Ernestine
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The story under discussion is “Ernestine” written by Theodore Dreiser. It describes the life of a young girl, Ernestine by name, who dreamt of becoming a famous movie star. Due to her natural beauty & such a quality as sex appeal, Ernestine achieved the end. But then she got disappointed in life because finally she found out that she had somehow mismanaged the opportunities that had been hers. It didnt make any sense for her to continue the life & she committed a suicide.
The title of the story is quite suggestive as it is the name of the main character. However, it bears some deeper sense, as “Ernestine” is only a pseudonym of that girl. The fact that she took a pseudonym reflects the inner world of the character that was as artificial as the name itself.
The story touches upon the theme of missed opportunities in life. The main character was so eager to become a famous star, to gain universal approve, she was so sure that it was all she needed that she failed to notice in her violent stream of life the man who could give her real life, free of pretence, the man who himself represented the life that she longed for deep in her heart. In this way, Ernestines first movie story may be considered symbolic. In that movie, Ernestine played a girl who was deeply attached to her country lover but ran away with a city magnate who realised her worth. In the end, she returned home only to find that her one-time love had fled. Ernestines life story had a different ending: she didnt manage to return to Kinsey & admit her faults because in real life there are far more fewer happy endings than in movies.
In the story, the author also gives the information about the birth of the film industry in the USA. Though it contains rather truthful realities, the description cant be possibly regarded as objective, because its a 1-person narration. The author isnt just a mere observer but a participant of the story.
As for the composition of the story, it may be considered a round one. At the beginning, the author ponders over the reasons that led to the suicide of the main character about which we get to know at the end of the story.
The language of the story belongs to the literary layer of the English vocabulary. When the author speaks about Ernestine & her movie profession, he uses lots of bookish, high-flown words. Sentences are mainly long & rather extended. The field of “movies” is widely represented in the story – a film, a motion picture star, an actor, a director a stockholder, a producer, a folm comedian, stage work, a studio, Hollywood, screen tests, to operate.
To express his negative attitude towards movie people & their way of life, the author