Commentary on the short story "In The Fall".
The short story In the Fall tells the story of a conflict of one family. The mother insists on selling their horse, Scott, who is also the father’s best friend. The father, while reluctant, ends up leading the old horse to its death. In the end, the mother and father embrace one another as they realize that although times might be tough, they still have each other.
The main point of conflict, especially between the mother and father, was the selling of Scott. The mother thinks it would be in the best interest for her and the children, to sell him. She sees the horse as just a burden and an extra mouth to have to feed. She constantly reinforces that Scott will die soon, as well as telling her husband that he should care about his family more than a horse. The father thinks that it wouldn’t hurt to keep him for another winter. After all, Scott is his best friend, someone who’s been there for him. It’s very interesting how the mother has her chickens that she loves so dearly, yet she can’t see why they could possibly keep Scott for another winter. The relationship between the mother and father seems almost dominant/submissive. The father never really puts his foot down to say that they will keep Scott. He simply goes along with what his wife suggests. The mother had the final say in whether or not Scott was going to stay. If the father really wanted to keep him, he should have put his foot down and said so.