american tragedy

Chapter 4 (2)
Chapter 13 (2)
At first he only made a sound of "Tut! Tsk! Tsk!" It was a click of the tongue, which seemed to Clyde too feeble and useless.Then there was another burst, the head was still shaking.Then he said: "How do you think she would do such a thing?" He turned his head back and stared at his wife, and she stared at him blankly.Then he paced up and down, with his hands behind his back, his short legs involuntarily taking strange strides, his head shaking again, and at the same time uttering a resigned click of the tongue "Tut! Tsk! Tsk!" Voice.

Mrs. Griffiths has always been more courageous, but now in this embarrassing situation, she behaves quite differently, after all, she is more energetic.Resentment, dissatisfaction with life and physical torture penetrated her whole body like an invisible shadow.Then, when her husband stood up, she immediately reached out to take the note, stared at the paper, and her face sank, revealing some determined yet distressed and flustered lines.Her expression showed that she was in a mess and very troubled, as if she was trying hard to untie a difficult knot, but she couldn't untie it; she wanted to suppress and get rid of the resentment in her heart, but she couldn't help being angry or complaining.Now that she had been preaching for so many years, it seemed to her not-so-sound conscience that she deserved to be spared such misfortunes.Where was her God, her Christ, in such an obvious act of evil? Why didn't he help her? How did he explain it? He said so in the Bible Good! He always guides people! He said be merciful!

Clyde could see very clearly that it was really not easy for her to understand the reason behind such a major disaster, at least she couldn't do it all at once.But in the end, it will definitely be untied, and Clyde understands this.Because she and Asa, like all religious people, rely on their blind dualism view, on the one hand, they believe that God is the almighty ruler, and at the same time, they firmly believe that all disasters and mistakes in the world have nothing to do with God.They will find another source of misfortune, anyway, there is always a vicious, insidious, deceitful way, which will oppose the omniscience and omnipotence of God, and will seduce and lead people astray.In the final analysis, it is still attributed to the fallacy and evil of the human heart.Though God also made the human heart, He does not restrain it, because He would not restrain it.

But at this time, she was only filled with grievance and anger, her lips did not move like Asa's, and her eyes did not show infinite pain like his.Not only that, but she took a step back, re-read Esta's letter viciously, and said to Asa: "She's eloped with someone, but she doesn't say it's..." She broke off abruptly. Yes, for the children were there--Clyde, Julia, and Frank, all present, and all staring intently with curious, half-believing expressions. "Come up here," she called to her husband, "and talk to you. Go to bed, children, and we'll be back in a minute."

So she and Asa hurried into the little room behind the church, and the children heard her click on the light.Then they heard their parents talking in a low voice, Clyde, Julia and Frank looked at me, I looked at you, but Frank was only ten years old and didn't understand the meaning of it, and Julia didn't quite understand it.However, Clyde has more life experience and heard what his mother said (“she eloped with someone”), so she understands it quite thoroughly.Esta was just as tired of it as he was.The one who eloped with her was probably the kind of playboy he had seen on the street playing with pretty girls.But where was it? What was he like? The note must have said something, but his mother didn't let him read it.It would be great if he would just take a look first without making a sound!

"Do you think she'll never come back?" he asked Julia suspiciously, taking advantage of her parents' absence from the room, and Julia herself was looking dazed and bewildered.

"How should I know?" she replied with some disgust, vexed at the sight of her parents' misfortune and furtiveness, combined with her resentment at Esta's behaviour. "She never said anything to me. I think she'd be ashamed if she did."

Julia, who was calmer in affection than Esta and Clyde, and more conventionally considerate with her parents, made it all the more distressed at this time.Although she didn't have a complete understanding of this matter, she could guess a little bit, because she had talked with other girls, but she was very cautious and careful.But what annoyed her the most now was that Esta's way of leaving was wrong.She shouldn't have abandoned her parents and younger brother.She really shouldn't have walked away like this, done such a thing, and made her parents so anxious.It's just horrific.There was a bleak scene in the house.

While his parents were talking in the little room, Clyde was also thinking, because he was full of curiosity about life at this time.What was the matter with Esta? Was it the dreaded elopement sort of thing, or the indecent sort of thing that boys in the street and at school used to whisper about? He Thinking about it is very worrying, I am afraid that is the case.What a shame if true! She may never come back.She ran away with some kind of man.Anyway, this behavior is not right for a girl.He used to hear people say that any improper relationship between a boy and a girl, or a man and a woman, can only produce one result in the end-marriage.It was already very bleak, but now that this incident happened again, it will naturally be more difficult, and it will only be more bleak.

Then the parents came out, and although Mrs. Griffiths was still sullen and unnatural, she was always a little different than before, perhaps a little less angry, helpless and resigned.

"Anyway, Esta will leave us for a while." Seeing the children waiting curiously, she only said this at first: "Okay. You don't have to worry about her at all, and you don't have to think about it anymore. Trust me She'll come back in time. She's going her own way for some reason anyway. The will of the Lord will be done." ("Blessed be the name of the Lord!" interjected Asa.)" I thought she would be very happy with us, but it's not like that. I think it's better to let her see the world for herself." (Asa said "Tut! Tsk! Tsk! " But we must You can’t be cruel. This kind of thinking is not good, you should only think of love and kindness.” But when she said this, her tone was a bit harsh, and she seemed to be holding her breath, which meant that it was not her sincere words "We can only hope that she soon understands what a fool she is, what a no-brainer she is, and that sooner or later she will come back. The path she is on now has no future. It is not the path of the Lord, she is too young to do Something was wrong. But we can forgive her, and our hearts must be large, tender, and loving." Her face and voice were stern, dark, and cold as she said this. "Well, you all go to sleep. We Now I can only pray and hope that no disaster will happen to her.

But Asa! He seemed concerned only with his wife's greater pain than his own.All the while he just stood there foolishly, looking useless.

"Yes, thank God!" he pursed his lips. "Our hearts must be large. We must never judge right from wrong. We can only hope for the best. Yes! Praise God, we must praise God! Amen!" "

"If anyone asks where she's been," said Mrs. Griffiths, after a pause, to the children surrounding her, "we say she's gone to see our relatives in Tonawanda. That's not entirely true, of course, and she may Will come back soon. So before we figure it out, we must not talk nonsense, and we must not do anything to make her suffer."

"Yes, praise God," Asa said weakly.

"Then, before we figure it out, whenever someone asks, we'll just say so."

"Of course," said Clyde, and Julia also said, "Okay."

Mrs. Griffiths paused, looked at the children with determined eyes, then waved the children to bed.

Clyde wanted to know what Esta's letter said, but knowing that his mother would never tell him unless she wanted to, he went to his room.Now, where did she go? She obviously didn't want her family to find her.Like him, she was dissatisfied.Recently, he had thought about it himself, but he is still at home now, and she ran away first.What impact will this incident have on his future views and actions? To be honest, although his parents are very sad, he can't see any misfortune in her step, at least from the point of view of "going". Nothing bad.There's no point in preaching, and it doesn't save Esta.Apparently, like him, she didn't quite believe it.

(End of this chapter)