Paperback Book

Clement Peterson

A man who lived in Washington, DC was convinced that he was cursed with extremely bad luck. Recently, everything in his life seemed to be going wrong: He'd lost his job and been forced to take a lower paying position at another firm, he'd dented his car's fender by running into a fire hydrant, and he'd gained twenty pounds. Today, even as he walked along the sunny streets of his tree-lined neighborhood in Northwest Washington, DC, he noticed only its negative aspects -- cracks in the sidewalk, overflowing garbage cans, and annoyingly loud barking dogs.

After feeling frustrated for months, he began to blame his marriage for the downward turn his life seemed to be taking. His wife, he felt, didn't understand him; perhaps she never had.

One cloudy day when he was feeling particularly hopeless, he stopped into a used book store to see whether he could find something that might help him. He found and bought a paperback book of philosophy, and over the next few weeks, he read it. Indeed, he found the book's insights very useful, and as he read, he underlined key passages with a pen. His mood brightened, and he began to have some small successes at work. Then, feeling he must change his life in a dramatic way, he told his wife that he wanted a divorce. His wife, Mary, was very upset with this turn of events; she pleaded with him to stay in the marriage. She encouraged him to remember the time when they, as students in the same class, had fallen in love.

But Richard would not change his decision. He was convinced that Mary had no idea who he really was. She especially would never understand the man he had become after reading the philosophy book that had changed his perspective on life.

After several months of pleading, Mary resigned herself to the divorce, and Richard took his possessions to a new apartment a few Metro stops away. As he placed books on his new bookshelf, he noticed that he had two copies of the very book that had been so important to him. When he opened the two identical books, he noticed that he had underlined the exact same passages in both of them. How strange! He hadn't remembered having read the book before, and yet he'd underlined the same passages twice.

But then he noticed the name penciled inside the front cover of the older version of the book: It was Mary's name! She had, years earlier, purchased the very same book, and they had, at different times, both underlined the very same passages. So she really did understand him! In a flash he remembered the long talks they used to have. As students, they had truly been soul mates, sharing similar opinions and feelings about so many subjects. He immediately got on the phone and called Mary to explain his discovery, and to ask for her forgiveness.

But Mary refused to forgive him. She told Richard that she could never feel comfortable reconciling with a man who was so emotionally unstable.

After reading the attached story, write an essay of about 400 (or more) words with a clear thesis in response to ONE of the following writing prompts. Use your understanding of the story to support your ideas.

1. What mistakes does Richard make in the story "Paperback Book"?

2. What qualities does a good relationship have? Discuss the actions or situations that can end up helping to destroy a relationship.

3. Identify and describe the ironic element(s) in the story "The Paperback Book."

4. What does the philosophy book that Richard finds symbolize?