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The Wedding Dress

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The Wedding Dress
A Wedding Dress Literary Essay

In the passage, “A Wedding Dress” by Morley Callaghan, the character Sam Hilton, shows commitment and compassion towards his soon to be wife, Lena Schwartz although her detestable actions. Sam, an honest and devoted man was to meet up with his wife and marry her without any question. Lena’s poor nature to steal a dress ultimately showed Sam’s admirable character. Sam’s actions throughout the passage shows that his attributes are highly respectable, but causes him to be blinded by his soon to be wife’s mistake. Sam Hilton is a working man who devotes his love and honesty towards Lena. For many years, Sam has worked a “good job so [Lena and him] could get married” (1). Having waited and worked hard, this shows that Sam is a loyal man who stays devoted to his love, Lena. If it Sam was not as devoted as he is, he would definitely have not waited fifteen years to marry a woman. In addition to working for a great amount of years, Sam displays on-going love to Lena writing “a cramped homely letter four times a week” (2). By this, Sam clearly shows how he has a desire to maintain his relationship with Lena. His admirable commitment clearly reaches to Lena and she too, stays loyal to her long distant relationship. By the end of the passage, Sam’s conscious compassion soon concludes him overlooking a negative issue. Although his character is overpowering with honesty and devotion, Sam soon seems to be a bystander when facing his soon to be wife’s kleptomaniac behavior. Being a virtuous man, Sam soon displays a character that can’t quite come to terms with Lena’s criminal act. After finding out about Lena’s shoplifting, Sam arrives to the Women’s Court and defends her by saying “she [is] a good woman, a very good woman” (30). Despite still being dedicated to Lena, this shows that he still believes in her honesty. In reality, Lena’s greed overpowers her morals and is definitely not trust worthy after shoplifting a dress. Sam is

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