The Cactus free essay sample

â€Å"The Cactus† revolves around a tiny cactus. Throughout the story, Trysdale, the main character and also the supposed to be groom, ends up losing his bride to another mister. Simply because of actions he chose to take. â€Å"The Cactus† shows great symbolism, character description, and allows for different points of view. When Trysdale proposed, his bride said she’d give him an answer the following day. Indeed she did, she sent him a cactus, one that originates from Spanish land. Previously, to impress his lady Trysdale had lied and told her that he spoke Spanish language. She did not attach a note nor send a message for him, just a cactus with a tag stating a foreign name. Upon receiving the cactus, Trysdale continued to wait around for her response. Later in the evening the two met up for dinner. Expecting an explained answer, Trysdale sat with a heavy heart. The bride on the other hand, was expecting excitement from him. We will write a custom essay sample on The Cactus or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Both feeling opposite things, they eventually faded apart over time. Trysdale later on ended up attending a friend’s wedding, one that would stick with him for a long time. He watched his bride give herself to another man and for time to come that image haunted him. Time passed and another man approached Trysdale, concerned about him, he offed him a drink to ease his conscience. The man noticed the cactus and was highly interested in where he received such a wonderful gift. Trysdale told him that it was given to him as a gift. He asked the man if he was familiar with the species. The man replied, â€Å"Yes. The natives imagine the leaves are reaching out and beckoning to you. They call it by this nameVentomarme. Name means in English, Come and take me. At this point in the story symbolism becomes clear, the cactus sent wasn’t meant to be a lousy response from the bride. Most people typically symbolize a thorny cactus as repulsive and distancing. Throughout this story it is used to not only symbolize the bride’s response, but also acceptance and rejection. Expecting it to symbolize her accepting his proposal, the bride had the cactus delivered to the groom. He did not see it as that. He took her gift as a symbol of rejection. He underestimated the meaning of a lousy and thorny cactus. Trysdale views himself as a man upon a pedestal, full of pride and confidence. That conceit and vanity is what switched things around for him. He let his conceitedness keep him from confronting his bride for a better explanation of the cactus. When he told his white lie about being able to speak the Spanish language, he did it full of confidence. It was a lie that he thought he’d get away with. Little did he know, it had come back to haunt him. Trysdale received the cactus and instantly allowed his pride to take over. He felt he was too good for such a thorny gift. He shuddered at the thought that to others, before now, the garments of his soul must have appeared sorry and threadbare. Vanity and conceit? These were the joints in his armor. And how free from either she had always been. † Trysdale starts to realize where he went wrong. He let his pride over rule love and virtually lost both, all because of a simple lie. Also within the short story, the glove that Trysdale wears is a used as a symbol. O. Henry writes, â€Å"As he slowly unbuttoned his gloves, there passed through Trysdales mind a swift, scarifying retrospect of the last few hours. It seemed that in his nostrils was still the scent of the flowers that had been banked in odorous masses about the church, and in his ears the lowpitched hum of a thousand well-bred voices, the rustle of crisp garments, and, most insistently recurring, the drawling words of the minister irrevocably binding her to another. † The gloves symbolize the feeling of love that Trysdale has no choice, but to slowly let go of. The gloves give him a sense of warmth that reminds him of his past love. Throughout this short story, author O. Henry introduced only a few characters. Trysdale, a bachelor who finds himself battling his own mistakes in trying to gain the bride of his dream, is a man who puts himself upon a pedestal. He is very conceited and lets his conceitedness hold him back from chasing after his bride. Thinking highly of himself, he held excessive pride. Ultimately, he chose to put his pride before his love and lost both. The Bride in the story is described as â€Å"†¦so modest † â€Å"†¦so childlike and worshipful, and (he would once have sworn) so sincere. † In other words, she was the ultimate lady of that time period. Throughout the entire story the bride remains nameless, but also O. Henry consistently kept her out of the ‘spot light’. He needed her in the story to create the problem, but not enough to make her a main character. He did a good job of making her important, but didn’t force the reader to pay too much attention to her. â€Å"The Cactus† is told in a point of view that strongly keeps the reader focused in. O. Henry used a third person point of view to show the main characters thoughts and feelings. By using third person, the reader can relate to the characters much easier. When the author writes about realistic situations, the reader can relate much easier. If the story had not been written in third person, the reader may have found the story boring because it may not have caused them to instantly feel a relation. This story being written in a third person point of view does great deed for the story. Previous to reading this story and knowing what was about, I chose to read it because my grandmother is a big fan of the cacti plant. When I was a young girl my family and I used to go visit her in Arizona, the home of the cactus. For me, it triggered a meaningful memory. After getting into this story, I found O. Henry’s word choice very appealing. His word choice leaves the reader wondering what is really to come next, rather than foreshadowing and making it obvious. If I were to write this story as my own, I would give the bride a larger part. I would give her a name and allow her to show more of her feelings. Overall, I feel the story was written very well. Author O. Henry left me wanting to read more of his story’s, even if they were about cacti’s full of meaning. The Cactus free essay sample Who would have thought that such a small and thorny cactus could have so much meaning. It’s not surprising that O. Henry’s short story, â€Å"The Cactus† revolves around a tiny cactus. Throughout the story, Trysdale, the main character and also the supposed to be groom, ends up losing his bride to another mister. Simply because of actions he chose to take. â€Å"The Cactus† shows great symbolism, character description, and allows for different points of view. When Trysdale proposed, his bride said she’d give him an answer the following day. Indeed she did, she sent him a cactus, one that originates from Spanish land. Previously, to impress his lady Trysdale had lied and told her that he spoke Spanish language. She did not attach a note nor send a message for him, just a cactus with a tag stating a foreign name. Upon receiving the cactus, Trysdale continued to wait around for her response. We will write a custom essay sample on The Cactus or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Later in the evening the two met up for dinner. Expecting an explained answer, Trysdale sat with a heavy heart. The bride on the other hand, was expecting excitement from him. Both feeling opposite things, they eventually faded apart over time. Trysdale later on ended up attending a friend’s wedding, one that would stick with him for a long time. He watched his bride give herself to another man and for time to come that image haunted him. Time passed and another man approached Trysdale, concerned about him, he offed him a drink to ease his conscience. The man noticed the cactus and was highly interested in where he received such a wonderful gift. Trysdale told him that it was given to him as a gift. He asked the man if he was familiar with the species. The man replied, â€Å"Yes. The natives imagine the leaves are reaching out and beckoning to you. They call it by this nameVentomarme. Name means in English, Come and take me. At this point in the story symbolism becomes clear, the cactus sent wasn’t meant to be a lousy response from the bride. Most people typically symbolize a thorny cactus as repulsive and distancing. Throughout this story it is used to not only symbolize the bride’s response, but also acceptance and rejection. Expecting it to symbolize her accepting his proposal, the bride had the cactus delivered to the groom. He did not see it as that. He took her gift as a symbol of rejection. He underestimated the meaning of a lousy and thorny cactus. Trysdale views himself as a man upon a pedestal, full of pride and confidence. That conceit and vanity is what switched things around for him. He let his conceitedness keep him from confronting his bride for a better explanation of the cactus. When he told his white lie about being able to speak the Spanish language, he did it full of confidence. It was a lie that he thought he’d get away with. Little did he know, it had come back to haunt him. Trysdale received the cactus and instantly allowed his pride to take over. He felt he was too good for such a thorny gift. He shuddered at the thought that to others, before now, the garments of his soul must have appeared sorry and threadbare. Vanity and conceit? These were the joints in his armor. And how free from either she had always been. † Trysdale starts to realize where he went wrong. He let his pride over rule love and virtually lost both, all because of a simple lie. Also within the short story, the glove that Trysdale wears is a used as a symbol. O. Henry writes, â€Å"As he slowly unbuttoned his gloves, there passed through Trysdales mind a swift, scarifying retrospect of the last few hours. It seemed that in his nostrils was still the scent of the flowers that had been banked in odorous masses about the church, and in his ears the lowpitched hum of a thousand well-bred voices, the rustle of crisp garments, and, most insistently recurring, the drawling words of the minister irrevocably binding her to another. † The gloves symbolize the feeling of love that Trysdale has no choice, but to slowly let go of. The gloves give him a sense of warmth that reminds him of his past love. Throughout this short story, author O. Henry introduced only a few characters. Trysdale, a bachelor who finds himself battling his own mistakes in trying to gain the bride of his dream, is a man who puts himself upon a pedestal. He is very conceited and lets his conceitedness hold him back from chasing after his bride. Thinking highly of himself, he held excessive pride. Ultimately, he chose to put his pride before his love and lost both. The Bride in the story is described as â€Å"†¦so modest † â€Å"†¦so childlike and worshipful, and (he would once have sworn) so sincere. † In other words, she was the ultimate lady of that time period. Throughout the entire story the bride remains nameless, but also O. Henry consistently kept her out of the ‘spot light’. He needed her in the story to create the problem, but not enough to make her a main character. He did a good job of making her important, but didn’t force the reader to pay too much attention to her. â€Å"The Cactus† is told in a point of view that strongly keeps the reader focused in. O. Henry used a third person point of view to show the main characters thoughts and feelings. By using third person, the reader can relate to the characters much easier. When the author writes about realistic situations, the reader can relate much easier. If the story had not been written in third person, the reader may have found the story boring because it may not have caused them to instantly feel a relation. This story being written in a third person point of view does great deed for the story. Previous to reading this story and knowing what was about, I chose to read it because my grandmother is a big fan of the cacti plant. When I was a young girl my family and I used to go visit her in Arizona, the home of the cactus. For me, it triggered a meaningful memory. After getting into this story, I found O. Henry’s word choice very appealing. His word choice leaves the reader wondering what is really to come next, rather than foreshadowing and making it obvious. If I were to write this story as my own, I would give the bride a larger part. I would give her a name and allow her to show more of her feelings. Overall, I feel the story was written very well. Author O. Henry left me wanting to read more of his story’s, even if they were about cacti’s full of meaning.