The Patented Gate and the Mean Hamburger
Robert Warren once talked about the difficult necessity of self knowledge. What exactly does this mean? What does it mean to know ourselves? And does it really matter if we stay true to ourselves. In the story "The Patented Gate and the Mean Hamburger" by Robert Warren, Jeff York is a hardworking farmer who has to choose between keeping his farm or buying the inn that his wife wants. He finally chooses to sell his farm and buy the inn. Sadly, he kills himself shortly afterwards. Jeff York was a man who knew his place in society, where he came from, and the achievements he's made in his life. However, because he fails to stay true to himself in the end, he sells out on his dreams and his life. Jeff York was a man who had a strong identity, he knew what his place was in society and where he came from. When the York family was in town, Jeff York stood on the corner with all the other old farmers not because he had to but, according to the story, "because his father had stood with their fathers and his grandfathers with their grandfathers, or with men like their fathers" He accepted his place in the town and in society, and it was comfortable for him to stand with the other old farmers just like his ancestors had do
the cane was head-tall... So they passed those places by and hunted for the place which was like home and where they could pick up the old life, with the same feel in the bones... who had to work hard just to survive, and he knew the curse that followed them "They only knew the life they knew, and that life did not belong to the fat bottom lands, where Jeff York was quite aware of the accomplishments he made during his life, and rightfully had great pride in them. As Jeff stood with the old sharecroppers on the corner, one thing made him different, he had broken the cycle of sharecropping and had gotten his own place. "It had taken him more than thirty years to do it, from the time when he was nothing but a big boy until he was fifty. It had taken him from sun to sun, year in and year out, and all the sweat in his body, and all the power of rejection he could muster... The work he put in to the place was another testament to his fortitude "when he bought the place, it was not very good. The land was run-down from years of neglect and abuse. But Jeff York put brush in the gullies to stop the wash and planted clover on the run-down fields. He mended the fences, rod by rod. He patched the roof on the little house and propped up the porch, buying the lumber and shingles almo
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jeff York, Robert Warren, jeff york, robert warren, stay true, inn jeff york, Inn Jeff, difficult necessity self, life jeff york, necessity self knowledge, fails stay true, true ourselves, fails stay, sells dreams, inn jeff, life jeff, sells house, patented gate,
Approximate Word count = 873
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
