MLA Sample Paper

to see that Jeanette has fooled herself, and adds the nightmare
as interior proof of this fact.
The reader is supposed to understand what she does not--
that Jeanette's problems don't all stem from Donald, though he
certainly contributes to these problems. Essentially Mason
allows Jeanette to fool herself into believing once Donald
enters the V.A. all her problems are solved. Once the decision
is made to enter the V.A., we are told she looks better, is able
to get a job, and starts reading again (669). In fact, Donald's
absence allows her time to reorganizes her life, by getting off
welfare, rearranging her furniture and assuming a new outlook
(669). The reason her resolution is false is that, like her
problems, her solution is created by an exterior event instead
of a true shift in thinking. We see that she believes she is
changing, and we see that Donald is dealing with his loss and
damage, but Jeanette never addresses the true nature of her own
problems.
The final image of the story is the nightmare, which is
used to evoke a feeling rather than a thought. The language
here shifts from the very straightforward style to a more lush,
descriptive style "she is jumping on soft moss" which turns to a
"springy pile of dead bodies"(670). Nowhere else do we get a
description of Jeanette's surroundings. When Donald's
nightmares occur they are told through Jeanette's POV, and not