A Summer

A detailed Summary of A Summer


An Appealing aspect of Arna Bontemps' short story "A Summer Tragedy" is the way he gives Jeff and Jennie Patton justifiable reasons for choosing to end their lives together. When reading "A Summer Tragedy" the reader learns about the declining health, unfair labor, and loss of life the Patton's fall victim to. This combination of hardships justifies the couple's decision to fulfill the pledge they have made to one another.

The declining health of Jeff Patton is more extreme than his wife's. Jeff's teeth have almost all fallen out, a stroke has left him with one good leg, and his mental faculties are starting to diminish. He cannot even get his bow tied as he attempts to finish dressing. "Jeff twisted his mouth into a hideous toothless grimace as he contented with the obstinate bow. He stamped his good foot and decided to give up the struggle." (88) Jennie Patton is skinny and blind. The effects from osteoporosis have taken over her bones and joints. She seems more dead than alive. "She h


The deaths of all five of the Patton's children are not only a devastating tragedy themselves, but are compounded by the fact the deaths all occurred within a two-year span. Jeff knows the grief is more than his wife can handle at times. He decides to think about something else. He is concerned he might let thoughts of the tragedy slip out while talking to his wife. " A woman like Jennie could not easily throw off the grief that comes from losing five grown children within two year. Even Jeff was still staggered by the blow." (91) The reader never learns the details of this tremendous loss the Patton's have experienced. It only helps to give a better understanding as to why Jeff and Jennie's could choose death instead of life.

Once settled into the car, Jeff is able to reflect back on all the hard and unfair labor he was subjected to as a sharecropper of cotton. "He could not help but reflecting that the crops were good. He knew what that meant too; he had made forty-five of them with his own hands." (93) He

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jeff Jennie, Jennie Patton, Summer Tragedy, Jeff Patton, Jennie Patton's, Jeff Jennie's, jeff jennie, Arna Bontemps', reader learns, elderly couple, declining health, Destiny Appealing, summer tragedy, unfair labor, health unfair labor, justifiable reasons, health unfair, jennie patton, stevenson's dishonesty, declining health unfair,

Approximate Word count = 685
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Summer Iamp39ll never forget the seemingly endless summer camping trips to the lake in the Mojave Desert. We started out early in the morning ... 910 words
  • Summer 2 The Capulet family is one of pride and high social standing. It consists of Lord and Lady Capulet, their young daughter Juliet, and their kinsman Tybalt. ... 629 words
  • Summer Sisters Book Report : Summer Sisters Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume, is a story about a girl, Vix, who takes the reader on a journey through her life. ... 804 words
  • Summer of Fear Summer of Fear I read Summer of Fear, which is a fictional book written by Lois Duncan. It took place in the west between 1990 to present day. ... 463 words
  • Red Summer Red Summer 1919 The Red Scare is about the period in the history of the United States immediately following WWI. The dates are approximately ... 738 words

Professional Essays

  • The Smell of Summer I Description The Smell of Summer Nothing can evoke a memory as strongly or as suddenly as the sense of smell, but it is not always easy to persuade others ... 6746 words
  • Mississippi Freedom Summer Doug McAdam, in Freedom Summer, explores ampquotthe dramatic changes experienced by the volunteers who participated in the Mississippi Freedom Summer campaign, or ... 1300 words
  • A Class Divided and The Women of Summer Films are often used for purposes other than entertainment to educate, to inform, to motivate, and to persuade. ampquotThe Women of Summer,ampquot a documentary ... 711 words
  • Publically Funded Summer Day Camps The introduction of publically funded summer day camps on a massive scale can help address social problems that afflict many disadvantaged young people. ... 4357 words
  • Various Presidential Decisions Throughout the Summer of 1994 ... Question 1 Throughout the Summer of 1994, President Clinton clashed with much of Congress over two pieces of legislation, the Crime Bill and the Health Reform ... 2417 words
  • The Girls in Their Summer Dresses Irwin Shaw In ampquotThe Girls in Their Summer Dresses,ampquot Shaw 6 describes a ampquothappily married manampquot named Michael whose wife, Frances, notices that he always watches and then ... 589 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.