Essay Questions

Explain Sheppard Lee’s ideology in “The Miser’s Children”.

Sheppard Lee validates the idea that being miserly does not aid in raising children who are financially independent and answerable. For example, when he queries how come Abbot has accrued a debt of ‘twenty thousand dollars’, Abbot replies that that he has been “Gambling, drinking, and so forth, and so forth, twenty times over." Manifestly, Abbot is neither financially independent nor judicious. He calculatingly accumulates the debts because he is cognizant that his father is wealthy; hence, he would afford to repay the debts. Sheppard Lee fails in enlightening his children about the essence of earning one’s money and spending it prudently ,and in the end he suffers for his failure. Equipping children with sound financial management abilities is imperative for all parents.

Deconstruct Sheppard Lee’s reflection and resolution after witnessing Abbot’s unfortunate passing on. - “The Catastrophe Of A Tragedy Often Performed On The Great Stage Of Life.”

Sheppard Lee writes, “The horror of the spectacle drove me from the chamber, and I ran to my own to fall down and die; when the blessed thought entered my mind, that the wo on my spirit, the anguish, the distraction, were but a dream—that my very existence, as the miser and broken-hearted father, was a phantasm rather than a reality, since it was a borrowed existence—and that it was in my power to exchange it, as I had done other modes of being, for a better. I was Sheppard Lee, not Abram Skinner; and this was but a voluntary episode in my existence, which I was at liberty to terminate. The thought was rapture. I resolved to sally out and fasten upon the first body I could find, being certain I could be in none so miserable as I had been in that I now inhabited. Nay, the idea was so agreeable, the execution of it seemed to promise such certain release from a load of wretchedness, that I resolved to attempt it without even waiting for morning.”

Sheppard Lee comprehends that Abram Skinner’s persona is no longer gratifying; hence, he should embrace another persona. Lee reveals that he is avoidant when he hatches a strategy to cease being Abram Skinner before Abbot is interred. He concludes that living like Abram Skinner is outright desolation which he should elude swiftly. Although he controls a substantial quantity of money, Abram Skinner’s children render his existence excruciating and despicable.