Gifts to the Dark Gods free essay sample

When I first laid eyes on the title of this story, I suddenly thought, that it might e a crucial horror story, about a person who sacrificed poor victims to some Satanic God, whom the main character believed in. And I wasnt that Wrong. Surely, the story is not about a cold-blooded murder, who murders to please his or her Master, but it still is about a person, who collects things material things, not dead people so she can sacrifice them to the dark gods, so they will leave her alone and not hurt her.If you try to look at Helen as a person who knows her, but doesnt know her dark secret, youd probably think of her as the woman who has everything. She has a lovely, strong husband, some happy children and a job where she gets to help bewildered teenagers. The family is a family of virtue and wealth. Her husband is a lancer; therefore he values morality and legality. Hes a man of principle of firm opinions. Hes the caretaker in the family. Maybe it is right to say, that Helen has everything, but she doesnt have the perfect life.We wouldnt even think of her life as an ideal life. The kids, the job, the wealth and the husband, yes maybe, but we wouldnt want to be in her position. We wouldnt want to live the way that she ivies -? constantly frightened of the dark gods. Spending every living moment to think of what she has to steal next to please them. You could look at the text with your Super Natural Goggles on, and say that these dark gods might actually exist in this fictional world. Helen describes them very well.But these so-called dark gods, are the only supernatural things in this text, and I believe its all a part of Helene imagination. These dark gods could be a result of her COD. An explanation of her actions. It doesnt say anywhere in the text, that Helen suffers from COD, but its quite obvious to me. Surely, she could just be a kleptomaniac, but the way she describes this need for stealing points me to the conclusion of a mental illness, rather than a lust for material things. And the fact that shes stealing for the dark gods also tells me, that theres something wrong with her.She gets panic attacks, when the time is running out. At the restaurant where SSH?s having dinner with her husband, her husbands client John Stanton and his wife, Barbara Stanton, shes about to freak out because theres almost no time left to steal the items. Shes seeing potential gifts to the dark gods in everything. The knifes, the plates, the napkins. She must steal something, but she cant, she doesnt get the chance, something always gets in the way. Helen has a pattern when it comes to stealing. She has to steal at least two items every week.The items have to be from the same store, on the same floor, and they have to be different. She has to make it before pm on Fridays. Otherwise the dark gods wont be pleased. The thoughts she has are typical for a person with COD. COD is something youre born with, but it doesnt always show in the early ears. Often its triggered by something that has a huge impact on your life. She cant remember exactly when it began. It was soon after Chloe and Nick left for university, when she quit her job at the advertising company.When she became, as Daniel describes her, a lady of leisure. Her children moved away and she quit her job -her life changed. And I think she started to steal as a result of her husbands words. One thing she lacks is independence from the hands of her husband. You could say, that hes the breadwinner, the supporter of the household. After she quit her job, her husband told her, that she didnt have to work anymore. They could easily afford it. She was now a lady of leisure.Theres another passage in the text, that can support my thoughts of the husband being the trigger to this shop-lifting; Busy day? He asks. Hair appointment? He laughs. Theres a strange pride in the way he teases her about her empty, frivolous days. He is the sole breadwinner now. Also the story tells us, that SSH?s tutoring troubled kids in the small charity-run literacy programmer in the suburbs. Helen thinks about the people in the literacy programmer. Young and old, struggling with so many demons. . Daniel knows little about the literacy programmer.He believes she teaches pensioners how to use a computer. He would not understand Amanda, the girl who carries a kitchen knife to make small cuts in her wrists when she is stressed. Or AK, the boy with HATE tattooed on his forehead. Helen refers to these young people, as mentally disturbed people, haunted by demons. Not real demons like Helene, but demons inside of them. Helen believes, that the dark gods are real. In the story it says, that she knows, that it is the dark gods who turn the wheels of a tricycle and send the toddler screaming into the traffic.To her, the dark gods are real. Think she helps these children because theyre like her. Eke it says in the text, Helen hasnt told Daniel her husband about the literacy programmer. Or at least not what it really is about. She has told him, that she teaches pensioners, and not that she helps troubled kids. I think shes afraid of what he might think of the young people, if he actually knew what was wrong with them. The similarity between the nouns people from the literacy and Helen is quite big and I think she knows that.I think shes frightened of how he would judge them and by that also judge Helen. She hasnt told Daniel about her little problem, because she knows that he wont be able to understand it, and thats also why she keeps the details of her work as a secret. The end is quite strange, Id say. Not what I wouldve expected. After what the text says, Helen will stop stealing gifts to the dark gods. Something happened at the restaurant, which made her realize, that what she does is complete lunacy. What happens is that a few minutes to deadline, shes still an item short.She still needs to find another item, so she steals a vase. A vase filled with water and flowers. The water has made everything in her bag wet. She thinks of the mess inside her bag. She imagines her wet drivers license, her sodden checkbook, the photographs of her children, the card from Chloe, all destroyed bathe water from her vase. It is lunacy. Helen stops. What get from this part of the story is that Helen finally realizes, whats going on. She thinks of the mess inside her head. How this illness -? the dark gods can story her life.