Personal Affirmation

The story explores the idea of personal affirmation as something vital that can be gained by varying avenues and to varying effects based on the methods by which one attempts to gain said affirmation. This thematic exploration is based on the examination of its two central characters, Don and Eden. Don is portrayed as believing that affirmation is best gained through one’s own will and self-conception. This idea seems directly interrelated with the overall isolated nature of Don’s life: “He was singularly unencumbered; had no family duties, no social ties, no obligations toward anyone but his landlord” (14). Don’s focus on self-affirmation thereby enables a life of both independence and potential loneliness. Thus, the narrative articulates the idea that, on one hand, self-generated affirmation is healthy and necessary, but on the other hand, it may lead to a life of persistent isolation.

Eden...