“Art for Heart’s Sake” by Reuben Lucius Essay

dodge for Hearts Sake is a short story written by Reuben Lucius Rube G grey-headedberg, an the Statesn cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, who lived between 1883 and 1970. He is best known as a cartoonist and a founding member of Americas National Cartoonists Society.Collins P. Ells expenditure is a wealthy 76-year-old business small-arm who is being treated for a melody of compulsive buying disorder, otherwise known as oniomania His uncontrollable buying habitshe can only suppress the urge to purchase businesses and property such as grocery stores and railroadshave precipitated a innkeeper of mental and physical problems. Dr. Caswell, his doctor, convinces him to try art therapy sessions with Frank gent, a young art student. As the preaching progresses, Ellsworth turns his interest to movie and to the operations of art galleries. He then paints an amateurish picture, which he exhibits at the Lathrop verandah. A letter soon arrives, revealing that the First P rize of the Lathrop Show has been awarded to none other than Ellsworth it turns out that the old businessman has recently purchased the Lathrop Gallery.Written in a combination of third-person narrative and direct speech, the story brings Ellsworth and his taste with art therapy into focus, reaching its climax when the old man, almost improbably, decides to exhibit his third-rate depiction at the Lathrop Gallery (He was going to exhibit it . . . ). The story may be divided into five sections, each of which recounts a different stage of Ellsworths progress from his background as a compulsive property buyer, to Dr. Caswells treatment suggestion, to the art therapy sessions with Frank Swain, to the Lathrop exhibition, and finally, to the startling revelation of Ellsworths purchase of the gallery. Possible section titles Enter a Cranky Property Addict, Cajoled into Rehab, Art is Medicine, Practice Doesnt Always Make Perfect, A Relapse.The story is told in a humorous and, to an extent, ironic tone. We would be hard-pressed to deny the situational humor of a snappy and petulant, albeit in truth wealthy, 76-year-old in a hospital- want establishment. The epithets aloud, raucous splash on the wall and a god-awful smudge, along with the metaphor gob of salad dressing, are teasingly said in reference to Ellsworths weak painting skills. His personified dislike of the pineapple juice prescribed by Dr. Caswell (. . . old pineapple juice comes back.) is likewise worth a smile. By using zeugma (All his purchases of recent years had to be liqui go out at a cracking sacrifice both to his health and his pocketbook.), Goldberg forges a link of irony between Ellsworths health and his currency the more money the old man spends on compulsive property purchases, the more his condition deteriorates. The ultimate irony, however, is that a treatment designed to alleviate Ellsworths oniomania serves only to aggravate it.The character of Collins P. Ellsworth is portrayed, in the mai n indirectly, as crabby, materialistic, and petulant. From the very first lines, we can hear him retorting with the informal nope and brandishing dated colloquial pejoratives (e.g., bosh, rot, poppycock). The simile like a child playing with his picture book brings out Ellsworths childishness, while his impatience is highlighted by his frequent use of the interjection umph. Vain and impatient, he snaps and grunts with satisfaction at his feeble attempts at painting. His legal opinion that moneyas opposed to talentcan buy one anything may non be the best philosophy to live by, for it is money and his uncontrollable urges to spend it that have undermined Ellsworths health. Dr. Caswell is driven by professionalism (. . . with his usual professional calm . . .), logic (He had done some constructive thinking . . . .), and compassion, unendingly acting with Ellsworths best interests at heart. The fact that he recommends Frank Swain as motorbus to the often intolerable Ellsworth, there by helping Swain pay his tuition, also speaks positively of Dr. Caswell. Frank Swain is similarly patient and attentive, which is evident, for example, when he brings the grumpy old man watercolors and oils, or when he politely (not bad, sir.) comments on Ellsworths risible picture, although there is no certain way of establishing whether the remark was or was not used somewhat sarcastically. The character of Koppel, the male nurse, does nothing but fetch pineapple juice and therefrom plays only a subsidiary role in the storyperhaps that of helping fuel Ellsworths grumpiness and of functioning as a sort of human prop in the final amazement scene of the story.As noted above, apart from largely neural vocabulary, the story features a number of dated informal words (as above, e.g., bosh, rot, poppycock), phrases (by gum), and colloquialisms (kinda), which all serve the purpose of portraying Ellsworth as an old, grumpy, and childish man. Vocabulary pertaining to paintingsuch as water-c olors, oils, picture book, gallery, exhibit, and numerous othershelps establish the setting and reinforces the image of Ellsworth as a grown-up bodge fooling around with chalk and crayons.At the syntactic level, brisk, simple sentences account for the majority of the sentences found in the story. If not too simple, the syntax, on the whole, is rather uncomplicated, with a significant number of elliptical (Not bad. Fine.) and exclamatory (Nope dupery Umph) sentences. Such sentences, in conjunction with the straightforward syntax, strengthen the impression of Ellsworths awkwardness. Through repetition (See, make . . .) and aposiopesis (But, butwell, now . . . .), Goldberg imitates the way many people would react in moments of overwhelming surprise.This story is enkindle in that it portrays a complex manold, rich, petulant like a child, and in a unsettled state of mental and physical health. As we watch his ostensible passion for art develop, we may materialize ourselves inspired by his progress and, not infrequently, even divert by his caustic remarks. But when we shoot about his regression at the end of the story, we are bound for disappointmentwe begin to view Ellsworth as a childish and materialistic person not worthy of our sympathy. Is he such a man? That is precisely why this story is so interesting While humorous and ironic on the surface, it poses the trench question of whether Ellsworth is really in control of himself when he decides to purchase the Lathrop Gallery, or whether he is a dupe of a mentall illness none of us would ever wish on our worst enemies. Should we be amused at his regression, or should we pity him?