The Individual And The Environment

Michelle Brindle

ENG 302

September 20, 2013

The Individual and the environment

Theodore Dreiser was born to immigrant parents in 1871 in Indiana. He grew up in poverty, religious bigotry, emotional instability and his families frequent moves were made due to the need of money. Mr. Dreiser attended University of Indiana and went into newspaper journalism. He became a pioneer of naturalism, which will be discussed later, through the use of letters. In his writings he used a “mechanic” representation of human life, however he also showed the human desire to survive and the goals of a capitalist society. Being in the field of journalism, Dreiser insisted that writers report life as they see it and not only have an effect on the younger writers, but American life as a whole. Dreiser was first published in 1918. His life experiences and social ideas largely effect “The Second Choice”, especially his ideas of human want and a hate of wealth.

“The Second Choice” is the story of a young woman in her twenty’s named Shirley. She was from a fairly small city, perhaps in the Midwest, in the post war/ pre depression era. Shirley has found herself to be surrounded by two lovers, Arthurs and Burton, she struggles with the idea of finding a husband. She has a down-to-earth, and kind, yet; dull fiancé named Barton Williams. She is with him because he is safe, reliable and in love with her. While Shirley was visiting a friend for Thanksgiving, she meets a man by the name of Arthur Bristow, who is full of adventure, exciting, and romantic. She falls for him because he is “young, energetic, good looking, ambitious and spontaneous” (1383). Arthur plays hard to get, and keeps his distance from her, and never actively shows his love for her. Shirley immediately falls in love with him and begins to involve herself in a complex series of lies to ensure that both men do not find out about the other. Shirley prefers Arthur because he always says yes, yes and sure, sure! He seems to be the perfect match for her. Arthur sends her flowers all the time and gives Shirley the attention she requires. Thinking of the story, it is a complicated twist on the traditional girl meets boy, girl gets boy, and girl loses boy type of story. All through the story, Shirley constantly dotes over trying to figure where she stands in Arthur’s future plans. When she realizes that she does not and never will have a part in them, she experiences difficulty with accepting this and continues to seek out her future with him, she takes it to the point of avoiding Barton like the plague. As the plot continues, he sees her less often, then begins to write her less frequently, until he sends her a last letter. In the letter he does not evade the issue and explains to her of his plans to move to Java. Furthermore, she accepts the advantages of Barton, while still longing for Arthur. As the story comes to an end, Shirley finds herself restrained to choose Barton because her true love, Arthur, does not show interest in her. So in the end Barton’s unconditional love wins her and she decides he is the she should marry.

Throughout the story you see the mistreatment of women and how many women have no choice. In the eyes of Arthur women are objects and expendable. His view of women is to basically have a good time. This is seen on page 1385, “Arthur was headstrong and wanted her every evening that he chose”, this indicates that Arthur does not care about Shirley’s opinions or wishes because he sees himself as superior to her because she is a woman. Then on page 1386 it states “He never seemed to have any fixed clear future for himself in mind”, this clearly illustrates that he is using her. Barton has a plan, however, Shirley ignores it. She is in love. Finally, on page 1387, “beginning of just such days and just such excuses”. This is when Arthur begins to ignore her. This tells the reader that he does not care for her emotions because she is seen as an object to him. However, this is when the “second choice” is first apparent and how she still has desires for Arthur even though he is gone.

The ending line in The Second Choice “Can’t I help? Where’s the tablecloth?” and finding it among napkins and silverware in a drawer in the adjoining room, proceeded to set the table.” (Dreiser 1393) This line sums up the meaning of the story. Women were constrained to society at the time and had a duty to their requirements of playing a large role in the household. This relates to the title of the story because it is the typical dream of women to marry a man like Arthur. He has unique characteristics that would allow women to be their own individual person and they would have more freedom as opposed to Burton whom represents a typical 19th century husband’s view of women.

Dreiser’s long experience in the newspaper industry greatly assisted him in giving an all fact portrayal of both characters Shirley and Arthur. Furthermore, he skillfully puts the reader in the shoes of each character. Additionally, he gives the entire story an almost gloomy state through his skilled choice of words in describing the mournful state of each of the characters. Dreiser’s tone is undoubtedly skeptical, and constantly portrays the routine in life with negative airs. The title alone, “The Second Choice” lends to the overall theme and tone of the story. The choice and use of words in the story is very exact, providing clarity and impact to the message he desires to deliver. He uses everyday language, slang, euphemisms, and doublespeak to send his naturalist message very clearly. Undoubtedly, Theodore Dreiser is an American naturalist. They see humans as reacting to environmental forces or socioeconomic stresses which the average individual is not able to control or completely comprehend, and they frequently and pessimistically depict a lower socioeconomic class of persons, like Shirley, as victims of fate or a cruel environment over which they exert an insignificant amount of control, as does Dreiser.

References

Perkins, G., & Perkins, B. (2009). The American tradition in literature (Concise). (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Theodore Dreiser (pp. 1379-1381), “The Second Choice” (pp. 1381-1393)