Essay #1

Orleanna Price was exiled from her youth when, at seventeen, she married Nathan Price. She was portrayed as free-spirited and in touch with nature in the early stages of her life when all too quickly she had to mature. She became a hollowed shell of her former self. Also, in a metaphorical sense, she detached herself from Nathan later on in the book. This proves to be a frightening but rewarding experience for herself.

 

The rift was driven between Orleanna and her irreplaceable youth when Nathan Price stole her away. She became a person who begged his every will, catering to him and not to herself. She lost all of what she believed in and became a passive follower of Nathan. I believe this is what Edward Said meant when he wrote that "exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience."

Orleanna was drawn to a new life in marriage as any young lady would be, but when the experience actually played out, she suffered a great loss to her own soul. Also, when Said explained that "it is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home; its essential sadness can never be surmounted", it describes the reason of Orleanna's  obvious pain throughout the whole book because for many years she lost her purpose of life.

 

The second rift was driven into Orleanna when she made the executive decision to take back her power and mind of her own and depart from Nathan with the girls. This was the safest thing to do and Orleanna knew it was time to take back her youthful spirit again. This is the "potent, even enriching" aspect that exile may bring as Said explained it.

 

In conclusion, Orleanna experienced both sides of exile as determined by Edward Said in his quote. Though through two separate experiences, my observation remains plausible. When Orleanna left her spirited soul to marry Nathan she became a hollowed version of her former self therefore developing the pain afflicted by exile. On the other hand, when she decided to better her future and the future of her children and stand up to Nathan, the experience gained personal achievement.