While I Was Gone Essay Research Paper

While I Was Gone Essay, Research Paper

While I Was Gone was written by Sue Miller in 1999. The book was published by Alfred A. Knope, Inc in New York. This novel belonged in the genre of Fiction. The novel was relayed in memory when Jo was remembering her days with Eli and everyone in the house. This was about middle age and how people can get stir crazy. If someone.s life is familiar and comfortable for too long, he/she starts to yearn for something more. When that opportunity comes along he/she will be so startled that he/she jumps at the chance. Jo Becker thought she had gotten rid of this desire to do different and exciting things. When a man from Jo.s past arrived in her present life she was startled at first. Then she began to feel restless with her life because of a possibility of a new chapter in her life beginning. Jo went for this chance and almost ruined her life, as she had known it for so long. During this struggle she learned many lessons on life.

While I Was Gone was written in the first person. Sue Miller chose to write the novel from this perspective to get the reader more into Jo.s character. Sue could not have titled the book While I Was Gone if she had written in third person. If a reader reads a novel that is in first person they feel connected with that character. When something bad happened to Jo, the reader felt her pain. Some readers may have had emotions towards Jo that weren.t what Jo was feeling. First person is also easier for writers to get into. Sue Miller only had to tell the story from Jo.s perspective and did not have to worry about anything beyond her vision. This was what made the readers connect with Jo so much.

Throughout Jo.s life she ran. She ran away as a child, she ran away as a young adult, and at this point in her life she just wanted to run again. It seemed like the affair was just her unknowing way. Jo and Eli were similar. They both had something that they were holding in. They were going to explode if they didn.t tell someone. They both made a mistake; they shared the information with the person it would hurt the most. Everyone has things they need to think about and some of those things are better kept private. Jo was someone who hadn.t looked at her life with a great deal of care; she was a person of action. She was a very decisive person. That was what made Jo appealing. It was also what made it hard for people around her who cared for her deeply, to feel close to her at times. Jo was a secretive person, though she didn.t do it on purpose. Her theory was that if it happened in the past, it was not important enough for her to share with the people in her life. She thought the information would only hurt the people she loved and completely unnecessary. Her loved ones felt differently when they found out about her past. They felt alienated and deceived. It took Jo a while to recover from the mournful eyes of her loved ones.

Jo changed a great deal throughout the novel. At first she was not content in her life with her first husband. Then she reached out and changed her personality and identity completely. When one of her close friends died in that new life, she returned to her old life. It was almost like she was being repressed into a normal life. She divorced her first husband and remarried. Jo had three lovely daughters and a committed husband. After her 3 daughters grew up, she started to get antsy and fled back to her old life. She was crippled when it didn.t work out and went crawling back to Daniel in sorrow. Jo had to live with her mistake for the rest of her life. They will never fully go away and there will always be something standing in the way of complete happiness with Daniel. You can forgive, but it was impossible to forget.

Daniel was a constant in Jo.s life. He was always the steady rock that she could fall back on. Daniel dealt with Jo.s inconsistencies exceptionally well. When Jo committed adultery Daniel fell apart because, in his eyes the attempt was as horrifying as the act itself. In Jo.s eyes, the attempt didn.t count. Daniel was incredibly wounded by what Jo did because he felt content with her and was not restless or questioning his life. Daniel was a priest and took these matters seriously. Jo was very confident of Daniel.s love. She never stopped to second guess his actions and his commitment. It seems as though she was taking advantage of his patience, love, and devotion.

Daniel.s approach to life was, we can talk this through, and we can work this through. This gave him a distancing quality from Jo and his life at home. Daniel was a bit of a workaholic, at times it seemed that he loved his work more than his family. This was because Daniel was as committed to his family as to God. Daniel was consistent throughout the novel, until Jo committed adultery. He was unable to speak or look at her. Daniel brought himself around to forgiveness, but only after he had fully expressed to Jo the damage she had done.

Eli was the antagonist of the novel. When he was brought upon the scene, havoc was raised. He interrupted Jo and Daniel.s marriage. Eli was the man from Jo.s past. In a time before Daniel, Jo lived with him in a house of friends. Eli and Jo shared something traumatic that bonded them and the entire house together forever. When Eli reappeared upon the scene, Jo felt like a part of her was reborn. Even before Eli appeared, she was feeling restless. Whe