The Effect of Insensitivity on a Character

The Effect of Insensitivity on a Character


Insensitivity is a strong human emotion. It is an emotion which authors often choose to address in short stories. In each of the stories, “The Snob”, “Winter Night”, and “The Scarlet Ibis”, the authors’ themes revolve around a character that is not responsive to the feelings of others.
In “The Snob”, John is not responsive to his father’s feelings. John is very self-centered. He only thinks of himself, his own feelings. He totally forgets about how his father treated him during the time he was growing up, and the pride that his father feels for him. John is in love with a girl, and he cannot believe that she could love him for the kind of person he is on the inside. He is ashamed of his father’s appearance, and he believes that his girlfriend would be also. John’s actions demonstrate insensitivity toward his father and his girlfriend, when he snubs his father and argues with his ...