Katherine Mansfield’s purpose in her story “The Fly” was
twofold: display the value of human life and to not live in the past. The protagonist
of the story, the boss, recently lost his son in the war, World War I, and the
boss still has yet to get over it. His whole life is at a standstill be he is
still fixated on the death of his son, his life is filled with hurt and regret because
of it. I could easily relate to the message of this story because I have, like
the boss, experienced the death of a loved one, my grandfather. I lost my
grandfather in seventh grade and it was one of the most difficult times of my
life because he was so close to me and I did not know what I would do without
my biggest supporter. After his death I soon realized my grandfather would not
want me to living depressed the rest of my life, he would want me to live a
happy and successful life. I hope I am doing this so I can make my grandfather
proud. By simply calling him the boss, giving him no name or noteworthy characteristics,
Mansfield gives him a generality; as a result, the boss could apply to any
person dealing with the death of a loved one, like me. Also, the author may
have been making an attempt to show the distraught states of people who lost
loved ones in World War I. Near the end of the story, the boss begins to move
on from his son’s death and look into the future as he begins to heal. The
story shows how crucial time is in the healing in the healing process,
something I experienced firsthand. Albeit a person can heal from the loss of a
loved one, things will never be the same as they were before.
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