Search
×

Sign up

Use your Facebook account for quick registration

Sign up with Facebook

OR

Create a Shvoong account from scratch

Create your account
Already a Member? Sign In!
×

Sign In

Sign in using your Facebook account

Sign in with Facebook

OR

Not a Member? Sign up!
×

Sign up

Use your Facebook account for quick registration

Sign up with Facebook

OR

Sign In

Sign in using your Facebook account

Sign in with Facebook
Shvoong Home>Books>Petrified Man Review

Petrified Man

Book Review   by:Edke     Original Author: Eudora Welty
  • Summary rating: 3 stars (28 Ratings)
  • Visits : 11816
  • words:600 
ª
 
The Representation of Society in Eudora Welty’s Short story Entitled ‘Petrified Man’
The ‘Petrified Man’ gives an account of a shallow society consisting of self-centred beauticians, hair-dressers and their consumers who take pleasure in chatting about non-sense. Some sentences of Mark Twain in his essay titled ‘Corn-Pone Opinions’ are relevant to these kinds of people: ‘We are creatures of outside influences, as a rule we do not think, we only imitate… The outside influences are always pouring upon us, and we are always obeying their orders and accepting verdicts.’
The characters are puppet-like figures. They do not have a say in their matters but ‘public opinion’ shapes everything and they organize their life according to it. They do not say or do anything devotional or authentic; they also seem to lack real human feelings.
Being influenced manifests itself many times in the story. For example, Mrs. Fletcher, a regular consumer gets resented when she overhears the gossip about her pregnancy. Although she has been wife for many years, she does not long for descendants, and what is more, she does not like children at all. Bringing up kids requires sacrifice and devotional attitude that she totally lacks. She does not seem to be happy or proud because of her condition, but rather interested in the general opinion concerning her.
She pretends to be independent in the sense of not being suppressed by her husband. ‘Mr. Fletcher can’t do a thing with me.’ Taking into consideration that she did not want to have a child, it must have been wanted by her husband, or by social expectations. So, Mr. Fletcher cannot control her affairs.
The regular visits of freak shows by Mrs. Pike is also a typical way of killing time. Her and her friends’ life is so empty that they have to give a meaning to it by doing something which makes them out of their weariness, by doing something groovy or popular.
Believing a palm reader and trying to organize one’s life according to what she says is also a puppet-like deed. They are not strong and determined characters, but purposeless ones, so they adjust themselves to the ‘public opinion’.
These people who just live their life on the surface also believe in stereotypes. ‘Lord, yes, she is from New Orleans. Ever’body in New Orleans believes ever’thing spooky.’ As a parallel to this, they do take care of horoscope. ‘Mrs Pike’s thirty-free, born in January, an Aquarian.’
Mrs. Feltceher, Leota and Thelma call each other ‘honey’, ‘darling’, but there is no true feeling behind these. Just vanity, consuming and adjusting to the world because of their need of conformity keep them together. For Leota, Billy Boy (the son of Mrs. Pike) was nice, but after the event Mrs. Pike disclosed the identity of the petrified man and has become very rich Billy boy is just an eyesore, a burden in her booths: ‘And in the meantime I got to keep that mean, bad little ole kid here, gettin’ under my feet ever’ minute of the day an’ talkin’ back to.’
The petrified man pretends to be petrified, although he would like to hide his real self and past. He puts powder on his face in order not to show his complexion and features, just like the ladies do. Their appearance is very artificial and strained. It is influenced by a shallow society which has incorporated their personality, dignity and humanity. A society where a little boy dares to say back to an adult the following: ‘if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?’
Published: June 25, 2007   
Please Rate this Review : 1 2 3 4 5
Write your own     Comment
View All  
  1. Answer   Question  :    WHAT IS BUJI? View All
  1. Answer   Question  :    who is the petrified man? ( 1 Answer ) View All
  1. Answer  :    The Petrified Man was a serial rapist who posed as a man slowly turning to stone in the Freakshow passing through town. The central irony of the story pivots around him. He is wanted for his crimes, with a reward of 500 dollars. Sunday, June 19, 2011
Translate Send Link Print
X

Top 5

.