Taking Care of Relationships
The theme in Joy Williams' short story, "Taking Care," illustrates that we should periodically evaluate our relationships and not take any of them for granted. Jones, the main character of this story, is a local preacher. After his wife is taken ill and admitted to a hospital, it becomes necessary for Jones to take care of everything by himself. During this lonely time he is able to examine his life and he is forced to acknowledge the truth about his relationships with his daughter, his wife, and God. Jones reminisces about a time when he and his daughter were once close. They used to rake leaves together and play practical jokes on each other. "For years on April Fool's Day, she would take tobacco out of his humidor and fill it with cornflakes" (95) This joke may have been a way for his daughter to communicate to Jones that she did not like him smoking and wished for him to quit. Unfortunately Jones continued on in life without giving any thought to how his actions affected his daughter. With their relationship now strained at best, "Jones is full of remorse and astonishment. When he saw his daughter only a few weeks ago, she was thin and nervous. She had torn out almost all her eyebrows with her fingers from this nervo
He starts to abandon this relationship at a time he needs God the most. He has always acted rightly, but nothing has ever come of it. He is merely a "babysitter", not a grandfather, nor a father. After agreeing to watch his granddaughter, he still feels empty. " (95) He has spent his lifetime playing by the rules and look at where it got him. His life has been devoted to apologetics. We must learn that it takes work to maintain a strong and lasting relationship. " (97) Jones has lost the enthusiasm for his work and ministry. Jones is also forced to acknowledge that his relationship with his wife is troubled. The dream cannot be revived" (95) This dream could be that Jones wants to have a relationship with his daughter again, but when he cannot find her in the "face of the baby" he realizes that this wish cannot come true. His wife is in the hospital dying and his daughter has gone mad and left the country. All is being both continued and resumed, but the dream is different. Her fingernails were crudely bitten, some bleeding below the quick.
Common topics in this essay:
God Jones,
Jones Jones,
Unfortunately Jones,
Taking Care,
Fool's Day,
Joy Williams',
,
baby dog,
feels empty,
forced acknowledge,
god jones,
relationship wife,
life devoted,
relationship god,
love wife,
|
Acceptance Essays
