Ethan Brand's tale might change your mind. Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story describes a man who left all he knew to find higher intellect. The cost of succeeding in this lofty goal ends up destroying him. Published in 1850, this disturbing story may leave you puzzled and questioning your own endeavors for learning.
Everyone in the village mocks Ethan and doubts he has found anything at all. Bartram and his young son, Joe, get an eerie feeling from Brand who laughs scornfully. Ethan claims he has found this sin within his own heart.
She has a bachelor's degree in psychology and has earned her teaching license. Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Ethan Brand' is an eerie warning about the pursuit of knowledge. Read this lesson to see a summary of the plot and an analysis of the greater meaning from the story.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Ethan Brand' is an eerie warning about the pursuit of knowledge. Read this lesson to see a summary of the plot and an analysis of the greater meaning from the story. What is the price of knowledge? We often promote lifelong learning as a noble goal because knowledge is power...right? Ethan Brand's tale might change your mind.
Texas has become a more peaceful place, only Ethan can't bring himself to settle down. He doesn't belong in this civilized world, and, really, he isn't even welcome there. None of Ethan's friends or family members invite him inside, and the door closes to lock him out. There isn't anywhere for Ethan to go.
Ethan's complexity includes his love for Martha and his brother, his desire for justice for his nieces, his mistrust of Marty, as well as his attitudes to Indians and sex and contempt for religion.
Ethan spends five years on a lonely quest to hunt down the tribe that holds the girl Debbie (Natalie Wood)--not to rescue her, but to shoot her dead, because she has become “the leavin's of a Comanche buck.” Ford knew that his hero's hatred of Indians was wrong, but his glorification of Ethan's search invites ...
Back in the Wild West, when there was little law and order, it could be said that Ethan, at least, had some responsibility to avenge his brother's death. Marty also might have had some responsibility, since the family had given him such care and affection.
Framed by the remains of a smoking, burning doorway and silhouetted against the light, Ethan squats and surveys the butchered dead, and his head drops as he imagines the torture that three family members suffered, including Martha's rape.
In the 1948 John Ford film, 3 Godfathers, Carey is remembered at the beginning of the film and dubbed "Bright Star of the early western sky..." As an homage to him, John Wayne held his right elbow with his left hand in the closing shot of The Searchers, imitating a stance Carey himself often used in his films.
about five yearsEthan and Martin's obsessive quest for Debbie cover a period of about five years.
In the closing scene with Ethan (John Wayne) framed in the doorway, Wayne holds his right elbow with his left hand in a pose that Carey fans would recognize as one that he often used. Wayne later stated he did it as a tribute to Carey. Off-camera, Olive watched.
Rent The Searchers (1956) on DVD and Blu-ray - DVD Netflix.
Ethan finds Lucy brutally murdered and presumably raped in a canyon near the Comanche camp. In a blind rage, Brad rides directly into the Native American camp and is killed.
The film's complex, deeply-nuanced themes included racism, individuality, the American character, and the opposition between civilization (exemplified by homes, caves, and other domestic interiors) and the untamed frontier wilderness.
In its final moment, The Searchers suddenly becomes a ghost story. Ethan's sense of purpose has been fulfilled, and like the man whose eyes he's shot out, he's destined to wander forever between the winds.”