Essay on Who Knows and Learning How to Let Go

Submitted By nestorishere
Words: 1854
Pages: 8
Open Document
“Who Knows?” and Learning to Let Go
Haunting and bizarre, Guy de Maupassant’s “Who Knows?” is often seen as a classic ghost story. However, behind the facade of the supernatural events, it is a tale of a man finding himself. In “Who Knows?”, the narrator is haunted by his past relationship and is fearful of new friendship, which leads to his seclusion. Later, he retires from solitude and succeeds in finding himself by immersing in other cultures through traveling. In the end, however, the traveling only suppresses his terrible memory of the past and without finding closure, he relapses and suffers from a mental breakdown. This exemplifies that inner peace and happiness can only be achieved by letting go of fear and embracing change. And this change is important for both society and individual; by changing, we adapt and move on and find a new perspective on life, and if we can’t, we will eventually move backwards, just like the narrator did.
We must first examine why the narrator chooses to be alone and how that affects his place in society. The reason why the narrator likes being alone is because he has been hurt in previous relationship. “My desk hove into view, a rare eighteenth-century piece now containing some photographs and all the letters tracing the sad history of my painful love-life” (172). This is the only time that the narrator mentions his past, and we can see that his prominent memory of his past relationship is of his “sad” and “painful love-life.” The narrator may have been betrayed by his lovers and had his heart torn apart, which may be the reason why he becomes a recluse. By keeping “photographs” and “all the letters” of his failed romantic life, we can see that he is still unable to let go of his tortured past and move on. By knowing that he keeps physical reminder of his failed love-life, we have good perspective of the narrator’s past and how it has affected him. Instead of human companions, we know that the narrator sees his furniture as his friends. “As a result of this I have become… very attached to inanimate objects which were as important to me as human beings... Little by little, I filled my house with theses things and lived in their midst as happily as in the arms of a beloved woman...” (170). Although the furniture lacks reasoning and intellect, the narrator can impose his thinking onto his inanimate companions. By having furnitures as companions, the narrator has complete control over his relationships. The furnitures cannot disagree or agree with the narrator, and they cannot hurt the narrator’s feelings or break his heart like human companions. The narrator’s furniture can also be seen as objects of obsession. He collects the furniture over time, as they represent “a beloved woman” to him, but unlike his past lovers, the furniture will never leave him or betray him. We are again reminded of his failed love life and how he is trying to recreate the perfect relationship through his furniture.
Even though the narrator may have been betrayed by his loved ones in the past, he has flawed characteristics. The story begins with the narrator revealing to us that he desires to be by himself. “I have always been something of a loner, a bit dreamy, you might say but well-meaning unambitious with no particular animosity towards my fellow human beings and fairly content with my lot” (169). Here, he states that he is a dreamer; he can fantasize about how his place in society can be different or how his relationship could have turned out better. This reinforces the fact that he cannot let go and continues to create scenarios where he can achieve happiness. His past has play a huge role to how his present turns out, and unless he can find closure, he will continue to “dream” or fantasize. However, the narrator will never actually be happy because he is “unambitious”, meaning that he will never garner the will power to make his dream possible. This is why he keeps furnitures as his companions since it is
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Who Knows and Learning How to Let Go

Pt1420 Unit 6 Assignment

enticing. Sitting on an old top shelf, for who knows how long, it probably wasn’t the best violin. But I didn’t know that. I felt as if it was something I had always wanted to do. Obviously I was only five, but I felt as if I knew what I wanted to do. Some of those feelings may be attributed to how much I idolized my aunt. She was funny, active, and had kids who I could play with. What more could you want? Later I found that she wasn’t perfect, but who is. I found that idolization was transferred…

Words 2196 - Pages 9

Perfectionism: A Short Summary And Analysis

blame, judgment, and shame… (Rosa, 2016).” In my opinion, perfectionism goes hand in hand with the unwillingness to be vulnerable. Truthfully, I strive not to be in a state of vulnerability to avoid the hurt. The more I can control and not show how vulnerable I am, I felt as though I was showing that I was strong and courageous. Brown is correct in that you can’t just numb bad feeling away (Brown, 2011). In some ways, this protective mechanism has limited my ability to connect with others.…

Words 562 - Pages 3

I Know It's Cheesy But I Feel Grate Essay

Joey 1 Professor Fields English 1A 2 October 2014 I Know Its Cheesy But I Feel Grate Technology has allowed us to connect with people with ease, and has made many tasks so much easier. From desktops to IPhones, the world we live in allows us to communicate with anybody with wireless access with just a couple of clicks of the mouse. From listening to Led Zeppelin, to navigating to the mall, technology has made everyday life more convenient. We can text on cellphones, connect on social networking…

Words 544 - Pages 3

Theme-Based Learning Analysis

First I would let her know that I am thrilled that she is so excited and has taken the initiative to prepare and gather resources that will be helpful to the children’s learning experience. I would let her know that beyond the learning experience we want to make sure that the children in our center are able to develop in terms of the whole child in which all aspects of their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development are being addressed. I would then go on to say that when it comes to…

Words 706 - Pages 3

Overcoming Challenges In My Life

grade two Intraventical brain bleed on the other side. The doctors told my parents that this could effect my movement and not my learning. I went through Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Occupational Therapy for several months. The doctors were…

Words 944 - Pages 4

Importance Of Riding A Dirt Bike

is easier to throw around the bike with the faster punch per Cubic Centimeters. However two-stroke bikes are harder to control and makes learning more difficult for a beginner, they also require frequent shifting. Four-stroke engines often have a broader power band, which makes riding the bike easier. Furthermore, a rider who is just starting out needs to know how to work the bike. Every rider…

Words 956 - Pages 4

Comparing Frederick Douglas's Learning To Read And Write

setting there is also an unconventional setting such as learning from someone who is not getting paid to teach you, for example, when your family teaches you to walk and talk. Education, in my opinion is one of the greatest gifts a person can receive, since it is something we use in our everyday lives. Sadly, some of people take their education for granted, and decide not to use it wisely, which is wrong because there are children in other countries who are wanting to receive one, but sadly cannot, so that…

Words 580 - Pages 3

My Personal Classroom Management Plan Essay

Running head: MY PERSONAL CLASSROOM My Personal Classroom Management Plan Landon Hayes Grand Canyon University: EDU-536 June 12, 2012 Abstract The objective of this paper is to present my personal ideas on how to have effective classroom management. To run an effective classroom, the teacher should have a well developed classroom management plan that should be utilized at all times. A well thought out classroom management plan will not only be a major contributor to your…

Words 1728 - Pages 7

School work ece Essay

only let me express my feelings, ideas and imagination but kept me open minded in knowing that I liked teaching so I wanted to become a teacher as well. My parents encouraged my brother and I to play. They would even join my school and become students. Playing lets kids learn as a child and experience new things. This activity of play was lots of fun because there were no rules or directions. It was my made up game. The game was based on my knowledge and what I thought about teaching and how I saw…

Words 1154 - Pages 5

Essay about Education and People

Learning from Birth to Death "The great aim of education is not knowledge but action." (Herbert Spencer, English philosopher) For centuries, people have followed and looked up to those who are wise, who are knowledgeable. In many ways, owning great breadth of knowledge equates to owning a lot of wealth. “To know” is a fascinating concept that people have surrounded themselves with, but what exactly is “knowledge”? According to MacMillan Study Dictionary, “knowledge” is “what you know, or what…

Words 1653 - Pages 7