PERSONAL RESPONSE: THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN
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PERSONAL RESPONSE: THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN Posted on Saturday, 15 August 2015 |
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PERSONAL RESPONSE: THE UNICORN IN THE
GARDEN
Reading
James Thurber’s was no mere intellectual exercise. It was an experience which
served to reflect a mirror-image of what I am. In this personal response of “The
Unicorn in the Garden”, the topic that i will discuss is the conflict, theme
and character’s moral value that compasses mine.
In my point
of view, the protagonist, which happen to be the husband, has his issue of
marital burnout. From the short story, he has the courage to send his wife to
booby hatch after he lied to the psychiatrist that he did not saw a unicorn.
This shows that he really experienced marital burnout. It reminds me of James
Thurber himself as he wrote this short story during his last year with his
first wife, Althea Adams whom he married in 1922 before he divorced in 1935 and
married his second wife, Helen Wismer in the same year yet remained with him
for the rest of his life. While James Thurber’s “The Unicorn in
the Garden” suggests a cynical version of marriage, a careful analysis of
Thurber’s parents’ marriage as well as his own helps to explain his outlook.
I feel that
the theme that James Thurber tried to emphasise is
communication between the sexes is so difficult that not even life partners
come close to understanding one another. By exaggerating the wife’s dialogue,
Thurber suggests that women’s attitudes need to change before women will be
able to communicate with men effectively. The author also suggests that women
and men are so far from understanding one another that there is no way they can
get along. This short story reminds me of a book that I once read entitled “Men
Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus” written by an American author and
relationship counsellor, John Gray.
The book contains many suggestions for improving relationships between
men and women through understanding the communication style and emotional needs
of the opposite sex. As suggested by the title, the book asserts the notion
that men and women are as different as beings from other planets, and that
learning the code of conduct of the opposite sex is of essential value even if
individuals do not necessarily conform to the stereotypical behavior.
I feel that the character whose values mirror my own moral
compass is the protagonist, which is the husband. The husband is not being
honest to retain his innocence. When the psychiatrist asked the husband whether
he did saw a unicorn or not, the husband lied which cause the wife to be sent
to the ‘booby hatch’. I can really relate to this moral compass. When i was a
kid, I accidentally broke mom’s Chinese vase. I hid the broken vase and when
she asked where the vase went, I would say that I don’t know and that I have
never touch it and never even noticed the vase before. I retained my innocence
up until now.
In my point of view, the concept of marriage in this short
story is controversial and based on modern way of life. When а woman's strength
becomes arrogance as in “The Unicorn in the Garden,” the man defeats her with
the active power of his imagination.
(This section contains 531 words)
P/S: THIS SECTION IS AN EXCERPT OF SOME ARTICLES
if you think that this section is offensive, kindly ask me to take it down :)
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