The Guest of a Century
People must be happy with who they are and what they have; otherwise, they will waste their time and energy in pursuit of a dream that may never come true. In “Transients in Arcadia” by O Henry, the main character, a middle class woman, spends all her savings to experience a luxurious life for a few days as a wealthy woman at a hotel on Broadway. On her last night at the hotel, she meets another middle class man, pretending to be a wealthy man. During their conversation, they ultimately reveal the truth about their status and arrange to meet later. Based on her words, thoughts, and actions, she comes across as a materialistic, insecure, but hardworking woman.
It is clearly evident that Mamie Siviter is materialistic because she places great importance on wealth, luxury, and expensive possessions. This is shown when she says, “I wanted to be served by waiters. I wanted to have the best of everything,” revealing that she strongly desires the comforts and status associated with a rich lifestyle. Rather than being satisfied with her usual life, she dreams of living in luxury. In addition, Mamie focuses on appearances, especially when she admits, “This dress I’m wearing—it’s the only pretty dress I own… The price was seventy-five dollars.” Even though she does not have much money, she still buys an expensive dress to look elegant and wealthy. These actions show that Mamie values material possessions and the illusion they create, making her a materialistic woman.
In addition to being materialistic, Mamie is an insecure woman. She feels that her real identity is not good enough, so she creates a fake image of herself to have the feeling that she is a wealthy lady. This is shown when she admits, “I wanted you to think I was a great lady,” revealing that she believes she must appear wealthy and important to be liked. Instead of being confident about who she truly is, she pretends to be someone else. Additionally, she confesses, “This week I’ve told you many things that weren’t true… I’ve been living in a story. It wasn’t real,” which shows that she has built an entirely fake life to fit into a higher social class. This behavior highlights her insecurity, as she feels the need to hide her real self and replace it with an idealized version in order to feel valued.
Even though Mamie Siviter is materialistic and insecure, she is a hardworking person. When she explains to Jimmy McManus that she is going to leave early tomorrow because she has to go to work, it shows her dedication to her job. She says, “I’m going to leave early tomorrow morning because I must go back to work.” In addition, Mamie is clearly hardworking because everything she enjoys during her “rich” week comes from her own effort and discipline, not luck or wealth. She explains, “I work selling women’s clothes at Casey’s shop,” which shows she has a regular job and earns her own income. More importantly, for an entire year, she carefully has saved small amounts of her pay each week just to afford this one short vacation. She shows her dedication and diligence when she says, “Each week I put aside a little of my pay, so that I would have enough money.” Mamie Siviter shows her hard work through her dedication and her appreciation for what she does.
Based on Mamie Siviter’s words, thoughts, and actions, she comes across as a materialistic, insecure, but hardworking woman. Mamie places a significant value on luxury, wealth and expensive possessions. She feels that her life is not good enough and she creates a false identity of herself, making people think that she is a well mannered and wealthy woman. Really wanting to buy an expensive dress, Mamie works like a Trojan just to afford it. In this story, the author is trying to tell readers that people should learn how to appreciate who they are and what they already have; otherwise, they may waste their time and effort chasing unrealistic dreams that may never become close to true.