Discussion 6

In the story “To whom shall I tell my grief,” the author shows how people bring out their frustrations in different ways. For instance, Iona is grieving the death of his son, and therefore the effect of the loss is him sitting in the cold lost in thought. At the start, the author narrates how Iona does not react to the snow falling on him, meaning that the death of his son had affected him. The misery is worsened by how bad people around him treat him. The fellow horse riders are abusive as they want Iona to drive fast and keep to his lane. Also, everyone else that Iona comes across is so pre-occupied by their issues that they are not attentive to his narration of his son’s death. The encounter will inattentive people make Iona grieve even more, and he ends up opening up to his horse, which seems to care about his story.

I believe that the overall message of the other is the importance of kindness to fellow human beings. The three young men that Iona ferried were very abusive to him as their only intention was to reach their destination in time. Also, Iona is kind enough despite his condition when he offers a drink to a cabman. Finally, I can relate with the narrative as I have experienced people who are not concerned with the wellbeing of others. Death is misery, and those affected by it should be comforted to avoid depression.