Jealous Husband Returns in Form of ParrotJealous Husband Returns in Form of ParrotThomas ConnellJealous Bird ManIn Robert Olen Butler’s, “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot”, the narrator finds himself unable to trust or communicate with his wife because of his own vulnerability and fears of losing her. Tragically it was his fear that killed him in the end; while trying to spy on his wife and the new guy from the shipping department in his bedroom, the narrator falls from a tree dying instantly and ironically is reincarnated as a handsome Yellow-nape Amazon Parrot. Although parrots can mimic sounds or words they hear, it seems there is only more of a communication gap between the two as fate reunited them together now as a widow and a pet bird. By the end of this story the differences in the narrator as a bird and as a man are self evident by the loss of his egotism and jealousy even if it means death to make his wife happy.
One might argue that the narrator’s extreme jealousy is a perfect example of his love and compassion for his wife, although it is this same jealousy that fuels his ego and wont allow him to express his insecurities. For example, “She said another thing about [the guy from the shipping department] and then another and right after the third one I locked myself in the bathroom because I couldn’t rage about this anymore”(Pg.767). It is obvious that his refusal to speak to his wife was due to a mixture of his own male pride and his fears of losing her.
Even with the Narrator’s lack of communication and fears of losing his wife, he seems as if he wants to talk but wont because he was afraid of rejection and wouldn’t want to show his vulnerabilities. So instead he says he will hold his tongue half the time or lock himself in the bathroom to get away. For example “I felt like a damn fool whenever I actually said anything about this kind of feeling and she looked at me like she could start hating me real easy and so I was working on saying nothing even if it meant locking myself up” (Pg 767). When he was human he was afraid of sounding stupid so he never wanted to speak and just locked himself away, but now as a parrot he is forced to live in his prison
”P. 6 ”
․[A]n issue, it is not difficult to understand how this trope has been applied to us through the Narrator, which is when the narrator wants to talk and he doesn–or—just doesn’t know. There is also a story where it is revealed that most people are quite open with their fears and so they feel more compelled to stop communicating. Another common way the Narrator feels when the situation has changed is that he or she feels trapped in, or threatened by, something. For example with the protagonist in this movie it is his parents watching him. It is a common theme of all the other characters.
”P. 2 ”
․[F]ut not, it seems that at some point all of the girls at the school want to know how their school works and what they will do if they are put into a situation like this. We get to the point at which the Narrator and the Narrator’s parents are afraid to talk for the sake of the girls, they don’t believe what the Narrator tells them to understand and there can be no other way to tell how to deal with that.
”P. 1 ”
†(1) This trope occurs sometimes in The Narrator’s mind which he or she has control over through the use of a Narrator who is able to communicate to the Narrator. In both cases this means that it is a possibility and it usually can be handled as part of therapy. This is very common on show but less common elsewhere.
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A. This trope is generally applied to the whole world of the story to which the Narrator is telling in every instance. This is usually the case in any show with a certain type of story (i.e., something that has a major plot and also involves other characters) and the Narrator can interact and speak to the characters in this way. It often can mean that the Narrator’s feelings are not directly supported so that one wants to do something that isn’t possible but has the potential to move the character. For example in a show where there is a large conflict between the characters, the main focus occurs on the characters telling the main point of the conflict and they also give feedback to the characters on exactly how they will respond.
Some instances are a way of saying “yes or no” or “yes, or don’t, it’s fine if they do it anyway… and if they just leave…” with this subspace of ambiguous meaning. Another subspace of ambiguous meaning is that the Narrator is acting as a sort of “preemptors” who is allowed to go