Question

Who is the angel in disguise in the story Joe thompson or maggie?justify your answer by reffering to the text in 500 words

Answer 1

.S. Arthur was a proponent of the movement for temperance, and his short story ''An Angel in Disguise'' has the evils of drinking as one of its messages. The very first line of this particular story tells us this:

''Idleness, vice, and intemperance had done their miserable work, and the dead mother lay cold and still amid her wretched children.'' Something must be done with these unfortunate orphans.

The mother is taken away for a pauper's burial while the neighbors go to her house to discuss what should be done with her three children. The older children are taken by neighboring families, while little Maggie, too ill to ever prove useful, is then left alone in the house.

The last to leave is Joe Thompson, the local wheelwright. Though he knows his stern wife will protest, his heart melts when the child pleads with him in fear. He carries her home, and day by day both Thompsons warm to her. And there she remains, an angel in disguise that has brought love to their home. Disguise''?
T.S. Arthur was a proponent of the movement for temperance, and his short story ''An Angel in Disguise'' has the evils of drinking as one of its messages. The very first line of this particular story tells us this:

''Idleness, vice, and intemperance had done their miserable work, and the dead mother lay cold and still amid her wretched children.'' Something must be done with these unfortunate orphans.

The mother is taken away for a pauper's burial while the neighbors go to her house to discuss what should be done with her three children. The older children are taken by neighboring families, while little Maggie, too ill to ever prove useful, is then left alone in the house.

The last to leave is Joe Thompson, the local wheelwright. Though he knows his stern wife will protest, his heart melts when the child pleads with him in fear. He carries her home, and day by day both Thompsons warm to her. And there she remains, an angel in disguise that has brought love to their home.

Theme: The Evils of Drunkenness
One of the key themes in this story, and a popular one at the time, is the sorrow and societal burden created by drunkenness. One important issue raised by the campaign for the banning of alcohol was the huge numbers of men who neglected the needs of their families in favor of drinking in bars and taverns.

T.S. Arthur was a very popular writer in the 19th century. He wrote stories for popular ladies' magazines such as Godey's Lady's Book, the most widely read American monthly magazine during the second half of the 19th century. Eventually, Arthur edited his own Arthur's Home Magazine, writing stories with uplifting and moral messages, including ways to combat the evils of alcohol.

In ''An Angel in Disguise,'' this theme takes perhaps a more tragic turn, as the mother is the one falling prey to the charms of drink, leaving her three children home alone and neglected. We can assume the two older children did what they could to care for Maggie in the absence of anyone else.

Theme: Compassion
On first reading, a modern reader may think that the neighbors must be cold-hearted people if they cannot feel compassion for three innocent children. Even the older children are only taken in to be useful and provide an extra farm hand. Remember,

Answer 2

The youngest child, Maggie, gets left alone because of her health. When she was much younger, she fell from a window and the fall had damaged her spine. Hence, she was permanently bed-ridden. Everyone suggests sending her to the poorhouse but no one makes an effort to do something about it.

After the funeral, everyone leaves without even a glance at Maggie but Joe Thompson lingers. Joe works as a wheelwright in the village and makes wooden wheels for wagons and carts. Though he looks to be a rough man, Joe is kind and loves children but he and his wife are unable to have kids. Maggie sees all the villagers leaving and also notices that Joe is still standing outside her hovel. She calls out for him and pleads him not to leave her alone.

Even though Joe knows that his wife, Jane Thompson, won’t be very happy to see Maggie, he carries the kid to his home. As he had guessed, his wife’s not happy to see her and asks him when he’s going to get rid of her.

In answer, he says that he had read many times in The Bible that those who help children shan’t be unrewarded. Joe also requests her to put aside her heart’s bitterness and see how cruel life is for Maggie; motherless, homeless and permanently bed-ridden. Though Mrs. Thompson doesn’t say anything to her husband, her heart softens a little towards Maggie.

Joe tells his wife that he will make errands tomorrow to send Maggie to the poorhouse and leaves for work. After dusk, when he comes home he sees from the window that Mrs. Thompson is sitting by Maggie’s bed and they are talking or rather Maggie’s answering Mrs. Thompson’s questions. He feels it’s best to not bring up the topic of Maggie himself, so he doesn’t say anything further on the subject.

He goes to see Maggie and they talk for a while. While having supper Mrs. Thompson asks her husband what he’s going to do with the child, in answer to which Joe tells that she’s to go to the poorhouse tomorrow. Mrs. Thompson doesn’t say anything but Joe knows that years of bitterness has finally started fading away. She takes food for Maggie into her small chamber and waits for her to finish it. Maggie’s innocence, sweetness, unconditional love and gratitude for them fills the void that had formed in Mrs. Thompson’s heart. She tells Joe that she wants to keep Maggie for a couple of days more but that day never comes. They remain together forever, as a family. How the little child melts her stoned heart is what the story is all about.




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