Morales 2341 Spring 2015 Class TTH discussion

Do you think Eveline made the right decision? Why/why not? Do not forget to use evidence from the story.

I think that Eveline felt guilty of leaving because her Mother left her in care of the house and of the younger siblings.She was remembering all the familiar items of her house because she would dust once a week and afraid of not seeing those things again .I think she should had left with Frank.She has to make a life for herself and have a family of her own. So she could do things that she wanted to do and not the responsibility that was given to her.

By Eric De Leon
I find it difficult to judge Evelyn’s decision in terms of “right or wrong.” Ultimately, only time and hindsight will tell her if she made the ‘correct’ choice. This is definitely one of those life altering choices which I’m sure she will re-examine more than once. Had she chosen to go, I would not have seen it as a completely unanticipated choice that a 19 or 20 year old would have made. This young adult had to choose between a new life and her familial duties. It seems she made what would arguably be the more ‘adult’ decision. Though I feel it is more important to examine how she came to the decision. It wasn’t so much a choice of volition as it was letting fear of the unknown make the choice for her. In fact, fear seems to be ultimately what drives her decisions. Verse 18 explains how she felt as she finally decided to leave, “She stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must escape!” She was afraid of living a life like mother, an ordinary life that ultimately, lead to nothing. Fear again, paralyzed her from following through with her decision to leave as stated in verses 22 through 23. “All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart.” “She gripped with both hands the iron railing.” “Come!” “No!” While I hesitate to cast judgment on her choice, I can more easily speak to how she makes decisions in her life. When she gives pause for thought and hindsight reveals just how much power she relinquished to fear, she will likely conclude that as her biggest mistake.

I believe that there was no right or wrong decision for Eveline because no matter what decision she would’ve made, maybe she would of regret either or. If she would’ve left with Frank she would have felt guilty leaving everyone behind and just being with him not loving him. I think that during that age you don’t know what’s right, wrong or if we are making the right decisions in life. In verse 28 “her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.” With that verse you knew that her feelings towards Frank weren’t there, she just wanted to be with him to escape from everything. Frank was the key for her to leave everyone behind but she wasn’t strong enough to make a decision. Eveline stays she will always wonder how her life would be with Frank. She would might of regret it maybe not but now she decided to stay where she’s at because she was afraid of failure. She just felt guilty of leaving them behind because she had made a promise to her mother to be there for her father and siblings. The guilty would have always followed and will follow with any decision she made. We are always going to live with the decisions we make, sometime we don’t even know if they’re the right ones but only time will tell.

Eveline made the right choice not going with Frank. He was going to save her from her hard life but she was confusing the hope of leaving with a chance at true love. It is apparent in the text that she doesn't love him when it says "Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love,too". She was going with him for freedom, for a new life, and a chance at love. She thought she could love him because he was nice and was going to take her out of a hard life but when she was about to board the ship, she hesitated and he grabbed her hand beckoning her to come with him. At that moment she imagined his love drowning her. She realized she had acted on impulse and made a mistake and that she didn't and could never love him. His love toward her would be a problem. It would destroy her chance at true freedom and would ultimately suffocate her. She would feel obligated to be with him because her accepting the offer to go with him was basically her tying the knot to a man she didn't feel the same way toward. Her going with him would've been a mistake because she wouldn't be free. Her savior would enslave her and she would become his prisoner.

I think the decision that Evelina made of staying with her father rather than leaving with Frank to Buenos Aires, Argentina was not the correct decision because the story mentions that "Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father's violence." but she was not able to run away from the house because she had made a promise to her mother which kept her from leaving to Buenos Aires, Argentina on a boat with Frank as the story mentions, "Her promise was to keep the home together as long as she could." I believe that she decided to stay with her father rather than leave with Frank to Buenos Aires was because of the promise she had made to her mother before sge died and if she left her father alone she would break the promise that she made to her mother and if anything bad would happen to her father after she left she would not have a clear conscious because she did not went thru with the promise she had made with her mom maybe that is why she did not leave with Frank and preferred to be unhappy.

It's difficult for me to come to a definite conclusion regarding whether Eveline made a right or wrong choice in staying behind rather than leaving with Frank. In fact, I don't think there was one right or wrong choice. My first opinion was that Eveline should leave her bitter home behind and pursue a better life with Frank, despite the fact that Eveline has an old father and two young kids that were left to her care. Frank represents a sense of hope that Eveline can still have a new, happier life and I think that's what the readers want for her. However, as we get to know how she feels about Frank, we realize that the marriage and secure home he can offer her is not really what she wants. "Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live." I think this quote hints at that even though Frank can give her company and security and love - things most people want out of life - what Eveline wants is to make her own life. As they're about to board the boat, Eveline finds herself unable to follow Frank onto the boat. He calls for her and she can't respond. "All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her." At last, we realize that Eveline knows that once she leaves for her new life with Frank, she will return to a life of living bound to a person. To me, that says that she isn't either leaving with Frank nor returning to her home with her father and the kids. Eveline is running off to pursue a life that she wants to create for herself.

I think she was probably making a mistake, towards the end you can sense the apprehension in her thoughts. Eveline wanted to fulfill the purpose her mom had set out for her before she died, and I’m thinking that played a role in her uncertainty towards the end. In the beginning of this passage Eveline is sitting by her window thinking of the past and watching people go by, she seems a bit melancholy describing her childhood at the house. From my understanding her mother and brother had died already as she described them in past tense. Eveline only had one brother left, she mentions how her father abused them as children except her, he’d verbally threaten her using her mother.Eveline does not seem sure if she wants this new life her boyfriend, Frank has to offer her, she doesn’t seem like she wants to get married, but she feels she has to in order to be with him since her father forbids it, I think she is making a mistake, because she would be truly unhappy in Buenos Aryes , reason being read how scared she is to go towards the end, she would end up regretting it in my opinion. In line nineteen you can tell she is completely unsure whether to go or not,“Her distress awoke in nausea in her body and she kept moving her lips in silent fervent prayer”

In the story, I think Eveline did the right decision by not running away. Even if she had a better vision for her future, it did not feel right in the terms she was going away. It was not right to her leaving behind everyone’s back. Knowing that her father did not approve of Frank and not keeping her promise to her mother would have never had her at peace. In my point of view, she did deserve to leave because her father was unfair taking most of her money, abusive and she had a tough life being the responsible one in her home looking over her siblings. Eveline’s father was taking her for granted, knowing that she was always there taking care of everything allowed him to slack off. If she would have left, her father would have been force to act like the guardian he should have been long time ago, ever since the mother died. Everyone deserves to grow up and live their own life, but she would have felt better leaving her family in good terms. It also bothered her knowing that all the people who knew her all her life would of had a bad image of her for running away with a fellow. She did not care much leaving her job which she was tired of, but still this job was the provider of her family’s home. Her responsible thoughts are what made her stay. She knew her siblings needed her to keep the house together and make sure they went to school and got their meals. As much as she wanted to be happy and be saved by Frank, she could not leave. Eveline wanted a better life just like the better homes that were built in her town, but she was a bit scared of change and seems to feel more comfortable keeping her ordinary routine life. She was comfort staying in the only place that will always bring her memories of her mother.

I believe that she made the right decision for her brothers and for the promise that she made to her mother. She had promised to keep the home together for as long as she could. But as far as for her happiness she made the wrong choice, she gave up what could have been the best thing for her. I believe she was like a parent, we as parents give up a lot for our children without thinking twice about it. She knew that if she left no one would be able to take care of her brothers. She knew deep down that she would not be able to leave because she was trying to convince herself that it was not all bad. Trying to remember the good times that she had experienced with her father, also saying that she already knew the people there and they knew her. Her leaving was just a dream that she could have had. It could have been that she was afraid of going somewhere new, or she felt guilty of leaving behind the ones she cared about.

I do not think that Eveline made the right decision of staying with her father. Going with Frank in my opinion would had been better because it was a chance for her to go on and be happy with the love of her life and also to get out of Dublin just like the rest of the people she mention. Also because it seems like she was so tired of the hard and dangerous life she had. I said dangerous because of what she mention “Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father’s violence… and now she had nobody to protect her. Ernest was dead and Harry, who was in the church decorating business, was nearly always down somewhere in the country.” Showing that she had no one really to rely on. Besides that Frank and her had already made plans to “...be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres where he had a home waiting for her.” It sounds like they loved each other and leaving her hard and dangerous life behind didn’t sound like a bad idea after all. It’s not like it would be the end of the world. If she goes with Frank and doesn’t like the life Frank is giving her she can always go back to her hometown and her old life.

“I know those sailor chaps” Evidence from the story that Eveline’s father has a bad idea about Eveline’s lover. Basically Eveline has to choose between family and her lover. I believe family is more important especially at the naive young age of nineteen. Who knows, Frank could have been the one for Eveiline or she could have been just as unhappy as she was without Frank. Even though Eveline's family was slightly dysfunctional it was a more honorable decision and more understandable in my perspective. The feminist perspective is very powerful in this short story, the classical father not approving his daughters choice of man and her decision to sacrifice it all for “love”.

This must have been a hard choice for Eveline. On one hand, she has the opportunity to leave and see the world with someone she is falling in love with and to get away from her abusive father but on the other she made a promise to her dying mother that she would look after the family and keep the house together. There is no right or wrong here but its a decision that will change her future. If I had to choose if she made the right choice or not, its hard to say. I feel she made the right choice on staying, she wasn't thinking of herself. She was taking into consideration of her brothers and I'm sure she thought of her father violent behavior and maybe thought he would take it out on her younger siblings. She had also promised to her dying mother to keep the house together and i feel if you make a promise to a dying parent, you must keep that promise. She also knew that if she stayed it would ease the life of her younger brothers with her still around. Though, we all have to leave the nest sometime in our lives, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

I believe Eveline made the correct decision of not leaving with Frank because it was the ethical thing to do. First of all, she had made a promise to her mother to keep their home together for as long as possible and to care for her siblings. By leaving with Frank, she would have to abandon her siblings and her home to her father who was abusive and evil. I understand that by her staying, it would have made her continue to live a miserable life, but what if she eventually met someone else? Somebody who she would definitely be sure about. And by then, her siblings would be old enough to take care of themselves and live a life of their own.
Second of all I noticed that in the story, Eveline realizes she doesn’t even love Frank enough to leave with him. If she would’ve left with him, she would’ve regretted it because at the time of fleeing, she was only thinking about leaving her father and being happy in love but did she even love this man she met? She would have felt guilty leaving home and family for someone who she would have second thoughts about. Which is exactly what she did. “Her eyes gave him no sign of love, farewell or recognition.”

I believe Eveline had no right or wrong choice in the story. If she stayed with her abusive father or she left with Frank she would regret both at the end. Its sad to know that she wants to escape and be free from the life she has with her father and her younger siblings. But, I see why she wants to runaway. She’’s barely nineteen years old and has the responsibility of a thirty year old women. Also, instead of her thinking about her life or taking care of herself, she has to care for her family, which can take a toll on you emotionally and physically. But, she goes back to the promise she made her mother, “Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the house together as long as she could” her conscience is not letting her go with Frank and if she left ,she would not be in peace with herself and even resent Frank for leaving her family behind. On the other hand, leaving with Frank gives her hope to create a life of her own and even fall in love with Frank. He is her escape from her miserable life. “Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy? She had a right to happiness. Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms. He would save her.” Also, Eveline is afraid to go with Frank because at the end she doesn't love him he will only be her savior. What she wants is to live and have a life of her own. And even going with Frank will be a mistake because she will feel imprisoned by him and his love. “All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them, he would drown her. At the end, we don’t know if Eveline did the right or wrong decision, only time will tell.

Erick Lopez

From my prospective , Evelin made the right decision at staying at home. Now I’m not saying that she has to be there the entire life, I truly believe that everyone at some point have to seek for happiness. What I see here, is that Evelin is willing to “escape” from her responsibilities, she wants to be free. The fact that she wants to marry men to “scape “ from his life , makes me believe that it is just a whim. She is willing to leave with the first man that she meets. As we read “he was lodging in a house on the main road where she used to visit. It seemed a few weeks ago”, it is clearly that they just barely meet. And the fact that at the end of the story, Evelin looks at Frank (his lover) with “no sign of love or farewell or recognition” also supports this idea. Their relation is not based in love, it is just a whim. Also, the fact that she mentions that his father could be very nice, suggest that her life is not all that bad. The way she acts reflects the immaturity of a young person.

I believe this was a tough decision for Evelyn. She was young and for her to try and leave at age nineteen, people would probably think she's not ready and making immature choices. Yet with what she has lived, and the responsibilities she's had all her life, has made her mature and be ready for whatever life has for her. "Escape, she must escape!" She may have just wanted to free herself from that role of a mother, be free and start the life she wanted. There is no fault in wanting to live life better, so if you would of left the reason would be a good one. Yet her father was getting old and she still had two younger siblings, if she left would it show she didn't care? I mean you can't just leave without knowing your family will be okay without you, to me that is cold.

I believe Eveline had a hard decision to make but made the wrong choice. She made a promise to her mom "to keep the home together as long as she could" but she can't stay there forever. There comes a time where you have to move on in life and start living your own life alone. At 19 or 20 it might be crazy to leave with a boy but she needed to escape. "She sometimes felt herself in danger of her fathers violence" and that's a sign of abuse. She doesn't deserve to get treated badly, especially since she would do a lot at home and took care of her brothers. She took the role of her mother and took care of the men in her life so she shouldn't feel afraid around any of them. She obviously feels trapped and "she must escape." Frank was going to help her escape all of that but she decided to go at the last minute. She was over thinking everything which led her to stay with her family. I think she should've went with him because she wanted to escape and the moment she got a chance to she bailed. Now she's just going to go back to feeling in danger around her father. She's taken care of them and it was time for someone to take care of her. Plus if she went with him and didn't like the way things were going, she could've went back to her family. Family will always be there.

In my opinion Evelyn made the best decision for her and her family. Had she left it would of been selfish because she was only trying to escape responsibilities that had been left behind due to her mother’s death. Also for the lack of “protection” she felt she needed when it came to her father’s abuse “And now she had nobody to protect her” so she had a sense of fear at home, which was what gave her the initial idea to leave. Eveline made the right choice because she was only leaving to escape the reality of her current situation and not only was it inconsiderate of her to do that to her family but also to have this guy go out of his way to get her a spot on the boat planning to head back to Buenos Aires only so that she end up realizing wasn’t the right thing to do.

In the Reading "Eveline" the main character faces a rather difficult decision. In the story Eveline is unhappy and feels unfulfilled. She must decide at the end of the story to leave her home with her sailor lover "Frank" (probably a really chill guy) or stay in her home town and take care of her family. She wants to leave so she can be free to travel and see the world; she knows she will be happy like that unlike her mother that was never happy with her life,"in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must escape! He would give her life, perhaps love, too. Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms. He would save her". However at the end she makes her decision and she stays home too frightened and unwilling to let go of her past when she could have had her "dream" with Frank. I believe that even though Eveline didn't take the step forward to pursue her own happiness in life, the fact that she decided to take care of her family shows how well she could have her priorities set up it’s a very responsible decision but she could have just been too scared to take a leap of faith with her lover maybe she knew it would have been too unpredictable. It’s such a difficult problem and it hits especially hard because it’s so relatable in everyday life. I believe that regardless of her decision she would have been unhappy, guilty if she left with frank and always dreaming if she stayed home, but at the end of the day it was the right decision because it was the responsible decision to stay.

I think Evaline made the right decision because she chose what she thought would be best. Of course staying with her father was not what she wanted but she sort of sacrifice her happiness to keep the promise she made to her mother. "Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother". Her promise to her mother was one of the reasons she stayed with her father because her mother wanted her to keep the house together as long as she could. After her mother's dead everything changed. Probably the mother knew that it will affect all of them that is why she wanted Eveline to keep the house together. It is a very unhappy life for Eveline but her family needs her. "but know that she was about to leave it she did not find it a wholly undesirable life." She knew that if she went with frank, she will be very happy. But in that quote she starts feeling like she also has a reason to stay.

Before beginning my discussion, I would simply like to state that I admire this literary piece; I believe many women face challenges similar to that of Eveline’s decision and it is reassuring to know this is not a modernized feeling. In fact women from all era’s in history have been faced and continue to be faced with difficult decisions when it comes down to their family and their spouses/other half’s. With that being said, I personally will not judge Evelin’s decision by the terms of “right or wrong”. She was simply torn between staying home, in a place she had always known and keeping her promise to her mother, “to keep the home together as long as she could”, and going away in hope of a better life with a man whom sincerely loved her. Eveline relied on a “sign” she received when she heard the street organ playing; it was then she was reminded of her mother’s promise. Although there is no evident on what Eveline’s future holds for herself, I do in fact believe Eveline will regret her decision not to leave with Frank. Through the text, it is extremely obvious she is no longer happy as she was when she was a child; it was stated things had changed, and in Eveline’s case they have changed for the worse. Her neighborhood no longer has the ‘homey’ feeling it once had, her mother has passed, her brothers were no longer around, and her father had begun threatening her. Eveline could have had a hopeful future with Frank; a future with a man, her own home, traveling, and most importantly love. Unfortunately she decided not to take the opportunity and now will never know what could have been hers.

Eric wrote: "This must have been a hard choice for Eveline. On one hand, she has the opportunity to leave and see the world with someone she is falling in love with and to get away from her abusive father but o..."

I agree, the decision must have been super hard especially with her father being abusive...

Joanna wrote: "I believe this was a tough decision for Evelyn. She was young and for her to try and leave at age nineteen, people would probably think she's not ready and making immature choices. Yet with what sh..."

I agree, especially at the age of nineteen when young adults are making the transition into adulthood.

Jesus wrote: "I think the decision that Evelina made of staying with her father rather than leaving with Frank to Buenos Aires, Argentina was not the correct decision because the story mentions that "Even now, t..."
I agree Jesus, Eveline had to convince herself to go, deep down she really did not want to go, she may have felt obligated to go though in order to keep Frank happy, but she was already experiencing anxiety.

Eric wrote: "This must have been a hard choice for Eveline. On one hand, she has the opportunity to leave and see the world with someone she is falling in love with and to get away from her abusive father but o..."
I agree with you , Eric she made the right choice in staying, if she had left she would have had that guilt on her for a lifetime and wouldn’t really be living or enjoying herself.

Eric wrote: "By Eric De Leon
I find it difficult to judge Evelyn’s decision in terms of “right or wrong.” Ultimately, only time and hindsight will tell her if she made the ‘correct’ choice. This is definitely o..."

I agree with you, she did make the adult choice in staying. I also believe that she choose to stay because she was afraid of something new, even though she was not treated well she was comfortable.

ChristinaMarie wrote: "I believe Eveline made the correct decision of not leaving with Frank because it was the ethical thing to do. First of all, she had made a promise to her mother to keep their home together for as l..."

I agree with you she made the right choice. She did what she felt was the responsible thing to do and putting her happiness second.

Jaqueline wrote: "It's difficult for me to come to a definite conclusion regarding whether Eveline made a right or wrong choice in staying behind rather than leaving with Frank. In fact, I don't think there was one ..."

I was with you on everything until your concluding statement. That is definitely an interesting theory about her leaving. It seems like it would be a more rationale choice actually, if she can muster up the courage.

Jessica wrote: "I believe Eveline had no right or wrong choice in the story. If she stayed with her abusive father or she left with Frank she would regret both at the end. Its sad to know that she wants to escape ..."

Hi Jessica. Yes I agree with your entire analysis. What Eveline truly wanted was to live life for herself. Because she wasn't leaving with him for the right reasons, she would have felt trapped with Frank regardless.

Eric wrote: "This must have been a hard choice for Eveline. On one hand, she has the opportunity to leave and see the world with someone she is falling in love with and to get away from her abusive father but o..."
Hey Eric, I agree with what you say the grass is not always greener in the other side. She was not respected by her father and by the community around her so why give them more of a reason to not like her.She felt a need to stay with her family and complete her moms wishes.It was a hard decision but I think if she really loved Frank she would of left.

Joanna wrote: "I believe this was a tough decision for Evelyn. She was young and for her to try and leave at age nineteen, people would probably think she's not ready and making immature choices. Yet with what sh..."
Hey Joanna I think it is a hard decision for anyone to make.Even through we think with our hearts and think that it is love our elders know what is best for us. But sometimes our parents do not want to let their children go but that is how people learn from their experiences in life. People sometimes think of things that are good for them but later find out the they were not so good.But people will never know till they learn for own mistakes.

Patricia wrote: "I believe Eveline had a hard decision to make but made the wrong choice. She made a promise to her mom "to keep the home together as long as she could" but she can't stay there forever. There comes..."

Patricia I believed that if she left she was going to escape from her own reality instead of getting through it. Also, her mother wanted her to stay there the most she could. That doesn't necessary mean to stay there forever but I believe she could stay there until she is no longer needed.

Jessica wrote: "I believe Eveline had no right or wrong choice in the story. If she stayed with her abusive father or she left with Frank she would regret both at the end. Its sad to know that she wants to escape ..."

Hi Jessica,
I completely agree with you. Either way she would've regretted making that specific decision.

Miguel wrote: "I think Evaline made the right decision because she chose what she thought would be best. Of course staying with her father was not what she wanted but she sort of sacrifice her happiness to keep t..."

Hello Miguel, I also think she made the right decision because she wanted to keep that promise she made to her mother. Even if it means staying home living a miserable life with her evil father.

Yuri wrote: "In the story, I think Eveline did the right decision by not running away. Even if she had a better vision for her future, it did not feel right in the terms she was going away. It was not righ

Yuri, I really don't know what the right thing for her to do is. Like you said if she would've left the dad would of step up for the family but on the other hand everyone would of been talking about her. I believe that any decision she mad she will still regret it no matter what. Eveline will always be what if I would left with Frank but what I would had stayed. Its one of the hardest decision someone can make specially if she wasn't in love with Frank.

Arlette.Cortez wrote: "I do not think that Eveline made the right decision of staying with her father. Going with Frank in my opinion would had been better because it was a chance for her to go on and be happy with the l..."

Arlette, in a way I do believe that Eveline was tired of her lifestyle in Dublin and wanted a life of her. But, I truly believe that she wasn't in love with Frank, he was her escape from her undesirable life.

Gilbert wrote: "“I know those sailor chaps” Evidence from the story that Eveline’s father has a bad idea about Eveline’s lover. Basically Eveline has to choose between family and her lover. I believe family is mor..."

Girlbert, I agree family should always come first no matter how mad or dysfunctional your family is. Also, we don't know what could of happened if Eveline left with Frank, like you say she could have been happy with him or not. Time will only tell if she made the right choice.

In the short story "Eveline", by James Joyce, Eveline has too make perhaps the biggest decision of her life. To stay at home like a dutiful daughter or leave Dublin with her lover Frank. Frank wanted her to marry him and live with him in Buenos Aires, which she had agreed on secretly. But once she is about to board the ship she starts thinking twice about leaving. She remembers the promise she made to her mom before she died, "to keep the home together as long as she could". She also feels bad leaving her dad because he is old already. Although she loved her dad, she was afraid of him. He was violent and abusive to her brothers. He would make Eveline give him all of her hard worked money and he would make her feel guilty by telling her if she had "any intention on buying Sunday's dinner".
In the end, I believe she made the wrong choice in staying behind because this was her opportunity to finally get away, to be free, to live a fully realized life. She was basically a slave to her dad. I think her father would take advantage of her even though she was all he had. I believe she will regret her decision in staying and not going with Frank to live a happy life. She wanted to free. After all, she did deserve the best.

Ricardo wrote: "Eveline made the right choice not going with Frank. He was going to save her from her hard life but she was confusing the hope of leaving with a chance at true love. It is apparent in the text tha..."

Ricardo I really liked your responses point of view on the choice she made, you're right her suffocation from Frank would be no better than staying trapped at home. And then to leave for just the purpose of escaping and not true love was the wrong reason to go which she does realize at the end.

Yadira wrote: "I believe that there was no right or wrong decision for Eveline because no matter what decision she would’ve made, maybe she would of regret either or. If she would’ve left with Frank she would hav..."

I agree Yadira that the outcomes of either decision were hard to predict making it that much harder of a choice on her.

Janetrendon wrote: "I think she was probably making a mistake, towards the end you can sense the apprehension in her thoughts. Eveline wanted to fulfill the purpose her mom had set out for her before she died, and I’m..."

Although I don’t agree with what you said that leaving was going to be a bad decision. I do agree with you when you say she is completely unsure of what is it she wants to do. But as you can see at the beginning of the passage Eveline is sitting down by her window thinking of her past. For me that is already a sign of her thinking she does want to go because she is already debating and trying to convince herself to go with Frank. Especially how she made it sound when she talked about all the people leaving this town expect for her. Going on and talking about her family and how it was only her father and her left. Besides that her father doesn’t seem like a good person to be around with. I know if it was me in that situation I would take the first ticket out and try to make the best of it. Also remember how back in the day people would marry the first person they met and it was okay as long as that person had something to offer. And in this case Frank doesn’t sound like a bad guy. Eveline made Frank sound like if he really love her and can offer her a better life. If you really think about it Eveline made Frank sound really nice because deep inside of her she really did want to go.

ChristinaMarie wrote: "I believe Eveline made the correct decision of not leaving with Frank because it was the ethical thing to do. First of all, she had made a promise to her mother to keep their home together for as l..."

Although I don’t completely agree with you Christina you are right about Eveline not being completely in love with this man otherwise she would had gone with him no matter the consequences of her act. But I do see it in a completely different point of view because of what this short story mentions about the father. How the father was evil, violent, and took her money away. She really had no saying about anything and maybe Frank was her only ticket out of that miserable life. A thing I have learn about life is that you never know if there is going to be another opportunity and at least in my case I would not want to live a life of regrets. I know you mention how maybe she can wait and eventually met someone else? Somebody who she would definitely be sure about. But what if that never happens? What if she doesn’t ever get that chance again? What if the dad’s violence gets worse? He can end up killing her. What I’m trying to say is that life is full of risk and even if she was to leave with Frank and regret it later. She can always go back home.

Risa wrote: "Before beginning my discussion, I would simply like to state that I admire this literary piece; I believe many women face challenges similar to that of Eveline’s decision and it is reassuring to k..."

Hi Risa, I agree with you. Once a young lady starts turning into a women and starts making decisions of leaving or escaping from that "confortable zone" is hard. Maybe the father wanted her to stay but instead of letting her know, he would just treat her bad and disrespect her. When he said if she wasn't going to buy food, to me, it seemed as if he needs her. If she would of left maybe she would of been happy, but maybe his father would be going through his worse. Maybe Eveline wasn't ready to let go, and she decided to stay a little longer.

Erick wrote: "Erick Lopez

From my prospective , Evelin made the right decision at staying at home. Now I’m not saying that she has to be there the entire life, I truly believe that everyone at some point have ..."

Hi Erick, at this point I'm leaning more agains her staying then her leaving. It seems as if she wasn't prepared to let go, and it also seemed as if she was under pressure. It was either you leave right now or never, that is not the way to make decisions. Her staying may have been the best thing, even though their is signs of maturity.

Miguel wrote: "I think Evaline made the right decision because she chose what she thought would be best. Of course staying with her father was not what she wanted but she sort of sacrifice her happiness to keep t..."
Probably, frank was not the men for her. Why would he take her away from his family? the way I see it is that their relationship was not based in love. It makes me think that she made the right decision at staying. Even do , staying with his father will not what she wanted. Maybe she will eventually meet a men that actually helps her, instead of taking her away from his problems.

Jaqueline wrote: "It's difficult for me to come to a definite conclusion regarding whether Eveline made a right or wrong choice in staying behind rather than leaving with Frank. In fact, I don't think there was one ..."
hi jaqueline, i agree with you i think that eveline wanted to escape from her house because she was not happy living with her father.

Alexa wrote: "In my opinion Evelyn made the best decision for her and her family. Had she left it would of been selfish because she was only trying to escape responsibilities that had been left behind due to her..."
hi alexa, i believe that eveline didn't made the right decision because she wanted to get away from her father, but i can see the point that you are trying to get across because she wanted to run away from her problems by leaving her home but at the end she probably started thinking about everything that was going to change.

Maria wrote: "I think that Eveline felt guilty of leaving because her Mother left her in care of the house and of the younger siblings.She was remembering all the familiar items of her house because she would du..."

Hey Maria. It makes sense that Eveline would have a hard time deciding to leave as she's looking at all the familiar things around her because, even if she hasn't had a good life, they're all she knows. I also wanted her to leave with Frank but I guess she wasn't ready to leave the comfort of familiarity.

Gilbert wrote: "“I know those sailor chaps” Evidence from the story that Eveline’s father has a bad idea about Eveline’s lover. Basically Eveline has to choose between family and her lover. I believe family is mor..."

Hello, Gilbert. Although I wish Eveline hadn't stayed, I definitely understand what you mean in saying that it was the more honorable decision. It's also really interesting that you bring up the opposing view to your opinion which is the feminist view. In my opinion, as a feminist, I think Eveline should have left her home - whether with Frank or by herself - regardless of the father and kids she was leaving behind. I think it was time for Eveline to find her own life that wouldn't make her miserable.