Summary:
A review of the short story "A Field of Wheat" by Sinclair Ross, in which the wife of a wheat farmer struggles to find her place in her marriage during the 1930s. Although the story is not captivating, it shows the resiliency of the human spirit, as Martha and John kept on despite their terrible living conditions, their isolation, and the harshness of the land that John farmed.
The short story "A Field of Wheat" was written by a Canadian author Sinclair Ross. It is a tale of a woman's struggle to find her place in her marriage. Martha's husband John has always been the pillar of strength in their family, and she has always relied on him. Then after a hail storm, which destroyed their crops it was revealed how strong Martha really was and how her husband also relied on her. Sinclair Ross was born in Shellbrook, Saskatchewan to Peter and Catherine Ross. Ross left school in gr. 11 to work in a bank; he continued this career in Winnipeg until 1968. Then Ross joined the army for four years. He moved back to Canada in 1980 after living in Greece and Spain. He then died in 1996 from Parkinson's disease in Vancouver and was buried in Indian Head, where he went to school as a child. A year later it was revealed in his memoirs that he was a homosexual.
The story is about a family of four living in the 1930s. John is a farmer who just can't seem to get a good crop, every year he works harder and harder but never catches a break. He's given up everything just for the chance to make a better life for his kids. The field of wheat had taken everything away from him, time away from family, youth, spirit and his looks, "he had grown morose, unkept, ugly." He has lost his marriage to Martha, although they had not gotten divorced, there was no communication between them, no passion or romance. They did still love each other but were not in love. John has neglected his wife, she was so desperate for love and affection she got jealous because he wanted a better life for him. "Sometimes, it even vexed her, brought a wrinkle of jealousy, his anxiety about the children, his sense of responsibility where they were concerned. He never seemed to feel that he owed her anything, never worried about her future." Martha resents john for making her stay in such poverty, and working so hard while she longs to be a town lady with their beauty and privileges. "And if she didn't have to work so hard, if she could get some new clothes and corsets, maybe some of the creams and things that the town women used-." Their crops for that year were looking better and they had more than ever, three hundred acres. They were starting to become hopeful of the future that awaited them if the crops were good this year. They had worked so hard for a better than life and almost instantly it was taken away. A hail storm had hit, destroying their crops, killing their dog and ripped apart their house. Martha had tried to persua John into buying crop insurance, but he had been to stubborn and now their hard work had been for nothing. Then Martha had made up her mind, she was not going to live this live of hard work and nothing to show for it. She stormed up to the barn to tell John her revelation, when she found him crying. This had frightened Martha, john had always been the pillar of strength in the family, she felt she had relied on him all these years, but really she had lots of the responsibility also. Martha had finally realized that something could actually emotionally touch john. Then and there she made the decision that she was going to be strong and keep on going with this lifestyle for John in hopes that things will get better.
The story takes place during the 1930s, a time of despair and desperation. The economy was down and the land was just as bad. It was very dry and hard to farm, which was what most people did in those days. People were living on very little, letting animals loose because it was expensive to feed them, eating potatoes for every meal and creating Bennett buggies. Martha and John lived on a farm; they were farming three hundred acres of crops. They had a house and a barn for the horses. Their farm was not close to anyone else, so they were very isolated from other people.
This story shows the resiliency of the human spirit. Martha and John lived in conditions that are considered a terrible misfortune by today's standards. They lived in extreme poverty and used the land to their every advantage, yet the land was not kind to them. Martha wished everyday that she could move into town and be pampered. John worked himself until he was emotionless and ugly. Through all this they still kept on. They worked and worked every year, their kids grew up with bad education and no idea of the outside world. Then a hail storm came and ruined their crop and killed their beloved dog. Martha figured out she had put up with enough; she wanted a better life for her and her children. As she stormed to the barn she found john there crying. She then decided that she would be strong and go on living the same way. Although each one of them had been beaten down, the wheat had taken everything from them, they still kept on. They hoped one day their hard work would pay off, and they could make a better life for their children.
I did not like the story very much, it was very boring and after reading other pieces from Sinclair Ross, it seems like the all the rest. I am a very independent woman and to read about Martha relying on John, being there for him and doing what he wants just made me angry and annoyed. If I was Martha I would have packed my kids and my bags and went to town myself. Of course women rarely did that in those days, but struck a nerve that she was living for the man. Sinclair Ross's stories are very similar, the family lives on a farm, there is a storm and then the woman always goes back to the man.
This is the complete article, containing 1,021 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page).
