The Struggles in 'Stones'
The Struggles in "Stones"
Life is full of struggles and obstacles that all individuals are faced with and must overcome. Whether emotional or physical, experiences and encounters shape a person's personality and point of view on life. People who are put through more difficult situations can become either more grateful, thankful and want to achieve more out of life or they can eventually become depressed and discouraged about their situation in life. Either way, we must all try to overcome the hard events in life and focus on what makes us happy and satisfied. War has the power to destruct people's lives and inflict unnecessary harm on citizens. People become broken and discouraged when seeing their environment destroyed and people they love killed and harmed. However, these types of events can also make a person stronger and stick up for what they believe in. Therefore, Timothy Findley's Stones suggests that the consequences of struggles in life result in an alteration of personality.
The neighborhood in which the family lived suggests that the Maxes didn't lead the most luxurious life to begin with. After all, they did live "over on the wrong side of Yonge Street" (Findley 70) where "people of class were not meant to live in the midst of commerce" (Findley 70). They survived The Great Depression and they adjusted to the change better than the people living on the west side of Yonge Street. However, the Second World War changed their life forever. The father's spirit once back from the war was broken and damaged. He was a changed man. The children, unlike their classmates, couldn't talk or brag about their father's return from Europe. The father, once a loving and caring man, who never even swore, came back with a different outlook on life. He did not share details about his years abroad. He remained secluded from the family he once loved. His behavior suggests that what he witnessed and experienced over the past few years at war was horrifying and depressing.
Life is full of struggles and obstacles that all individuals are faced with and must overcome. Whether emotional or physical, experiences and encounters shape a person's personality and point of view on life. People who are put through more difficult situations can become either more grateful, thankful and want to achieve more out of life or they can eventually become depressed and discouraged about their situation in life. Either way, we must all try to overcome the hard events in life and focus on what makes us happy and satisfied. War has the power to destruct people's lives and inflict unnecessary harm on citizens. People become broken and discouraged when seeing their environment destroyed and people they love killed and harmed. However, these types of events can also make a person stronger and stick up for what they believe in. Therefore, Timothy Findley's Stones suggests that the consequences of struggles in life result in an alteration of personality.
The neighborhood in which the family lived suggests that the Maxes didn't lead the most luxurious life to begin with. After all, they did live "over on the wrong side of Yonge Street" (Findley 70) where "people of class were not meant to live in the midst of commerce" (Findley 70). They survived The Great Depression and they adjusted to the change better than the people living on the west side of Yonge Street. However, the Second World War changed their life forever. The father's spirit once back from the war was broken and damaged. He was a changed man. The children, unlike their classmates, couldn't talk or brag about their father's return from Europe. The father, once a loving and caring man, who never even swore, came back with a different outlook on life. He did not share details about his years abroad. He remained secluded from the family he once loved. His behavior suggests that what he witnessed and experienced over the past few years at war was horrifying and depressing.
Cited: Findley, Timothy. "Stones." Literature and the writing process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, et . TORONTO: Pearson Education, 2005. 70-82.