Death in the Woods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Death in the Woods - Research Paper Example umber of short stories where the narrator has made an attempt to describe the death of an old woman who dies on her way home from the village, and how soon after, how body becomes transformed mystically. The story is set in the nineteenth century in the deep dark areas of Illinois. This paper helps to provide an analysis on the same. Mrs Grimes is the main protagonist around whom the story has been woven. The narrator has presented himself as a very unreliable source upon which no one has a choice but to bank upon in order to hear the entire story of how Mrs Grimes died. She lived on the edge of society and made a livelihood by selling eggs. She and her husband did not have much standing in society as they were frowned down upon because her husband was called a horse thief. People were under the impression that they did not belong to a good family and thus did not deserve to be a part of the social circle. Mrs Grimes is thus ignored by the people around her, on a daily basis and she is quite used to the fact as well. Despite being quite an old woman, the narrator has described her physique as a rather appealing one. â€Å"A thing so complete has its own beauty.† (Anderson, S) She grew up as an indentured servant in the house of a German man. He treated her badly and made her provide him with sexual favours, as it has been suggested within the book, and this put her in the bad books of his wife, who beat Mrs Grimes up cruelly. However, she was rescued by Jake who helped her escape and married her. However, the two gave birth to a son and daughter – the daughter died during childhood and the son grew up to be like his father, and they both abused Mrs Grimes and gave her the worst time. They treated her much like the German master did and thus the narrator stated that for Mrs Grimes, life had always been rough, brutish and the worst form experienced by her and thus she did not know a different side to life at all. As she grew up, she began to take care of animals