The Power of Decision

Essay by SIDENXUniversity, Bachelor'sB, January 1997

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The Power of Decision

Decisions shape our lives. In history , the decisions of leaders and generals have changed the course of mankind. In today's world , multi-billion dollar corporations rest on the decisions of a few select executives. On a smaller but no less important scale, acting on decisions can liberate people from stagnation. In the story 'The Revolt of Mother' the main character shows us the power of acting on decisions. Mother recognizes the wrongs of her situation and weighs the effect on her family. In the end she acts to free herself and her family from forty years of wrong.

Mother lives forty years with a suppressed dream--a new house promised to her after her wedding. She lives with the everyday routine of cleaning the house and cooking pies for the family. This shows the stagnation of her everyday existence; an existence brought about by forty years of non-decision.

Mother stays content with her shack. 'She was a masterly keeper of her box of a house. Her one living room never seemed to have in it any of the dust which the friction of life with inanimate matter produces'(LACpg.284). This shows the lack of empowerment mother has at this time of the story. This state is partly due to the society--a time that was male dominated and discouraged the wife to speak out--and partly because mother just feel into a routine that included everything except her happiness. I felt that mother centered her life around providing for her family but forgot to look towards her own needs. She bakes pies, cooks dinner and it everything else except things that made her happy. Mother discovers disturbing news when she learns that her future house is giving way to Father's new barn. Mother would have probably let her...