Changed by Change

Throughout my young life, I have always hated change. I honestly cried when my parents wanted to repaint the living room. But after I read Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteredge, I began to see all the great things that can come from change. In a time when Americans elected the first African American president, change seemed inevitable in the novel. All characters fight their own demons, but only those who decide to make a change end up happy. For example, Strout introduces Angela O’Meara, a local pianist who has an ongoing affair with a married man. But after the man verbally abuses Angela, she proclaims that she will “not call him” again (60). The absolute diction of “not” implies that Angela will never change her mind on the matter. Although she feels dependent on the man, she wills herself to adjust. I see Angela’s choice as life altering, for now she can look towards a better future. Strout again illustrates this theme through Winnie, a girl whose sister Julie encourages her to leave her bedraggled home for a better life. When Winnie’s father asks if she wants pancakes, Winnie admits she “didn’t want pancakes” (199). Strout utilizes pancakes as a symbol for Winnie’s attachment to her family. By rejecting the pancakes, Winnie changes from a child dependent on her mother to a woman who will make her own decisions. I have seen through Winnie the power I can have over my own life, and that no one has to accept their fate. My favorite change, of course, comes with Olive herself. Olive ultimately finds love again and finally sees the world as a place she “did not want to leave” (270). Strout sharply juxtaposes this claim to her previous sentiment when Olive wished only to die quickly. The author also asserts how love can change people, but one must feel willing to change. Strout knows that many wish to change like her characters, and she encourages them to take that risk.  Although change can still give me a stomach ache, I know now that people like me have to accept the inevitable: the only thing constant comes as change.