Neighbor Rosicky
The short story begins with Rosicky undergoing a medical check conducted by doctor Burleigh. The doctor informs Rosicky that he has a bad heart and advises him what he should do. The setting appeared to be a poor neighborhood a long time ago. Rosicky is a sixty-five-year-old farmer who is hardworking and an active smoker. The story reveals how the doctors interacted with their patients in what seems to be a small neighborhood. If the times were changed to contemporary society, some changes would be expected in the patient and the doctor’s interactions. Society has changed over the years, and the difference could be noted in the story.
The society in the story is depicted to be a cohesive one in which they interacted freely. Neighbors care for one another and talk freely to each other concerning their lives. In contemporary society, it would be expected that the neighbors would behave conservatively. The current society is characterized by modern technology in every aspect of life. The opening setting would have been a modern hospital with modern medical equipment and lengthy diagnostic procedures. The doctor’s advice would have been detailed and straight to the point instead of the story’s casual talk. Heart conditions in the present society are taken seriously, not like in the old times, as depicted in the story. If it were current, the doctor would have given a clear warning to Rosicky to avoid coffee and smoking. In contemporary society, people are not closer to their neighbors, nor are do they get closer to them to know what goes on in their lives.
In part six, the events are much like contemporary society. Rosicky’s younger sons appear to be modest. Rosicky is positing as a family man and cares for his wife and children. His elder son, Rudolph, is married to a town girl Polly, and Rosicky is worried that their marriage may fail because she is not used to living in rural areas. He offers them his car for the young family to go on a night out as he volunteers to do the dishes. If the time were changed for Rosicky, maybe he would not have to worry for his son and wife. His son would have probably moved to urban areas with his wife because most people in the current society move to urban areas for work and settlement. If the time were changed to the present, likely, Rosicky would not have offered to do the dishes for his son and wife to go on a night out. There are many possibilities that he would have stayed at home with his wife to nurse his heart condition, or Rudolph and his wife would have come to visit him to check on his health.