Can you recall feeling as though everything you knew was trying to trap you, including your own self and conscience? Welcome to Ethan Frome's world - where society's intolerance, his feelings of isolation, and his desperation trap him. In Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, it becomes evident that Ethan experiences those three aforementioned oppressors through use of similarities and differences. First, using the difference between Ethan's thoughts and his actions towards Mattie Silver, and the …showed first 75 words of 596 total…

…showed last 75 words of 596 total…we see how Edith Wharton uses similarities and differences in Ethan Frome to convey that Ethan is tormented by his isolation, his desperation, and intolerant society. If Ethan wants to escape these hinderances, he should let go of some of his personal stubbornness., and give himself up to a whim, for once, if only to save what life he has left. This teaches us a lesson that sometimes wild chances must be pursued for happiness.