Expectations Compromise Reality Julianna Valentina Dailey College

Esther endured five long years of loneliness. Her determination to prove herself and fulfill her desire left her more alone and disappointed than her initial hunger for companionship. In “Esther” by Jean Toomer, Esther’s morality and desires are shown to be degraded through several aspects. The townspeople cause the audience to realize Esther is more unhinged from years of desire than was revealed from her own point of view. Esther’s morality is shown to decay because she was so desperate to have the child she dreamed of and loved, she was willing to risk the sin of conception without marriage. The opposite descriptions of Esther and Barlo create a distinction in the reader’s mind to separate the two in more than just race and appearance. By placing her faith and future in a man she actually knew nothing about in order to pass the years, Esther’s five year long wait resulted in anticlimactic regret. In order to illustrate Esther’s descent into hopelessness, Toomer employs the townspeople's reaction, Esther’s inner thoughts, and the juxtaposed descriptions of the two main characters to portray how Esther’s hope for her future is eventually degraded.

The townspeople’s speculation at Esther’s sense of urgency when Barlo appears...