Theme of Choices in Julie Orringer's “Care” and "The Isabel Fish” (Essay Sample)

Personal choice is like a steering wheel it steers the direction of one’s life. Everyday choices are made by people from birth to death. Life is a windy road, and the choices you make can be positive or negative on one’s life. In the story “Care”, by Julie Orringer readers can see the negative impact choices had on someone’s life. “The Isabel Fish” is also by Julie Orringer, shares how letting your conscious form your choices can lead to consequences. Through personal connection to both cases on making choices it is important to learn from the positive and negative consequences that can occur. No matter what, choices will be made that lead one to an open road. Through thematic pattern, the idea of how personal choice affects one’s life is seen through short stories and personal connections.

Addiction is a choice that one makes from trial of the experience that gives them stratification. The main type of addiction that people became associated with is drug and alcohol addiction. These two types of addiction often lead to many negative consequences: jail, splitting up families, death, etc. This is a personal choice that people make and often struggle to find success within this pathway. In Julie Orringer’s story, “Care” Tessa uses drugs majority of the time, which causes her to make poor decisions that affect those around her. Tessa is raising her niece while struggling with addiction, because of this Olivia is not receiving the best care. Due to Tessa’s dependency on drugs, she knows she is not that available for Olivia and says, “There's nothing quite like a Sallie after a Devvie, that lucent pink infusion that makes her almost come, every time. They have spent hours doing this, she, and Kenji. At first it was just on Sundays in the Arboretum, but after they quit their jobs at Oracle, they started doing it every day” (Orringer 9). With Tessa taking drugs everyday she is taken into “another world” which does not allow her to properly take care of Olivia. Olivia is at a young age and does not quite understand what is going on, but she is affected by these behaviors. From personal experience with addiction, I have seen the fights that are associated with it as loved ones do not want to see others suffer. My father chose to drink alcohol like many others do in the world. However, the alcohol became something he started to use for more than a social outing, which led to many negative consequences. Addiction is one example of personal choice and how primarily the effects from this choice are often negative and lead to a rocky road in life.

Many people have fears, but not living your life to the fullest leads to regrets. Often people let their conscious get to them which typically ends in negative effects. In “The Isabel Fish” Sage and Maddy’s friend, Isabel died. After her death both the siblings had so many regrets and often used fighting as a coping mechanism. Maddy and Sage constantly blamed each other for Isabel’s death and realized months later after communicating their problems it was neither of their faults. Maddy was blamed first for Isabel’s death because she was in the car with her, which led to Sage blaming her. Sage and Maddy took a scuba diving class, but Sage was putting thoughts in Maddy’s head that try to scare her by saying, “Did you know that one in twelve scuba divers gets attacked by sharks” (Orringer 106). After the accident Isabel and Maddy were in, Maddy was in fear of getting back in the water in her own brother wasn’t helping her situation by saying comments like these. Maddy’s family was very supportive and trying to get her over the fear after experiencing such a traumatic experience. Maddy’s mother looks at the positive outlook the scuba class will have on her, “We think it’ll be good for you, my mother said. We think it’ll help you form positive associations with water” (Orringer 109). The parents are helping Maddie make the choice to getting back in the water to make her happy again and not let fear affect what she loves to do the most. Many times, fear takes over someone from traumatic history or from hearing stories. Maddy overcame her fear after a traumatic experience she witnessed. Maddy chose to get back in the water when she was ready and did not let the fear fully affect her life. 

Fear of letting go and spreading my wings in life is an issue I am personally guilty of. When I was a junior in high school, I was looking at colleges ahead but my major in soccer. Soccer was all I know, and I wanted to continue that career, that career had to come to an end when I realized the schools, I had applied to did not make me happy I was only going for athletics. However, when I was a senior, I didn’t want to leave home I wanted to be close to home when going to college. I thought moving away and I will never get to see my friends again or my family. After going to college one hour away I realize how often I see my friends and family still, but I am not happy. By me letting fear choose my pathway it has led me to a negative consequence where I am not happy where I currently am at and am now looking to transfer. Recently I went to South Carolina to tour another college when I was on my campus, I felt like I was at home, and I was so much happier. I did not know how my parents were going to react to the change I was making, but when I was on this tour, they saw how happy I was and realize this was a good decision. Making a choice based off of fear shaped my life and has set me back. Overcoming a fear to make a personal choice is what allows the steering wheel to keep turning onto a new road in life.

Through the thematic pattern of personal choice, the effects associated with this part of life can lead to either positive or negative consequences. In “The Isabel Fish” Julie Orringer showed how living in fear can negatively impact one, but it is how you get over that fear to be successful. Julie Orringer also highlighted another side of personal choice that is seen in her story “Care” which allowed readers to see how choosing addiction leads to mistakes which has an effect on oneself and those around them. The many personal choices you make in life will steer one’s life and leave an impact no matter if the choice was good or bad.