The Old Man in "A Christmas Story". Free Essay

Human beings acquire knowledge through various means such as learning, experience, and the senses, which is a product of intellect. However, knowledge acquisition is not limited to those methods alone, as some people have been known to be knowledgeable through revelations of belief. This form of knowledge acquisition has proved to be relevant to many people and forms an integral part of their lives and knowledge-base. The Story of the Old Man in "A Christmas Story" illustrates the above. This paper will look at the events or experiences that helped shape the perspectives of the man, how his perception differed from the perspective of others, in what ways does the view of the old Man change, what were the strengths and weaknesses of the Old Man’s way of knowing and does the Old Man mainly know things from reason, experience or revelation.

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The Events and Experiences that Helped Shape the Perspectives of the Old Man

The old man in the Story had his epic battles, which informed his decisions and perspectives in life. He was always in a smoke-bellowing furnace, coupled with overburdened electrical sockets. There was also the neighbors’ pack of hound dogs, which forced the Old Man to live with the fear of going out and always looking like he was in danger. The room would freeze up in the middle of the summer on the equator (Shepherd, p. 11). There was a Christmas tree leaning over perilously. The Old Man's wife was over a lamp that he had grown to call a significant award but looked suspiciously. The life of the man and the events described above helped shape the Old Man perspective, influencing the way he viewed the world. The experiences went a long way to inspire his actions too.

How the Perspective of the Old Man differed with the perspective of others in the Story

The Old Man, while still young, wants a gun and to train how to use it. His parents warn him, including his uncle, who tells him that he will shoot his eye. He does not listen and ends up getting angry with them for not allowing him to do what he loves. One of the significant differences in perspectives is after winning the major award; his award overjoys him while Mrs. Parker is not moved by an inch. There is a battle that ensues, leading to its destruction, after which he buries it because he cannot repair it. He does not love his neighbor’s dogs, which causes him many disturbances, unlike the other people (Shepherd, p. 13). He is used to uttering words of profanity whenever he is frustrated, and his mother at one time washes his mouth with Lifebuoy soap. Besides, when dressing up for school, since it is the cold season, he must dress up many layers, saying, "can't put my hand down."

Ways in which the perspective of the Old Man changes

Change is an inevitable aspect in the daily lives of human beings, and the Old Man in “A Christmas Story” is no exception. He is forced to change his perception and start thinking in more progressive ways. The Story all through is about coveting things by the characters in the Story from Ralphie to his other friends. He had coveted a BB gun and wanted nothing more than that for his Christmas present. He would stop at nothing to get and learn how to use the weapon. When he finally gets it, he goes to practice using it and when he shoots the back of the gun recoils hitting his glasses. In his frustrations, he does not see his glasses and steps on them, breaking them further. When the mother asks what happened to his glasses, he says that it is his not his fault and that it broke while he was playing. Afterward, his perspective about life and covetousness ends as he breaks his glasses after wanting something so wrong.

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Old Man’s way of viewing and knowing things

There is always strength and weakness in how we perceive things. Our perceptions tend to distort our views and the general way of how we view life in general. The Old Man's method of viewing items influenced how he received and perceived many things in his life. He wanted the BB gun so badly that he would disagree with his parents about it. He also did not like many things that happened in his life and thus ended up using many cursing words; something with children was not allowed. He would be in trouble with his mother so many times, who even at one time resorted to using soap to wash his mouth. The strength side of it is that he learned the importance of determination in life, and thus he would get many things in his life do.

The primary way the Old Man came to know about things in his life

The primary way the Old Man came to know things in his life was through experience. The Story of the BB gun, for instance, is one of the ideas he knew about how to use the gun and how it operates. The gun recoiled back at him, hitting his glasses. Through experience, he learned covetousness is terrible as it leads to evils, and the things we covet may not be necessarily beneficial to us. He also learned that using curse words as a child is terrible when his mother forced him to wash his mouth with Lifebuoy soap.

In conclusion, the Old Man in "A Christmas Story" is a testimony of how human beings and their intelligence is a product of many things with faith being relevant too. The Story talks about the covetousness of the kids in the Story and how they came to learn through their experiences.

Work Cited

Shepherd, Jean. A Christmas Story. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2009.