Mary-Beth Hughes Israel †Glorifying the Common Occurrence :: Mary-Beth Hughes Israel Essays

Mary-Beth Hughes' Israel – Glorifying the Common Occurrence  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mary-Beth Hughes' short story titled "Israel" is a rich literary piece. Every detail within the story has some sort of meaning and is there for a reason. When analyzed, this story has a lot to say, however, when summarized, the storyline is rather simple. The story contains five characters, the mother, the father, their daughter, and the mother's friends, Dr. Derek Duncalf and Dr. Dan Ovita. The time period is unknown, except that it is during a time when Isralies are fighting to keep their homeland. The narration of the story is first person persona told by the daughter throughout. The setting is a house in London in which the mother is living with her daughter. The father lives in a bachelor pad just down the street. The storyline is that of a dysfunctional family in which the mother lives with her daughter, and the father has resorted to a separate house down the street. Dr. Duncalf is motivated to have a relationship with the mother, while Duncalf's friend, Dr. Ovita, is a pleasant man who is able to fix the daughter's problems by letting her come to Israel with him. The daughter communicates with her parents by mail, and in each reply her father signs it saying, "our love." The short story summarized above illustrates that life is not perfect, and people must make hard decisions in order to make their life happy, satisfying, and acceptable to them. The characters in this short story all show verisimilitude, making them major characters. Each one has his or her own personality, therefore making them round characters and not minor characters. This story, like most literature, contains more than just the details on top. Within the basic story lies oppositions, paradoxes, symbols, conflicts, complexities, ambiguities, tensions, as well as ironies; and each one contributes to what the reader can make of and associate with the story. The title of the story, "Israel," is relating to where the daughter moved to. The country of Israel is also where Dr. Ovita is from, and where he doctors the soldiers. Israel in itself represents a country that is currently fighting. They are fighting for themselves and fighting for their freedom. This associates with the story in a way that each character is doing what ever he or she has to do in order to be happy.