Freedom
Samantha Briley
Ms. Haupt
ENG3UV-02
5 July 2013
Freedom is being accepted. Freedom is defined as “the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint” (Dictonary.com).When you arrive to a new town you are somewhat free, although unless you are accepted by the town, you won’t feel free. In his short story, The Strangers that Came to Town, Ambrose Flack shows that true freedom is about being accepted. This is shown by the people in town mocking the Duvitches for who they are, and also by Tom and Andy poisoning the Duvitches fish they caught. The Duvitches don’t feel accepted until the dinner at the Duvitches that changes their perspective on how they are. Firstly, the town mocks the Duvitches about everything. “Before she could put a stop to it, some of their classmates scoffed at the leaf, lard and black bread sandwiches they ate for lunch, huddled in one corner of the recreation room, dressed in their boiled-out ragpickers’ clothes”(Flack 4). In this statement the Duvitch kids don’t feel freedom at school because they are not accepted due to what they eat and how they are dressed. Even the school principal is not very accepting to the Duvitch kids. “Mrs. Lovejoy, the principal, said they were bright, conscientious, pathetically eager but almost pathologically shy” (Flack 4). Everyone in town did not accept the Duvitches, this is well stated when Flack says “To the young Duvitches, like their parents, were considered antisocial” (Flack 4). The Duvitches get mocked by everyone so it is hard for them to be free because nobody in town accepts them.
Secondly, when Tom and Andy poison the Duvitches fish, the Duvitches felt like they are not accepted and have no freedom. “Not only had Tom and I snatched precious food from their mouths but we had brazenly advertised the contempt in which we held them” (Flack 7). Tom and Andy take away the Duvitches meals for almost a whole week that they are not able to afford, that is
Ms. Haupt
ENG3UV-02
5 July 2013
Freedom is being accepted. Freedom is defined as “the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint” (Dictonary.com).When you arrive to a new town you are somewhat free, although unless you are accepted by the town, you won’t feel free. In his short story, The Strangers that Came to Town, Ambrose Flack shows that true freedom is about being accepted. This is shown by the people in town mocking the Duvitches for who they are, and also by Tom and Andy poisoning the Duvitches fish they caught. The Duvitches don’t feel accepted until the dinner at the Duvitches that changes their perspective on how they are. Firstly, the town mocks the Duvitches about everything. “Before she could put a stop to it, some of their classmates scoffed at the leaf, lard and black bread sandwiches they ate for lunch, huddled in one corner of the recreation room, dressed in their boiled-out ragpickers’ clothes”(Flack 4). In this statement the Duvitch kids don’t feel freedom at school because they are not accepted due to what they eat and how they are dressed. Even the school principal is not very accepting to the Duvitch kids. “Mrs. Lovejoy, the principal, said they were bright, conscientious, pathetically eager but almost pathologically shy” (Flack 4). Everyone in town did not accept the Duvitches, this is well stated when Flack says “To the young Duvitches, like their parents, were considered antisocial” (Flack 4). The Duvitches get mocked by everyone so it is hard for them to be free because nobody in town accepts them.
Secondly, when Tom and Andy poison the Duvitches fish, the Duvitches felt like they are not accepted and have no freedom. “Not only had Tom and I snatched precious food from their mouths but we had brazenly advertised the contempt in which we held them” (Flack 7). Tom and Andy take away the Duvitches meals for almost a whole week that they are not able to afford, that is