payment page
Over the course of the short story, readers can determine that Maria most likely focuses intently on life’s small details in order to avoid greater pains. Joe Donnelly appears to exhibit the same behavior. For example, he expresses anger over not being able to find a nutcracker in an obvious attempt to shift the conversation away from the outburst that he had a few moments ago about his estranged brother. This type of behavior returns at the very end of the story when he covers up his mysterious, tearful reaction to Maria’s song by asking his wife to show him where another ordinary household item is—this time it is a corkscrew instead of a nutcracker. It appears that a forced preoccupation with such trivial matters helps to repress the more difficult aspects of life. The reader never knows what moves Joe. However, given his passionate response to his brother’s name, it is likely that Joe is having a hard time processing the damaged relationship that he has with his brother, a relationship that was clearly once strong enough for Joe to name his first-born son after his brother.
