The Glass Roses
by: Alden Nowlan
Themes
- Manliness/ The Path to Manhood
- Expectations of Society Growing Up
- Childhood and Innocence
- Pressure from parents
- Pursing self interest
Brainstorming Question:
Character Comparison
Manliness:
- What do you define as being manly?
Expectations of Society through Growing up:
Society defines a man by:
- Strength
- Maturity
- Courageous
- Tall
- Do not cry
- Kindness
For the Polack (Leka)
- His childhood was shattered by the war. The expectation was that in that moment, he was no longer a child. His childhood was ended in that moment.
For Stephen:
- He experiences the transition into adulthood. Thought the short story we see how he battling against his childish instincts because of the external pressure placed by him on his father.
The Polack (Leka)
- Has more world experience and so his idea of a man is broader
- He is more open and more vulnerable sharing his life and his personal experiences.
- Wants to preserve childhood because his sees the value of it instead of seeing it as a weakness.
- Leka defines humanity through the necessity or connections contrasting the isolationist views of Stephens Father.
How the story defines a man:
- strength
- seriousness
- purposeful-
- absence of personal feelings or emotions
- isolation
Stephens Father:
- No emotion
- Solo, no reliance on others
- Physically strong
- Better by himself
- Builds an emotional wall
- Believes childhood is weakness
He sees value in what a man can do physically. Finds his personal value in working hard and provincial for his family.
Essential Questions:
Thumb WAR!!!!!!!!!!!
Find a partner!
Stephens Character Development
- "Like everything else they did, their card playing was serious and purposeful"
- Enviously he studied their family humped backs and ox-like shoulders. He thought despairingly of his own willowy fifteen year old body. The more he observed the easy strength of these men, the oftener he worked himself into aching exhaustion at the end of a pulp saw, the more certain he was that he could never become a man.
1. How do the conflicts surrounding an individuals choices shape their identity?
2. How do the conflicts surrounding an individuals relationship with the world shape their identity?
This process is aided by the Polacks stories:
- His fascination with tales of far off places has attached him to the Polack. But he felt that his interest in such stories was childish: an aspect of the boyish daydreaming that he was suppose to scorn now that he was becoming a man. Apprehensively he glanced over the edge of his bunk to assure himself that none of the others overheard.
- He was a man now. Men did not tell one another fairy tales about catherdrals. But his father and the men at the bunckhouse need never know-
- In the beginning of the story, Stephen is a fifteen year old who experiences the harsh realities of manhood. He is an observant kid, taking notice of the other men's behaviors, physical statures and habits. In the story he is envious of the other men's masculinity, as he feels pressured by his father to grow up into a man. His father expects him to be and meet the societal expectations he is required to in that lumber yard that define his "society" in the story.
- As he struggles with finding his own identity and his true self, the Polack shows him how there is more to life than being the type man his father laid out for him.
- He continues through this battle of deciding what type of man he wants to be, who he associates with and what defines him as an individual.
- By the end of the story, what identity do you think Stephen aligned with? Did he define himself as his fathers or the Polacks definition of a man?
- "He ain't no special friend of mine," he said not sure whether or not he lied
" When the Polack began to tremble and mone, Stephen hesitated for a long time before he reached out to wake him. "
3. How do conflicts surrounding an individuals understanding of self shape their identity?
Symbols Through the Text
The Wind
The Glass Roses
Overview
Credits:
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/rose-meaning.html
https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=glass+symbolism&*
The wind represents Stephen's father and the unrelenting pressure that he places on Stephen. It represents how Stephen's father affects Stephen.
As an example, "The wind stripped his back like an alder switch"
The symbol of roses, are used to display the innocence of a child. This leads to the development into an individual who embodies what roses stand for, love, honor, faith, beauty, balance, passion, wisdom and devotion. These are all traits that help individuals define themselves.
Glass represents fragility, and how easily this developlemt can be shattered.
Shattered glass represents broken dreams and emotional pain based on the life that individual is living
Closing Question
The Ax vs The Pulpsaw
- The cathedral represents Leka's connection to the past and to the real world.
- It also represents childhood and innocence.
- The ax represents adulthood as Stephen is having trouble being seen as a "man" in his fathers eyes, and having trouble using the ax.
- He is much better using the saw which he works together with Leka to use and this shows Stephens human desire for communication and connection.
- It also shows a comparison between Stephen and his father
- "The ax made him feel stupid and ridiculous, it did not belong to him."
- "When his father worked an ax, it was as through the blade grew out of his arm."
The Glass Roses is a story about a young boy named Stephen who faces challenges and expectations in his pursuit of becoming a man. Stephen's childhood innocence is challenged as he transitions and enters into manhood by the vision established by his father and himself. He is working as a lumberjack for his father, and he is surrounded by individuals who represent Stephens definition of a man. They are strong and do not show emotion. Stephen feels like he is less of a man because he doesn't have these qualities. That was until he met Leka. He and Leka have an instant connection and they grow to become close friends. Leka shows Stephen there is more to being a man than having brute strength or to use an ax. Stephen discovers that a true man can express his emotions and use previous experiences to grow.
Who do you relate to?
From the beginning compared to the end of the story, has your opinion on masculinity changed?
What pressures do find yourself conforming to, or ideas you find yourself distancing yourself from?
Any questions regarding the text or ideas presented?
What do you believe Stephen waking the Polack up again at the end of the story means and where do you think it could take Stephen?