nap through the pages the way he would have done.”, displaying her displeasure at her Husband’s sentiment that it was wrong to marry out of racial classification.Wolff writes the short story from the first person perspective of the Husband who, “…went to school with blacks … worked with blacks and lived on the same street with blacks and … always gotten along just fine.”, however; Wolff did not intend for the reader to perceive that the Husband is racist. Although his wife feels two cultures with two distinct backgrounds could “know” one another; her Husband’s insight of multi-cultured relationships remained unchanged. Although in love, two people of differing races or cultures could never conceptually “know” each other.The Husband loves his wife and the narrator writes through the tenderness of the Husband’s eye. When Ann slices her finger re-washing the silverware, all animosity is lost as he scrambles up stairs to get her a Band-Aid as a peace offering to cease the argument. He finishes the cleaning in the kitchen and goes as far as to mop the floor while he waits for the frustration and anger to subside in his Wife. The author carefully crafts the story so that every detail contributes to a certain unique or single effect, whether it is as complex as irony or as simple as depiction of feelings. The Husband describes his absolute love for Ann as he reminisces about the years he spent with her and how deeply he “knows” her, “… his throat tightened so that he could hardly breathe. His face and neck began to tingle. Warmth flooded his chest.” This word picture vividly presents the picture of a man who in his heart loves his wife.There are examples exemplifying the sharp contrast between the Husband’s perception that he and his wife “know” each other and the ironic certainty that his wife doesn’t fe...
