Wuorio's The Singing Silence

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Some individuals could experience a sense of happiness by doing what is right, even though doing what is right can cost them heavily. This is seen in the short story “The Singing Silence” by Eva-Lis Wuorio. The story shows how an individual named Vicente embarked on a journey to fulfill a promise he made at one time in his early life. Wuorio showed an excellent example how an individual could demolish their life while trying to achieve ideal circumstances, even though they may be unachievable. This was seen by Vicente and his overwhelming determination to fulfill a promise that realistically he could not. The idealism is shown to have a powerful effect in an individual’s life, as it can influences a positive life in terms of enjoyment and freedom,…show more content…
We can see that he lived in poverty and was generally not well off. What we can see is that despite of his conditions economically, he is still “the happiest man I’ve ever known.” In the story when Vicente broke the Americas amphora, he promised the man he would repay him somehow. This idealism way of thinking is what caused his happiness to occur. Though, to many it sounds “loco” to think about a man his age giving up everything just to fulfil a promise to some stranger, it actually is what makes Vincente enjoy his life. “The gardens of starfish, the varicolored, bug—eyed gentle fish that followed him, the slant of translucent sunlight on the mysterious caves and rocks—these he recounted to the fishermen who toiled upon the surface of the sea.” This new life of his is exposing him to the beauty of the sea. This beauty is what is inspiring him to go back in the sea and continue his exploration for the amphora. This exposure to a whole new world is what makes Vicente ecstatic about his new life. “Never, he swore, had he known such freedom as at the bottom of the sea.” This feeling of freedom that Vicente had is what kept drawing him back to the oceans, which in turn increased his happiness. The freedom he experiences is something he has never felt before. No longer were his days “imprisoned by the needs of the hours.” He did not have to follow any sort of time table; he was a freeman that could do anything he wanted. This is shown in his previous job as a porter. His job as a porter was not fulfilling, he did not have the freedom he has now, which did not give him the same amount of happiness he has now. As father Pedro said; “Vicente has the search. It is not what one finds, you know but the search itself that is important. Only the search.” This describes what Vicente experiences when he is looking for the amphora. The journey to finding the amphora is the real reward for

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