have to sacrifice life their mother has.

While reading the 5 fiction short stories there became a common pattern between 3 stories and the characters in them. These stories are “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence, “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen, and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. Every character has the mindset to possibly fulfill their goals to better and/or change their lives. “The Rocking Horse Winner” is about a boy named Paul who wants to win his mother’s love and attention. By giving her the life she always wanted.

She watched her mother die slowly and she watched her dad struggle to take care of her. As a young kid or even as an adult watching the person who is supposed to raise you and teach about love, and everything you need to know in life will greatly affect what type of person you turn into. One of the most heartbreaking things you can go through as a child is watching your mother slowly die and then watching your father struggle to take care of her and provide for the family. Ida went through a lot, her mom was sick and then her mom’s sister Clara came to help out and caused a lot of drama in the family. All the fighting put a lot of stress on young Ida, “Mama charged Clara with sneaking into the house like an enemy, charger that she had always covered papa, berated her for taking advantage of illness to have her way” (283).

This story talks about a family that consists of the mother (narrator) and her two daughters’ (Dee and Maggie). In the story they never say anything about the father because he was dead. The main things that the story is revolving around is the heritage and how it is important, the relationship between the two sisters, how education makes a differences, and finally about how generations changed by time. Alice walker gave the mother an important character in the story and she tried to show us how the father has a very important part of any family.

Her brother finally got her accept that their father was never coming home. That day she realized that her life was no longer going to be the same. She would have to grow up and quickly learn how to fend for herself. She was left with only her mother and her brother. They were deported into a ghetto that traumatized her for life.

This shows that by having extra hope and the will to live, she saved the lives of four people, including herself. If the family did what everyone else did, sitting around hoping for a miracle, than they would have ended up dead like

What are the aspects of loss? The characters in the short stories “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, Isaac Singer’s“The Washwoman” , and “The Last Leaf” by O’ Henry, all suffer great losses in different aspects. Ursula K. LeGuin characterizes Gwilan as a skillful, lighthearted harper; however she suffer a great loss later in her life. Unlike Gwilan, in the short story of Issac and O’Henry, the washwoman and Behrman both live a tragic life since the beginning of the story. The characters in three different short stories suffer losses materially, emotionally, and physically.

This has helped her overcome so much heartbreak, from losing my dad, my sister, and my brother to her own health issues and through it all her faith has never been shaken. I look at my mother with nothing less than amazement. After my dad had his heart attack and could no longer work my mom never failed to provide for all her children, we didn't have a lot but we always had enough. This made me such a humble and grateful person, and I never take anything I have for granted.

While in “The Washwoman” the author uses the loss of the main characters life to expose to the reader one of the key themes of the story. And lastly, in “The Last Leaf” the author uses the loss of Behrman’s life to help shock and surprise the audience of readers. Overall, these authors all use the process of loss to help enhance and better their stories. Out of all the short stories, Ursula K. Le Guin story, “Gwilan’s Harp” consists of the most loss.