Wolf's Lesson: Gratitude and Regret

1 Borg Andrea Borg Professor Gregg English 1202 1/15/2020 Diagnostic essay The short story “What the Wolf Wants” by David James Poissant is a very interesting story yet very unusual due to the fact that you would never imagine in real life about the things that occurred in this story. It is mainly about a guy who got a present form his brother for Christmas which were the slippers, but he is ungrateful and mean when receiving the present because he got his brother an expensive machine that produces coffee, “I buy you a thousanddollar Cuisinart Espresso Machine, the Tastemaker’s Model, with dual espresso dispensers and an advanced steaming action wand, and all I get is a couple ofslippers?” lousy this quote shows that he was ungrateful and did not respect the gift he was given from his brother who was severely sick and dying at the time. When his brother died, something significant happens as a wolf appears at his house asking for the slippers which could emphasize the problem about being ungrateful in what you get but also after his house, he went over to his mother’s house. So, the wolf could symbolize the dead brother. Never be ungrateful and do things that you could potentially regret for the rest of your life because you never know when someone could pass away that was very important to you. 2 Borg One reason why I get the idea that the wolf is symbolizing his brother is because the way he looked at man from the window is just like a human would and you would expect a wolf to be in the forest with its pack rather than wondering off to the suburbs where the humans live. “So, it’s the middle of the night and there’s this wolf at my window. He stands like a man on his back legs. His hindquarters bulge, all muscly and stuff.”. This quote emphasizes the features of the wolf and its stance, explaining that it is standing as if it is a human and he explains that there are “A lot of artificial illumination” , that emphasizes the shock he has for seeing a wolf here and standing like this that he thinks it is fake and just an illusion. Another reason that makes me believe that the wolf is his dead brother because when he was giving the coffee by the man he blows it just like how his mother thought the brothers to blow their soup when it is hot and how it never actually worked and when they have the first taste of the soup it burns them as it is still hot. When the wolf blew his coffee and had the first sip of the coffee, he burns his mouth just like how he used to when he used to have the soup. He does this, and I think of my mother, how she taught us, me and my brother, to cool soup by blowing on it. It never worked, just like kissed cuts never hurt less. “The first sip still scalded, but we pretended—me, Michael, Mom. We drank our soup, pretending we could taste it, pretending our mouths weren’t on fire. The wolf does not pretend. The first sip burns.” This quote emphasizes what they used to when they all lived at home with their mom and how blowing the soup never really helped just like when the wolf blew the coffee. In conclusion I think that people should always appreciate what they are given and what they have because you never know when that person is going to pass away and you could end up doing things that you would regret for the rest of your life and cannot get them back. Also to 3 Borg always respect what you were given even if you may not like that present you have to respect the person for giving you that gift and it is not all about how much the person spends on you but about the idea and thought behind it.