Stone Angel Essay

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The Stone Angel: Critical/Analytical Response “What idea(s) does the writer develop regarding adaptation?” The Stone Angel, a novel by Margaret Laurence, follows the life story of a woman named Hagar Shipley, told through flashbacks from present to past. Hagar is a very independent and strong woman, even in her old age. She has a very remarkable story, as a woman going through so much in her life without ever asking for help. a•dapt•a•ble/əˈdaptəbəl/Adjective 1. Able to adjust to new conditions. 2. Able to be modified for a new use or purpose. The novel provides great examples of how some humans cannot adapt well in situations in their lives and move on. Hagar avoided dealing with the death of her loved ones, a divorce, moving across the country, and the disownment of her father, and remained same proud and stubborn lady that she always was, even as a small child. Where as if she were adaptable, she’d have let the tragedies and experiences erode and shape her into a better person. The first incident that really showed Hagar’s inability to adjust to things that happen in life, would be in the death of her brother, Dan. They were ice skating in the winter when Dan fell through. Hagar and her other brother, Matt, carried him back to their house across town, soaking wet, in 40 below weather. This caused him to develop pneumonia, a bad case too. Hagar, in attempts to save her brother’s life, biked to find a doctor, but discovered that he was out of town. In Dan’s death, he was delirious and asking for his mother, who had died when he was 4 years old. Matt asked Hagar to put on a shawl of her mother’s, and hold Dan in his last moments. “I can’t. Oh Matt, I’m sorry, but I can’t, I can’t. I’m not a bit like her.” (page 25 lines 10-11) was Hagar’s reply to her brother, causing Matt to be the one to put on the shawl, and pretend to be their mother until Dan
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